Review: Public Jesus
Conventional wisdom says there are two things you don't talk about in general conversation: religion and politics. Today we may add sexual orientation to those two items, but religion and politics seem to stand the test of time.
Tim Suttle respectfully disagrees.
In the book and DVD combo titled Public Jesus, (House Studio, 2012) Suttle systematically and incisively breaks through the conception that our relationship with God and our Christian spirituality are to be kept under wraps and out of the public eye. Suttle offers the corrective that since God has created everything and desires order and not chaos, then His people should be actively working in the public square to bring Kingdom-order to the world in which they live. For Suttle,
Mission involves the way we structure our lives and the way we embrace our vocation as the caretakers of creation. (16)
The book and DVD go hand in hand, each chapter opening with the transcript of the DVD and moving into a fuller expectation of the role of people who follow Jesus in the world. Each chapter is completed with well-written discussion questions that take the content our of the printed medium and into the lives of the readers. The chapters hit the high notes of our daily life - our purpose in the world, our vocation, our rest, our community, our public dialogue and our political life - and as you can tell each of those have the potential for rich and holy dialogue either between and individual and God or in a smaller group setting.
The drawback in this resource is not a drawback in the sense of a weakness, but a drawback in efficiency. With the DVD sessions duplicated in print form, it lessens the need for the video sessions. The visual pieces fall flat, not because Mr. Suttle is boring or uninspiring, but because of the replication of content. However, many groups using this material may benefit from the teaching in regards to those who don't read their material prior to the meeting. You know who you are.
All in all, another great resource from The House Studio - I'd recommend this to small groups, classes, or mentoring partnerships where the topic of Jesus in the public square is being discussed. In other words, "everywhere."