Lee Camp, Mere Discipleship: Radical Christianity in a Rebellious World. Second Edition. Brazos Press, 2008.
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LifeandLeadership.com Summary
Theology of Mission and Ministry.
Summary: Mere Discipleship is an excellent example of contextualized ecclesiology, exploring God’s intent for the church into a specific cultural setting, in our case Western society generally and North America particularly. Camp deftly challenges the underlying assumptions of Americanized Christianity, arguing that in many cases it is so enculturated as to bear little resemblance to the radical discipleship presented in the teachings of Jesus.
The opening chapter is central to the message of the book. Here, Camp draws an analogy that begins with the 1994 uprising in Rwanda, the most Christian country in Africa, where over 90 percent of the population claimed some kind of Christian affiliation. Still, they suffered ethnic clashes that resulted in the slaughter of over 800,000 men, women, and children in a one-hundred-day period. He concludes that the Western Christianity that had been imported to Rwanda apparently failed to create communities of disciples. The core identities of the converts remained virtually unchanged. Believing their tribal affiliations of either Hutu or Tutsi as their first and foremost allegiance, they could feel justified in their ethnic hatred and genocide. So much for Christ’s intention that his followers love their neighbors and transcend ethnic barriers.
Camp says this failure in Rwanda highlights a recurrent failure of much of historic Christianity. At root in the failure is an insufficient appropriation of the radical claim that “Jesus is Lord,” a claim to ultimate authority and the ultimate norm and standard for human life. He says, “instead, Christianity has often sought to ally itself comfortably with other authorities, be they political, economic, cultural, or ethnic.” (20) As such, Christianity does not represent a radically converted life, but more of “a faith brand name, a spirituality, or a religion, not a commitment to a common Lord.” (20)
This problem is certainly not unique to Rwanda. Camp carries the analogy a step further into his current residence of Nashville, Tennessee, often dubbed “The Protestant Vatican,” with its massive presence of Christian institutions at every conceivable level. However, whether it be the old Ryman Auditorium’s “Confederate Gallery,” or the Grand Ole Opry’s strange mix of beer drinking, wife cheating, flag waving, and “Amazing Grace,” it seems that folk culture and Jesus are often woven into the same fabric. (21) Perhaps, he says, “we have been guilty of baptizing unrepentant social systems and structures,” merely sprinkling them with Christian presence, but for all practical purposes “shelving discipleship, compartmentalizing faith, and blinding ourselves to the unredeemed cultural forces that leave us prey to the principalities and powers of this world.” (22)
These and many other historical instances demonstrate that we tend to view Christianity through the “cataracts” of our own place and time which elevate some aspects of Jesus’ teaching but minimize others. Typical of current missional literature, Camp argues that the fundamental vision-limiting influence of Western Christianity has been the “Constantinian Cataract.” This reaches all the way back to the fourth century when Constantine made Christianity the legally sanctioned religion of Rome and elevated the social and political role of the church, resulting in a “Christendom,” or alliance between church and empire. He argues that his has had sweeping effects on the church, reaching even into our era of the “separation of church and state.” While not completely eclipsing true discipleship, it still obscures Jesus’ teaching in many ways. In short, one can come to mistake true Christian identity for the select biblical symbols and practices adopted by their geographic, ethnic, or socioeconomic settings. In such settings, people may compartmentalize a ritualized religious expression through which they “accept,” “believe” or “worship” Jesus, but then live in any way they choose. Thus there are “breeds” of Christianity that may look religious but actually be very, very un-Christlike. But this is not the call of Christ. In the call to follow him, “We either make him Lord of lords, or deny him as Lord of any.” (27)
By contrast, Camp suggests a “radical discipleship,” in keeping with the etymological sense of radical, “to the root.” He says, “in this sense, Christianity is radical: it demands thoroughgoing transformation, thoroughgoing conversion of every realm of human endeavor, in personal relations, economics, and politics, in homes, culture, and social order.” (28) The remainder of the book is an attempt to explain how this radical discipleship should inform and redefine what it means to follow Jesus in every dimension of life. It means committing ourselves to God’s way of working (e.g. peace, social justice) even if it does not seem practically effective in a world full of evil. It means being informed more by kingdom values than by Americanized Christian values.
To facilitate this redefinition, Camp offers three chief interpretive lenses: the gospel call to repentance, the command of Jesus to “take up his cross” and adopt a life of suffering and sacrifice, and the identity of the church as Christ’s body that expresses his values in a world that elevates might and wealth. The remaining chapters address how these truths express themselves in what the church does via worship, baptism, prayer, communion, and evangelism.
Expect this book to rattle your cage and move you to take the teaching of Jesus at face value. One may not agree with all of the author’s suggestions, e.g. pacifism. He is heavily influenced by John Howard Yoder (e.g. The Politics of Jesus 1994). Other works in this vein include Hauerwas and Willimon’s Resident Aliens (1989) Many thoughtful disciples conclude differently than these authors. That said, readers will be enriched if they place the burden of proof upon themselves as to how the call to discipleship should be any different than Camp proposes. Those involved in church renewal will be both challenged and inspired by his vision of what the body of Christ on earth really looks like when it takes the teachings of Jesus seriously.
The book is both substantive and lucid, the kind of volume churches can use in Sunday School or small groups. The revised edition contains an extensive study guide.
From the Publisher
What does it mean to be a disciple of Christ today? And are Christians really prepared for the answers? In Mere Discipleship, Lee Camp sets forth his vision of what it means to truly follow earthly authorities—be they nationalistic, political, economic, or cultural. Camp clearly lays out a sound biblical framework of what disciples believe and therefore what they should do. This substantially revised and expanded second edition updates examples, adds chapter introductions and summaries, and includes new study questions.
Editorial Reviews
- “Part primer in radical discipleship, part Christian manifesto for our times, Mere Discipleship calls believers to a way of life formed by the ‘costly grace’ of the gospel. The study guide makes this new edition even more accessible and helpful to individuals and congregations. I enthusiastically recommend this book for everyone who is seeking a more faithful and adventurous discipleship.” – Charles L. Campbell, Columbia Theological Seminary
- “A book for our times. It provides an accessible and reliable account of the biblical Christian message, and a vital critique of the cultural captivity and far-reaching disloyalty to Christ that have so frequently disfigured the church’s witness in the world since the days of Constantine. In this lucid and immensely useful book, Lee Camp spells out what faithful discipleship requires of all who claim the name of Christ in this, the twilight of Christendom.” –Christopher D. Marshall, Victoria University of Wellington
- “This is a blueprint for what would happen if Jesus’s followers actually took him seriously today. The inclusion of a study guide in this new edition makes it an even more valuable resource. Read this book, get others to join you, and then step back and watch the sparks fly!”- Michael Frost, coauthor of The Shaping of Things to Come
- “This is one of those books that you wear out carrying around, marking up, and loaning out. And the crazy thing is this: the church is actually ready to hear Lee Camp’s words. He points us towards a Christianity that is worth believing in.” – Shane Claiborne, author of The Irresistible Revolution, coauthor of Jesus for President
- “With this book Lee Camp helps us to integrate peacemaking perspectives into what it means to be a disciple in an increasingly violent and belligerent world. This book will challenge—and enhance—prevailing views of what it means to truly follow Jesus in the twenty-first century.”- Alan Hirsch, author of The Forgotten Ways
- “This book is for those who long for a Christianity that looks like Christ and seeks to witness to God’s dream for creation—the kingdom of God.” – Jarrod McKenna, cofounder of The Peace Tree Community, founder of Empowering Peacemakers in Your Community [EPYC]
- “Mere Discipleship is the best single book on Christian discipleship I’ve ever read. Lee Camp insightfully dismantles the Christendom paradigm of Christian living to disclose what being an authentic disciple of Jesus looks like. I couldn’t recommend a book more than I recommend this one!” – Gregory A. Boyd, author of The Myth of a Christian Nation
About the Author
Lee C. Camp (PhD, University of Notre Dame) is associate professor of Bible at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee.
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