This Beautiful Mess, by Rick McKinley

Among the many mysteries of knowing and following Jesus is the question of the kingdom of God, his "already and not yet" reign.  In his own pastoral, insightful way, Rick McKinley, pastor of Imago Dei Community in Portland, Oregon, explores our understanding of living in the kingdom in This Beautiful Mess: Practicing the Presence of the Kingdom of God.

You can't talk about the kingdom without talking theology, but McKinley makes it clear that his goal is not to write a systematic theology of the kingdom.  I like his comparison of systematic theology to grammar.  "Theology, especially the systematic kind, becomes more helpful when you think of it as grammar." Grammar is a tool, which helps us to read and write, but does not communicate understanding or beauty.  In fact, as in the case of some poetry, understanding and beauty are enhanced by the breaking of grammar rules.  In the same way, McKinley argues that rather than limit himself to hard and fast theological rules, Jesus used a theological framework but that his teaching "gave us a multifaceted picture that is full of shape and contour and texture and tension and beauty and mess," a picture of the kingdom that is to be lived, not defined.

The strength of McKinley's book, which was first published in 2006 and updated for this 2013 edition, is the stories of his unique church in Portland.  On the one hand, they are passionate about serving Jesus by being a transformative presence in their community.  Their impact, at least from what we read here, has been and continues to be far-reaching.  On the other hand, McKinley seems to be one of those pastors who says, "The church has gotten so much wrong, and is so far off track, that we need to jettison every tradition and start from scratch." I am struck by the arrogance of this attitude.  To be fair, I have never been to McKinley's church, and am making assumptions based on this book, but it seems there are times at which he and his church value novelty over tradition, experience over truth, and feeling over scripture.

One quick example: several times each year, the church has outdoor Worship Learning Experiences, where they "lead people in an experience of creation that draws them to worship the King and celebrate their connection to His kingdom." One day a group cleared out some vines on a hillside and planted some trees.  One of the leaders "pointed around the circle at the muddy knees, sweaty brows, and scratched arms.  'This is the gospel,' he said."  I have to say, respectfully, that is not the gospel.  It's a nice sentiment, I guess, but I think that sort of view of the gospel cheapens and obscures what the gospel actually is: the good news of Jesus' saving work.  Creation care can be an expression of our experience of the gospel, but planting trees is decidedly not the gospel.

So if you pick up This Beautiful Mess, do so with the expectation of some good stories, some thought-provoking and inspiring nuggets, and the possibility of some insight into life with Jesus.  But be prepared for some sentimentality and iffy theology.  You'll want to look elsewhere for an understanding of the kingdom.



Thanks to Waterbrook Multnomah for the complimentary review copy!