By LeRoy Lawson
Roadside Religion: In Search of the Sacred, the Strange, and the Substance of Faith
Timothy Beal
Boston: Beacon Press, 2005
The Rise and Fall of the Bible: The Unexpected History of an Accidental Book
Timothy Beal
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011
God-Size Your Church
John Jackson
Colorado Springs: Biblica, 2008, 2011
Timothy Beal, professor of religion at Case Western Reserve University, is a new discovery. A good friend recently sent me two of his books without explanation or recommendation, so I read them 
without expectations. Well, that”s not quite right. When I started Roadside Religion my guard was up against what I was certain would be a cynical exposé of absurd religious shrines along roadsides all over America. I approached The Rise and Fall also anticipating a kind of liberal Bible-bashing dressed in academic pontification.
I was wrong both times.
Religion turned out to be informative, inspirational, and fun. The professor bundled his family into a rented RV and set out to visit some of America”s strangest (read “most embarrassing”) religious sites, from Bill and Marzell Rice”s cross-littered yard bearing such inspirational signs as “You will die . . . hell hell hell hot hot” in Alabama and God”s Ark of Safety under much-delayed construction in Maryland to the Precious Moments Inspiration Park in Missouri and Mr. Brown”s Cabinet of Prayers (and rosaries) in Washington state. There are several others. Here is every opportunity for academic and religious snobbery to have a field day, as some well-intentioned, true-believers have found some really unusual ways to express themselves.
But the book doesn”t work that way. As you visit these sites with the Beals, you feel the author and the reader alike gaining insight into “outsider”s” religion””and granting respect for men and women who adopt sometimes absurd means to present God to others.
He summarizes his experience, after admitting this isn”t the book he meant to write: “What began as an exploration of roadside religious attractions and the stories behind them has wound up being a far more personal story of my own ambivalent search for faith.” He discovered faith is as much about relationships (with God, with people) as about belief, “faith as vulnerability, risking relationship.” It”s also about hospitality, which he found in each and every visit. “The antidote to cynicism is relationship, the offering and receiving of hospitality.”
Disarming Candor
Professor Beal writes with the same disarming personal candor in Bible. Whether tracing the development of the scriptural canon or presenting the scholarly problems involved in reconciling a personal faith (his parents reared him to be a good Evangelical Christian) with what most Evangelicals would call liberal, even skeptical scholarship, the author probably disappoints conservatives and liberals alike. He dismisses bibliolatry, fearing the danger done to people who treat the Bible as a holy icon. On the one hand, he is equally critical of those who dismiss the authority of the Scriptures altogether. There”s more to the Bible than either extreme admits.
I disagreed with him often enough to quit the book. (I don”t even like the title.) Then I would open it again, curious to know where he was going. I am glad I stayed with him, though he took me through discomforting territory. His openness, his own teachability forced me into some openness of my own, making me ponder questions I thought I had resolved long ago. His treatment of the Bible as a library of questions rather than as a repository of settled answers especially appealed. After a lifelong study of the Bible, I still have a lot to learn.
A Simple, Practical Guide
I met John Jackson (God-Size Your Church), the president of William Jessup University, at the North American Christian Convention in 2011. When the California school announced his appointment, many of us WJU friends wondered where this new leader had come from. He wasn”t “one of ours.” His background, we learned, was Baptistic, although he could claim close associations with our churches throughout his ministry. Where would he lead WJU? Would he change its character? It was established as a Bible college to serve independent Christian churches and churches of Christ. Would it remain true to its heritage under this new leader?
William Jessup University used to be San Jose Christian College. When it recently moved from San Jose to Rocklin, California, it acquired its new name in honor of WJU”s founder. A few presidents later his son Bryce (a fellow youth minister in the Portland area when we were young) served with distinction, directing its relocation and transformation from Bible college to university.
I looked forward to meeting President Jackson. He was taking my good friend”s place. Was he worthy? I liked what I learned about him.
Jackson attended the NACC because he hoped to become better acquainted with WJU”s Christian church connections. He wanted to be certain that his administration would be true to its historic vision and values.
After our meeting he gave me a copy of his latest book, God-Size Your Church, which he wrote as a preacher for his fellow ministers. The result is a simple, practical guide to “maximizing your impact” as a church leader. Though now a university president, this former church planter transparently loves the church and he loves Scripture, from which he draws his leadership principles and practices.
As a result, there”s not much in this book that”s new. Originality isn”t his goal; effectiveness is. He wants to help transform congregations into vehicles worthy of the God they are serving. In this helpful spirit he even includes in the appendix the “Bylaws of the Carson Valley Christian Center, Inc.,” the church he planted. It”s a helpful template for young churches ready to draw up their own legal papers.
You”ll also appreciate his ideas for helping a church break the 200, 400, and beyond growth barriers. Here”s a sample: “I believe that the 200 barrier presents key leaders with a barrier of heart: Do we have a vision to reach unchurched people? . . . In contrast, the 400 barrier presents a barrier of behavior. Are we willing to change the way we structure the ministry and life of the church in order to reach more people?”
As I said, not much new in this, but it bears repeating, don”t you think?
LeRoy Lawson is professor of Christian ministries at Emmanuel Christian Seminary in Johnson City, Tennessee, and an international consultant with CMF International. He also serves as a CHRISTIAN STANDARD contributing editor and member of Standard Publishing”s Publishing Committee. His column appears at least monthly.
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