Best-known for his immensely popular paraphrase, The Message, Eugene Peterson has resumed his prior passion for writing about spirituality. His new book, Christ Plays In Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation In Spiritual Theology, represents the first installment in what will be a five-volume series, dealing with subjects Peterson has talked about for 30 years: scripture, the church, leadership, spiritual formation, spiritual direction, etc.

In a recent interview with Christianity Today, Peterson spoke very straightforward about problems he sees in how the Church is interfacing with popular culture.  Here's an example:

CT - Repentance, dying to self, submission -- these are not very attractive hooks to draw people into the faith.

EP - I think the minute you put the issue that way you're in trouble. Because then we join the consumer world, and everything then becomes product designed to give you something.  We don't need something more.  We don't need something better.  We're after life.  We're learing how to live.

I think people are fed up with consumer approaches, even though they're addicted to them.  But if we cast the evangel in terms of benefits, we're setting people up for disappointment. We're telling them lies.

This is not the way our Scriptures are written.  This is not the way Jesus came among us.  It's not the way Paul preached.  Where do we get all this stuff? We have a textbok.  We have these Scriptures adn most of the time they're saying, "You're going the wrong way.  Turn around.  The culture is poisoning."

Do we realize how almost exactly the Baal culture of Canaan is reproduced in American church culture?  Baal religion is about what makes you feel good.  Baal worship is a total immersion in what I can get out of it.  And of course, it was incredibly successful.  The Baal priests could gather crowds that outnumbered followers of Yahweh 20 to 1.  There was sex, there was excitement, there was music, there was ecstasy, there was dance. "We've got girls over here, friends.  We got statues, girls, and festivals."  This was great stuff.  And what did the Hebrews have to offer in response?  The Word.  What's the Word?  Well, Hebrews had festivals, at least!

Those who want to embrace the culture, emmulate the culture, celebrate the culture, see God in the culture -- they may struggle with this and other viewpoints Peterson strongly articulates within this interview.  It almost seems as though Peterson is "coming out" in order to correct some fo the excessive pendulum swings going on within segments of the Church (I'm thinking especially of "seeker" churches and the emerging church movement).

So how do you interpret all of this?  Are you encouraged? Concerned?  Both? Neither?