Building on a string of Haberer family harrowing encounters, Swimming with the Sharks presents a framework for addressing the sharks among us: those on the other side of the divide in American church life. What is characterized as the separation between blue progressives and red conservatives is shown to be a sellout to a political model and a false witness about the facts and faith on the ground. Believers do see things differently but not in simplistic, binary parties–rather in an overlapping set of five understandings of Jesus’ heart and passion for God’s mission in the world. Each is faithful, each is true, and yet, when huddling in their enclaves of agreement, likeminded folks become stupid, duped by their shared blind spots. All five living together become iron sharpening iron. And while we still may diverge on hot-button controversies, we do converge and, indeed, take flight through the Holy Spirit’s filling, empowering, gifting, calling, and commissioning of every believer in a culture, a movement, a full-spectrum revolution of mutual giftedness in mission.
Practical implications get spelled out (e.g., less pastor-driven, more member-driven), and then conclude with blunt explications: ‘Not all church consultants need to be ignored, but many do.’And while we still may diverge on hot-button controversies, we do converge and, indeed, take flight through the Holy Spirit’s filling, empowering, gifting, calling, and commissioning of every believer in a culture, a movement, a full-spectrum revolution of mutual giftedness in mission.

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