Rating: 
Summary: Tony & Brian sometimes miss the point...BUT,
Review: ...This is a pretty good, concise compilation of issues and subjects about theology and God and life and everything in between. Many of Brian's perspectives were encouraging and great, but most of the time, I felt like Tony was missing the point on many of the issues. Perhaps more when he rebuttled...I don't know....but that was until I got to the environmentalism chapter and the homosexuality chapter which were both very interesting, offering insight that's often never spoken of in today's Christian circles. When all is said and done though, rarely was I enthralled or "wowed" while reading. Much of the stuff they were stating was good and it was a little-too-close to "preaching to the choir" in some areas, but nonetheless, it was a helpful exploration of these issues that sort-of-scratched the surface of theology, which is good. I only wish they had just written more on each subject....and perhaps covered less issues....then it would've been a much deeper read.
Rating:
Summary: Tony & Brian sometimes miss the point...BUT,
Review: ...This is a pretty good, concise compilation of issues and subjects about theology and God and life and everything in between. Many of Brian's perspectives were encouraging and great, but most of the time, I felt like Tony was missing the point on many of the issues. Perhaps more when he rebuttled...I don't know....but that was until I got to the environmentalism chapter and the homosexuality chapter which were both very interesting, offering insight that's often never spoken of in today's Christian circles. When all is said and done though, rarely was I enthralled or "wowed" while reading. Much of the stuff they were stating was good and it was a little-too-close to "preaching to the choir" in some areas, but nonetheless, it was a helpful exploration of these issues that sort-of-scratched the surface of theology, which is good. I only wish they had just written more on each subject....and perhaps covered less issues....then it would've been a much deeper read.
Rating: 
Summary: A profitable read!
Review: A profitable read for anyone who is mildly discontent with popular doctrines/positions or is just plain curious about some current Christian thought concerning topics such as sin, doubt, evangelism, environmental stewardship, post modernity, worship, and salvation (these chapters were the most interesting to me). Even if you are not a Christian you maybe interested in reading this book because it opens a window into some major issues in Christian Theology, while showing that Christians are not quite so dogmatic as people may think. A brief overview for those who would like a little more info. Responsibility for the writing of the various chapters fell on one author affording the second author an opportunity to add, elaborate, counter, or all three at the end of the chapter. For the most part I consider this format a benefit but at times it became annoying. The mild annoyance was caused by some of Campolo's responses. It wasn't the fact that Campolo ocassionaly disagreed with McLaren, but fact that he seemed to expect McLaren in one chapter explain every last little detail and facet of the item being discussed, or he just plain missed McLaren's point altogether. This was my only complaint. You will also become familiar with post modernity if your not already, do to the fact that McLaren talks about it in nearly every chapter that he wrote. Which could be a possible annoyance for some,it didn't bother me though. Campolo best chapters were eschatology and environmental stewardship. In the chapter on eschatology Campolo challenges dispensationlism saying that it eliminates the motivation for working to further the Kingdom of God, in that dispensationlism attempts to rescue those jumping ship instead of recruiting laborers to make the best repairs possible until the ship reaches the harbor and can be fully restored. Environmental stewardship is pretty self explanatory, but commonly overlooked. I'm glad someone finally took the time rebuke our current policy on the environment. McLaren shines in doubt, salvation, and worship. He also takes time to explain that often fuzzy term called post modernity. Mclaren purposes that we need to stop judging people when they have questions and realize that doubt can be good a lot of the time because it encourages growth. Salvation starting line or finish line? Worship, who have we made the audience to be, God or ourselves? There is a lot in this book that is worth reading. You may not agree with everything but the benefit is that encourages you to think the issues through for yourself. If you found your self interested with any of these topics and want to read more on these issues, I would recommend a few other books by Brian McLaren in addition to this one, A New Kind Of Christian, The Story We Find Ourselves In, and More Ready Than You Realize.
Rating:
Summary: Correctly Titled
Review: Adventurous in evaluating "missing the point" is aptly the title of this book between two authors who take turns writing and then reacting to various topics which they feel Christians are missing the point.
I was attracted to this work by its subtite: "How the Culture Controlled Church Neutered the Gospel". There seems to be little real discussion based on the culture of America neutering the gospel. Oh, the authors would argue there is much about environment and politics and modernism and so on. But, this is where these two truly "miss the point." The gospel is above and beyond culture, and these two are reacting from purely cultural points of view, their culturally conditioned opinions. They and especially Compolo, react from subjective opinion and seek to minimize objective Scripture.
While astounded and delighted in several of their reactions to what's happening in broad, popular Christian circles these days: Bible has less to say about accepting Christ as Personal Savior, the sinner's prayer, and altar call; also, that worship is individual centered rather than God centered... they miss much. Their idea of worship is unbiblical, centered on God as passive observer of humans praising, forsaking the true nature of God gifting and blessing the people sacramentally and incarnationally to be His people to the world!
I enjoyed the stress on being God's people to the world on environment, etc., but the stress is way too great on these areas and not enough on why we do them --- to gain a hearing for the Gospel! They miss the point here completely it appears.
They come across as anti-seminary, and in some cases for good reasons. However, their opinions on female ordination never once addresses the real Scriptural point: order of creation. They further miss the point on the image of God, the righteousness that permeated the original relationship, stressing too much the dominion over creation. Compolo can't get off the kick either of being overly for created animals, whales, chimpanzees, etc. Man certainly is the apple of God's eye, not these of his creations, although we are to be stewards of them, but not at the sake of humans.
There overall seems to be an unbibical stress on innovation in theology and application. This is so seductive and tempting. A corrective to much of this is the outstanding book by Nancy Pearcy "Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from It's Cultural Captivity."
Rating:
Summary: Book is mistitled, nonetheless a great read
Review: Co-authored books, where either the authors alternate chapters or the authors write a chapter and the other responds, are among the most enlightening books to read, especially in the area of theology. Dialog between two authors who have different viewpoints allows the reader to arrive at his or her own conclusions, sort of like "Point-Counterpoint". While McLaren and Campolo are sometimes in agreement, they often disagree on some fundamental issues. McLaren is becoming (along with Leonard Sweet) the poster-boy for postmodern Christianity, while Campolo camps out on the left edge of evangelicalism. When McLaren takes his flights of fancy into his new kind of Christianity, Campolo is there to keep the subject grounded in a slightly more traditional interpretation (excluding a few areas, such as homosexuality, in which his views would be rather troubling to the more conservative reader). This book brought to my mind the fact that, although the world and parts of the church seem to be moving towards postmodernism, the transition is far from complete, and, in fact, may take a few hundred years! McLaren's final essay on postmodernism, while probably the most difficult passage in the book, gives a great overview of epochs of history and how different eras and transitions have played out. All in all, I find myself having more of a kinship with Campolo than I do McLaren (McLaren's view of absolute truth being relatively unimportant is totally wrongheaded, in my view, but once again, Campolo brings some sanity to the issue with his reply), but, whichever author strikes one's fancy, this is still a terrific read.
Rating: 
Summary: A Shoddy Book That Goes Nowhere
Review: I had high hopes for this book. Knowing the authors, I thought they would take on many of the hot-button issues of our day and provocatively challenge conservative orthodoxy. Instead, they dance around almost every topic, not wanting to say or risk too much. The end result is a bunch of mush. To make matters worse, the quality of the writing is surprisingly poor. It's almost as though they were under a tight deadline and had to scrap a few rounds of edits to get it in on time. In the end, "Adventures in Missing the Point" lives up to its name. It's a lightweight book.
Rating:
Summary: Reviving Christian Dialectic
Review: The format of this book, each of the 2 authors writing half of the chapters, with the other other responding the other half, is wonderful. This is consistent with the tone set in McLaren's other books that conversation, no longer argument, should be the primary form of communication when discussing one's relationship with God. It is refreshing to see two grown men agree with grace and disagree with dignity and class. I felt many of the chapters could have been much longer. Perhaps responses to the responses would have been good. While some of their disagreements reflect some fundamental issues to be dealt with during the transition from modern to postmodern Christianity (e.g. Campolo's concern that McLaren's Biblical hermeneutic is a slippery slope to equalizing all Biblical interpretations as valid perspectives), other responses don't seem to really engage the other author's argument. The range of theological positions within Christianity (liberal to conservative) is very narrow, due largely to the modern assumptions within which both liberals and conservatives operate. And Campolo and McLaren are even closer together. This would be a great format for, say, McLaren and Hybels on Church Issues, or McLaren and Maxwell on Leadership.
Rating:
Summary: Reviving Christian Dialectic
Review: The format of this book, each of the 2 authors writing half of the chapters, with the other other responding the other half, is wonderful. This is consistent with the tone set in McLaren's other books that conversation, no longer argument, should be the primary form of communication when discussing one's relationship with God. It is refreshing to see two grown men agree with grace and disagree with dignity and class. I felt many of the chapters could have been much longer. Perhaps responses to the responses would have been good. While some of their disagreements reflect some fundamental issues to be dealt with during the transition from modern to postmodern Christianity (e.g. Campolo's concern that McLaren's Biblical hermeneutic is a slippery slope to equalizing all Biblical interpretations as valid perspectives), other responses don't seem to really engage the other author's argument. The range of theological positions within Christianity (liberal to conservative) is very narrow, due largely to the modern assumptions within which both liberals and conservatives operate. And Campolo and McLaren are even closer together. This would be a great format for, say, McLaren and Hybels on Church Issues, or McLaren and Maxwell on Leadership.
Rating:
Summary: Unconventional Wisdom "Light"
Review: The title of this volume drew me in initially, because I thought the book would address how much the Gospel of Jesus Christ has become a cultural/traditional variant of the Gospel. Did it deliver? YES, but a message as important as this could have been given a bit more depth. The discussion on the heaven-centered Salvation Gospel of most Evangelicals was useful (for example, foregiveness is the beginning, not the goal of redemption). Needful as well were the chapters on DOUBT (honest doubt can be therapeutic), and the BIBLE which urge the reader to give up the fundamentalist prejudice that rigorous thinking is not God's will. The section on Salvation is a needed and fair challenge to old assumptions, but overlooks the deeper, eternal purpose of God, which preceded even the covenant people. The authors' biblical arguments all begin with Abraham instead of Adam. The BIBLE chapter is good, but thin. The points made are dealt with more powerfully in books like "Biblical Dyslexia." McLaren seems to be "missing the point" when he reminds us that Jesus never preached against homosexuality. In 1st-century Judea, there was consensus on such things, no in-your-face "Gay Pride" marches or Christopher Street parades. McLaren points out the difference between homosexual "orientation" and homosexual practice fair enough, but it would also have been fair to mention that homosexual lifestyles are--biblically speaking--one clear sign of God's abandonment (Rom 1). Bottom lines: Definitely worthwhile! Convincing writing style. The authors leave the reader with some useful nuggets for new thinking about our faith. If you ALREADY ARE a thinking pilgrim, this book may seem a bit "lightweight." The book is broad rather than deep, which is OK. The authors' intention is probably to provoke some unthought thoughts rather than provide a dissertation and their book serves the purpose well.
Rating:
Summary: an important step
Review: this book exists as a stepping stone in the emerging church conversation. If you're looking for a one-stop-all-the-answers reference, this ain't it. By neccessity (because of its broadness) it lacks depth on any one particular subject. But that's okay. These short, dialogical chapters challenge the reader to rethink his/her beliefs in each area and provide valuable fodder for the emerging church conversation. Well worth the read, even if and perhaps because, you won't agree with it all.
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