5 Things I Leared From Brian McLaren
(And Why I Hope You’ll Meet Him on May 20)
What I Learned from Brian McLaren
(And Why I Hope You’ll Meet Him on May 20)
I first met Brian when I was 23 and he was very old—39, if I remember right.
I had no idea who he was.
We met through a small community created by Leadership Network to connect young evangelical leaders who were starting to question the system we inherited. Looking back, it was a wild mix of 20 or so people. Mark Driscoll was there. We were friends for a while… and then not so much, for obvious reasons.
But I also met people who are still my friends today—even though we now believe a wide range of things: Chris Seay, Doug Pagitt, Tim Celek (who I ended up working with for a few years in Orange County, CA), Dieter Zander, and a few others.
One of them was Brian.
He and Dieter were kind of the elder statesmen of the group. The rest of us were 25 or younger, still in the “set the world on fire” phase.
I believe Christianity Today did a podcast about that group a few years ago. I haven’t listened to it yet—honestly, I’m not sure I’m ready to. But here’s what I do know:
Brian has been a steady, mentoring voice in my life for nearly three decades now.
From the moment I met him, he felt ego-less. Grounded. Curious. Pastoral in the truest sense—not as a job title, but as someone who genuinely wanted to help people grow.
His books shaped my early deconstruction journey more than almost anyone else’s.
And I’m incredibly excited that he’ll be our very first guest for our community Q&A on May 20. (Free for all paid subscribers.)
Here are just a few of the things I’ve learned from him over the years:
1. There’s More Than One Christian Story
Brian helped me understand that what I was taught growing up—about sin, salvation, heaven, and hell—was just one version of Christianity.
It felt like the only version at the time. But it wasn’t. And that realization opened a door I didn’t know existed.
“If we have only one way of reading the Bible, we will be forced to conclude that one of us is right and the rest of us are wrong. But if we understand that the Bible is a community library of voices in conversation… we begin to see faith itself differently.”
—Brian McLaren, A New Kind of Christianity
2. Jesus Was Confronting Empire—Not Building a Religion
Brian showed me that Jesus wasn’t trying to start a new religion or win a theological argument.
He was confronting empire. Challenging systemic injustice. Offering a radical, nonviolent alternative to both Roman power and religious control.
“Jesus didn't come to solve the problem of original sin. He came to proclaim a new kingdom in contrast to the kingdom of Caesar.”
—Brian McLaren, paraphrased from The Secret Message of Jesus
That reframed everything. Jesus wasn’t handing out golden tickets to heaven. He was launching a movement.
3. Doubt Isn’t Dangerous—It’s Holy
Like many of you, I was taught to fear doubt.
To avoid it. Confess it. Push it down.
But Brian gave me permission to see doubt as sacred. As part of the journey. As something God isn’t afraid of.
“Certainty is overrated. Faith was never about having all the answers. It was about trusting enough to keep walking.”
—Brian McLaren, A New Kind of Christianity
4. God Doesn’t Fit in a Box (And Neither Do You)
In A Generous Orthodoxy, Brian described himself with a cascade of contradictory labels: “Evangelical, but not that kind… liberal, but not that kind… postmodern, but not that kind…”
“I am a Christian because I believe the Christian story is the story I’m most familiar with and that has formed me most deeply.”
—Brian McLaren
He made me feel less alone.
5. Christianity Can Evolve
Most of all, Brian helped me believe that Christianity doesn’t have to be discarded to be transformed.
It can evolve. It should evolve.
And we don’t have to be afraid of that.
“What if the faith of the future isn’t about preserving the past, but about reimagining it with love?”
—Brian McLaren
And while Brian and I both ended up becoming “a new kind of Christian,” neither of us feels the need to make others follow the same path. Brian has a perspective that can help all of us—Christian or not.
If any of that resonates with you, I hope you’ll join us on May 20 at 8:30pm ET for our first Deconstruction Club Q&A with Brian McLaren.
He’s not coming to preach. Or debate. Or defend.
He’s coming to be part of the conversation.
To listen. Share. Wonder out loud with the rest of us.
It’s free for all paid subscribers, starting at just $5/month. I’ll send out the Zoom link the day before the event.
(Live Q&As like this are the one perk I offer for paid subscribers. All of my written content will always be free—this is just a way for me to create something special once a quarter for those of you graciously supporting my work here.)
If you’d like to become a paid subscriber or manage your subscription, you can do that here.
Hope to see you there.
This is beautiful, Joe. And long overdue.
Brian has been a midwife to more spiritual resurrections than most pulpits combined. He gave many of us permission to walk out of the burning house, brush the ash off our soul, and still call it faith.
But if we’re reimagining Christianity, let’s go all the way.
It’s time to reconsider the Gospels—and not just the ones The Eastern Orthodox left us.
What if Mary Magdalene’s voice wasn’t excluded by accident?
What if the Gospel of Mary was buried precisely because it threatened the whole game—offering not hierarchy, but inner knowing?
Brian taught us to question the empire Jesus confronted.
Now let’s question the empire that silenced his closest disciple.
We don’t need to stitch a new patch on imperial theology.
We need to resurrect the forbidden thread.
I'll be at the Q&A—with Mary in my field of merit and a smirk for every bishop who ever flinched at the word “Gnostic.”
—Virgin Monk Boy
Looking forward to discovery!