Disruptive Witness

Speaking Truth in a Distracted Age

By: Alan Noble

Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins

We live in a distracted, secular age. These two trends define life in Western society today. We are increasingly addicted to habits - and devices - that distract and "buffer" us from substantive reflection and deep engagement with the world. And we live in what Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor calls "a secular age" - an age in which all beliefs are equally viable and real transcendence is less and less plausible.

Drawing on Taylor's work, Alan Noble describes how these realities shape our thinking and affect our daily lives. Too often Christians have acquiesced to these trends, and the result has been a church that struggles to disrupt the ingrained patterns of people's lives. But the gospel of Jesus is inherently disruptive: Like a plow, it breaks up the hardened surface to expose the fertile earth below.

In this book, Noble lays out individual, ecclesial, and cultural practices that disrupt our society's deep-rooted assumptions and points beyond them to the transcendent grace and beauty of Jesus. Disruptive Witness casts a new vision for the evangelical imagination, calling us away from abstraction and cliché to a more faithful embodiment of the gospel for our day.

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Well written and thought-provoking, but not Noble’s best

This book is very well-written and thought-provoking. I think the title is misleading, though - although the book is somewhat about evangelism, it’s more about the mindset, assumptions, and modus operandi that we (and the modern world around us) bring to Christianity and how that skews our view of the centrality of God.

Although this is definitely worth reading, I prefer Noble’s book On Getting Out of Bed. If you only have one credit or only have time to read one of Noble’s books, I’d recommend that one instead.

Heavy!

Interesting and compelling but I would think heavy and difficult for the average reader. Have your dictionary close by. The reader had a very mechanical type voice so it often felt like listening to a college textbook.

Great take on how the Christian should approach the modern world

Very insightful and has tangible tips on how to live a life disrupting the system of distraction and secularism so prevalent in the first world today.

Must read for pastors, leaders, and "influencers"

Clearly indebted to the works of James K. A. Smith and Charles Taylor, this book helps those who have not been exposed to these works and brings them to face some very difficult realities confronting the church today. Lest we be neutralised by culture, we must make some very hard choices about message, mission and method in expressing, celebrating and proclaiming the Gospel. An important read, to be sure, but not a light one. But, must be read more than once. It is too dense and technical to be truly useful after only one read.

Good insights and plan

I would give this book 5 stars except for Noble’s covering of Mindfulness. As a Christian Mindfulness is a contrary practice as it is a well known Buddhist practice. Meditation on God’s word is different than this practice that has gained popularity in the Progressive movement. I am not suggesting that Noble is a Progressive Christian, but this is how Christians buy into error.
Noble does a great job of pointing out how our busy lives keep us distracted from thinking deeply about important issues.
We need to disrupt the busyness with a disruptive witness.