Loading ...Enough by Will Samson
How much is enough?
It’s what we’re all asking as the economy seems to be in free-fall; ‘wants’ and ‘needs’ seem to be inverting themselves with each month’s finances. In a society where children spend more time worrying about their weight than their grades, is it possible to find peace? In a world being drained of its natural resources, is it conceivable that we do nothing? And with a universe of dazzling temptation at our fingertips, will we still seek the God of all creation?
Will Samson is good at opening thoughtful dialogue. In Enough, Will addresses the idea of finding contentment in this age of excess. Does the God who offers himself to be Eucharistically consumed in Jesus Christ have a community-forming alternative in mind to consumerism? Can we be empowered by the Holy Spirit to be Eucharistic community for others?
With a casual, accessible writing style, Samson discusses consumerism, contentment as a Christian discipline, and the notion of stewarding our resources. In four sections, Will outlines the ideas that drive a consumeristic mindset; the effects those ideas have on ourselves, our communities, and the earth; conclusions about the situation; and practical solutions for negotiating everyday life once we understand that our abundant God is, in fact, enough.
If you’re exhausted from keeping up with the Joneses, or if you’re looking for the balance between what is necessary and what is too much, just stop. Enough is enough.
Endorsements:
“Can a book be hard-hitting without being guilt-inducing? Can it be both convicting and encouraging? Can it be beautifully written and deeply thoughtful—and really funny in places too? Can it be good for you and enjoyable to read? Can it help intensify your commitment to God and decrease your addiction to stuff? With Will Samson’s Enough, the answers are all yes.”
Brian McLaren, author and activist, brianmclaren.net
“The problem is not us owning things; the problem lies in things owning us. Will Samson reminds us not to confuse Christianity with Capitalism. Enough is a hopeful invitation to begin banking in God’s economy and reimagine what it means for followers of Jesus to prosper. Enthusiastically recommended.”
Matthew Sleeth, MD, director of blessed-earth.org & author of Serve God, Save the Planet
“Will Samson calls the Christian family to the table for a veritable feast of information and inspiration on how to live in peace, community, and simplicity. Enough is not to be missed.”
Claudia Mair Burney, author of Zora and Nicky and Wounded
“Will Samson has caught a glimpse of the abundance that promises more than your best life now. Inspired by the Eucharist, Will outlines a life better than we could imagine in our cultural captivity—an economy of enough where the poor find bread and the rich find contentment because we find one another in the community of our Lord. Read the book but more than that, join the feast.
Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, new monastic, author, and director of School for Conversion
RyanBraught
The other week I blogged about becoming a member of the Ooze Viral Bloggers in which you sign up, you pick a book, they send it to you, you read it, and then you blog about it on your personal blog as well as their blog site. Well yesterday I went home and the book “Enough” by Will Samson was waiting for me. I haven’t had the chance to start reading it yet, as I was finishing up Chapters 1-3 of Exiles by Michael Frost for our Core Group development meeting on the 10th. But tonight I plan to begin cracking it open and reading it.
I flipped it open though last night and I believe there will be much to comment on. One thing that caught my attention right off was in regards to Civil Religion and Christian leaders response to what happened on 9/11/01. I just scanned that section but it talked about how far we have come in 2,000 years when Christianity was a persecuted, alternative, counter-cultural, peace-driven culture, to now when Christian leaders were supporting the attack on Iraq.
So I look forward to reading it and blogging about it. If you have the chance, pick up the book…I’m sure you’ll enjoy it, and you’ll also be challenged by it, as I am sure I will be as well.
Apr 28th, 2009
PadreWarren
Here’s my latest review for TheOoze viral blogging network:
Enough: Contentment in an Age Of Excess
Enough: Contentment in an Age Of Excess
Will Samson has written a humorous, thoughtful and accessible book on the problems of consumerism in the lives of Christians and Christian Communities.
Samson’s background as an evangelical from the Northeast now living as something more like a progressive Christian near the buckle of the Bible Belt is compelling enough for me to give this book a good recommendation. What’s contained in the pages of his discussion of where we are as a consumer culture, how we got there and what the ethos of Protestantism contributed to our dis-ease has to do with how we’ve gotten sidetracked on this issue as communities of faith seeking to follow in the way of Jesus.
The book is laid out well with the beginning chapters being devoted to the ways in which we (don’t) respond to the call of Jesus in the story of the Rich Young Ruler. His triage of the symptoms leads to what he sees as their cause. I think he’s really onto something.
His depth of citations both from scripture and folks such as Moody, Lewis, Teresa of Avila, McLaren, Tickle, Wright, Nouwen, Berry and others reveals someone who seems to ascribe to the mantra, “the truth is the truth, no matter who speaks it”.
As the book moves from diagnosing the problem to exploring disciplines (spiritual practies) that might be antidotal to consumerism, he does what this sort of book should do, he provides ways to address the problems of the age practically.
As an Episcopal priest, I resonated with his emphasis on Eucharistic community. As he quotes Henri Nouwen that the Eucharist is best understood as:
taken, blessed, broken and given.
he both offers hope and help. Eucharist, as Samson rightly points out, is a celebration. I celebrate this book for disciples of all stripes at whatever stage of their journey to follow Jesus. Take this book. Let it bless you. Don’t be discouraged if it breaks you a bit, then give it to someone else to ‘read, mark, learn and inwardly digest.”
Thanks to Will Samson and TheOoze.
May 1st, 2009
RyanBraught
So the last few days I have been reading “Enough” by Will Samson that I received from being part of the Ooze Viral Bloggers. It’s been a good read and there are a lot of things that I resonated with strongly. I have again realized, as I have many times before, that I am caught up in this cycle as well. That I consume more than I should when it comes to resources (food, energy, etc..) and that I don’t often look at ways of consuming less (doing more for the environment, eating less, spending less, etc..) This book opened my eyes to some other ways of interacting with issue of contentment in the age of excess. Here are some quotes from the book that I resonated with.
“G.K. Chesterton once famously quipped, ‘Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.”
“Jerry Falwell suggested that ‘God is pro-war’. Several leading evangelicals suggested that the invasion of Iraq would open up ‘exciting new doors’ for proselytizing Muslims.”- As a pacifist, I couldn’t disagree more strongly to these sentiments.
“But we are most like Christ when we are incarnated in the life of the other.”
“As Robert Farrar Capon notes, every miracle of Jesus except one, the cursing of the fig tree, was a miracle of the restoration of creation.”
“But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”- Jeremiah 29:7…hmm Jeremiah 29…I think I shared the other day about a Scripture in Jeremiah 29.
“Our Communities should tell a story of Christ in the Eucharist, a story that there is no longer Jew nor Greek, homeless nor homeowner, addicted nor clean, broken nor whole. Rather, we are all to be broken, blessed, and offered to a world in need.”
“What would it be like to be formed by communities consumed by God and God’s vision for the world, and to present our community itself as an alternative vision to individuals consumed by the mindless consumption of stuff?”
“The radical nature of the early church was due to many aspects, but one of the greatest was the notion that each person was responsible for living out the gospel himself or herself; each person was responsible for the creation of what two writers recently called ‘the tangible kingdom.”
“I mentioned the missionary writer Lesslie Newbigin before. He had a big phrase for what we are talking about here. He said that our congregations serve as ‘hermeneutics of the gospel.’ (Hermeneutics is just a fancy word for interpretation.) In other words, the way we act tells a story; it interprets for the broader culture the story of Jesus. Our lives, and the lives of our congregations, become a kind of new gospel account, written in public and for all to see. If the American church in the age of consumer excess were to tell a story, what would that story be?”
I’ll share later about some concrete action steps that the author gives in order to deal with this issue of consumption in our personal and corporate lives.
May 6th, 2009
everydayliturgy
There really hasn’t been a go to book for laity I have come by that mitigates the heady academic, environmental and communitarian theologies and philosophies of Michael Pollan or Wendell Berry for the masses. I have read The Agrarian Reader and some of its essays come close, but they are quickly inundated by their academic nature and lengthy explanations.
Will Samson’s book Enough: Contentment in an Age of Excess is an excellent and thoughtful primer for pilgrims on the way to agrarianism or people who are seriously questioning the meaning of “stuff.”
Samson’s work is best read as a devaluation of stuff and a revalueing of goods and actions that benefit the community as a whole and not just individuals. In writing a primer, Samson has woven together strands of thinking from Shane Claiborne, Wendell Berry, Michael Pollan, economists, environmentalists, the Bible and his own life into a springboard for a journey into living counter-culturally.
Divided into three sections, Samson outlines the destructiveness of American culture and how American Christians have been seduced, blinded, distracted, and distorted by consumerism and materialism, and even how bad theology makes us run toward consumerism with open arms. Then, Samson finishes with suggestions and a call to action in living as a local community set apart from the consumerist culture surrounding us on all fronts.
This book, for many reasons, is a must read just to see so many diverse prophetic voices wrapped into a cohesive and concise narrative. An added bonus is the time of its writing, in the spring of 2008. Samson alludes to the coming financial crises as symptomatic of our consumerist culture. This adds great weight to the overall argument of the book, as one ponders how the very warnings Samson gives are now coming true all around us.
May 15th, 2009
Benjamin Sternke
This is a semi-review of a book I got in the mail recently.
The book is Enough: Contentment in an Age of Excess, and in it, Will Samson adds his voice to an ever-growing number of books addressing the issue of consumerism in Western society. It seems to be the topic du jour, and probably for good reason. It is a good thing when Christians begin to think theologically and critically about the cultural milieu they find themselves in, and more and more people are realizing that consumerism is the predominant cultural force in the Western world today. Samson’s topic is also of personal interest to me, in that I recently wrote an essay on consumerism for the Master’s degree I’m working on.
Samson defines consumerism as “a way of thinking about stuff that believes the consumption of things–food, cars, ideas in books, new models of church–is what will really, finally, make us content.” This is always a bad thing, Samson claims, as opposed to simple consumption (the act of using something), which can be good or bad, depending on the context.
Where does consumerism come from? Samson points to our desire to possess what we do not have, tracing it from Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden on though to colonial Western expansion. This is probably too simplistic, but this is also a short, easy-to-read book, not a comprehensive academic tome on consumerism!
After spending some time critiquing some of the “inherited beliefs” of American Christianity, Samson turns his attention to contrasting consumerism with “being consumed with Jesus.” His thoughts on the Eucharist in relationship to consumerism remind me of William Cavanaugh’s book Being Consumed. He uses several ideas/metaphors and many practical suggestions to present a very compelling vision of what a contented life might look like. Here are a few of the ideas I found interesting/challenging.
* Planting a Garden as a way of cultivating an awareness that food does not come from nowhere
* Eating together to cultivate a resistance to immediate gratification
* “Most of the [economic] growth of the past twenty-eight years has not been a triumph of capitalism, but rather a triumph of government spending.”
* Interest rates are not the only factor we ought to consider when investing our money.
* The fragmented communities of the West contribute greatly to the blight of consumerism.
* Often we need to act our way into new thinking instead of assuming we need to change our thoughts first.
* Cultivate generosity and gratitude.
Bravo to Samson for writing this little book! By the way, I know it’s a long ways off, but Will will be speaking at a conference in Indianapolis on November 13-14 called Through the Consuming Fire, along with Shane Claiborne, Kelly Johnson, David Fitch, and others.
May 15th, 2009
oldguydreaming
Will Samson’s “ENOUGH: Contentment in an Age of Excess,” is a very good book – well written, easy to consume. All the basic qualities a person might look for in a good book are present in Samson’s work. That said; I have to admit that this book made me squirm in my seat as I read it. I felt like the back row parishioner in a tent revival who thought that every word the preacher was saying was directed at him.
What’s worse is that Samson obviously did not intend to produce this type of response in his readers. His aim is not to irritate, but inspire. Too many books of a similar ilk lose their reader by embarking on long tirades about the “evils of capitalism,” urging people ride bikes instead of cars, recycle plastic and paper products, and stop wasting so much money at the nearby “21 theater Cineplex.” Samson’s approach is different. With good-natured ease, Samson weaves scripture and social commentary together in ways that will caused thoughtful readers to reflect upon the excessive impact of “stuff” on their bodies, the earth, our economy, and culture. .
As I read this book, I couldn’t help but wonder when Samson started writing. Certainly the books release in the middle of this current recessions couldn’t be more timely – especially since so many of the causes of this recession seem to be related to the kinds of excesses discussed in this book. Right now it seems that our newly elected political leaders are trying to get the economy “back on track” without even asking it the railway is even heading in the right direction.
How do we get our economy back on track? According to our leaders, it is through consumption. That’s what the Bush administration told us after the 9-11 terrorist attacks. That’s what the Obama administration would like to see happening now! We are told that we need to start buying and consuming again – and to prove it, the federal government will start buying and consuming resources it doesn’t even have.
This is a place where Samson’s book is both challenging and comforting. He reminds us that if trust God we don’t have to be driven by the admonition to buy and consume. Rather we can live free from those forces trusting God to meet daily needs.
May 18th, 2009
astatum
Enough by Will Samson
So adjusting to life with a new baby has been amazing but – as you might imagine – a little hectic as well. Thus my blogging has been sporadic over the past three months (heck, even longer than that). Into the frenzy of work, school and family, Will Samson’s book, Enough has brought me a new perspective on the faith that grounds everything I do.
Samson was brought up in “Bible church” culture, attended Liberty University and eventually began working on politics – citing Francis Schaeffer and William F. Buckley as heroes and guiding forces in his political engagement. He left politics when the conservatives launched their “contract with America” in 1994, believing that “we had won” (25). At the time he thought that “morality” had come home to reign over America for good.
Any student of history knows that things were – and continue to be – quite a bit messier in the political realm. Political life in the United States was and is by no means monilithically “moral.” What’s more, over time Samson’s perspective on faith, Scripture, politics and culture has – in the intervening years – undergone a radical shift. Enough is the fruit of those years of hard thought about the reality of greed, consumerism, morality and culture in “the West” in general and America in particular.
I simply loved this book! In Enough Samson adeptly engages and challenges the notions of individualism and consumerism that have turned biblical Christianity into a parody of the life that God has called us to. The Trinitarian life of God is a life of community, of love, of sufficiency and abundance – a life of love. But if one were to look into the lives of Christians in America, however (not to mention America in general), what would that person observe? It seems fairly obvious these days – with the economy going crazy and people worrying about it constantly – that life in America is mostly a life of stuff. We worry about how to get it, how to pay for it, what to do with it when we have it, how to get more of it and how to get rid of it when it has served its purpose. We are a people, in short, who are consumed with stuff.
In 2003 nearly 50 percent of American household expenditures were for “nonnecessity” items. Compare this to the 21 percent of nonnecessity spending in 1901 and 35 percent of nonnecessity spending in 1960. We are spending more than ever as a nation on items we don’t need, but we sure do want. In 2004, American consumers spend $2.2 trillion on entertainment, and $782 billion of that on televisions, radios and sound equipment. In 2005 we spent $86 billion on sporting goods, including $852 million on snowmobiles and $338 million on archery equipment. (Archery equipment? Really? Who saw that coming?) Every year we spend more and more on products and services created by our “growing” economy.
Of course the rebuttal might be made, “But we’re making more money these days.” Samson addresses that by noting that the same repot “even when we increase our income, we still spend more than we have. This is not just a problem that can be solved by tweaking our systems. Something deep within our souls longs for more stuff” (34).
Samson goes on later to note that part of our problem is that we’ve got a messed up understanding of of freedom. “We now have a historic level of choice over what to buy, what to believe, and how to act. But has this made us more moral or more whole” (38)? People in America often concieve of freedom as the simple liberty to choose what we buy, believe and do. The upiquity of “choice” has led us to be a people incapable of making up our minds. This is a problem of a fully embodied Christianity because, as Samson puts it so well (referencing Charles Finney),
“The end result of this multitude of choices is that we tend to pick the simplest one. This is what [Charles] Finney realized…rather than call people to live in eucharistic community, a call that would require a great deal of sacrifice, Finney invited [people] to walk down the aisle and ‘ask Jesus into their hearts.’ All that was required was a simple accedence to the most basic part of the gospel.
This has significant implications for our theology here in America. I fear that Jesus has been transformed from the God who radically and incarnationally engages with the world, to the God who was around long enough to perform the divine transaction of our salvation. ‘God became flesh and dwelt among us,’ and yet most of us have given no thought to the lessons we might learn from the life of Christ, including those lessons that relate to our questions of sufficiency and contentment” (59).
The issues of sufficiency of contentment, for Samson, is the hinge on which a large part of this book rests. We in America no longer believe that God is sufficient for our needs so we stockpile all this stuff – in the end, all this junk – because we no longer have faith that God can sustain us. So many of our practices – from the way we dispose of our trash to the way we get around from place to place each day – are lived in such a way that shows that we believe we are the only ones who matter.
Samson believes that life in the way of Christ not only requires but makes possible new perspectives and practices regarding consumption, waste, sufficiency, goodness, morality – all of it! The point, however, is that this new life – this way of God – is not possible for the individual. The final few chapters of Enough point to practices of community that enable us to both see and experience this way of life that sees God as the provider and sustainer of life, that moves us away from mindless and seemingly endless consumption and that helps us to recognize the need for sustainable practices that enable us to see that a new way of being human is possible when we live “eucharistically.”
To live “eucharistically” means to live into the story that is different (and better) thant he story of constant consumption. “Our communities should tell a story of Christ in the Eucharist, a story that there is no longer Jew nor Greek, homeless nor homeowner, addicted nor clean, broken nor whole. Rather we are all broken, blessed, and offered to a world in need” (97). Eucharistic living is a life of abundance, wholeness, true fulfillment and true sacrifice in which we are constantly offering ourselves to our friends and our enemies in order to draw others into the transforming presence of Christ. Practices that Samson mentions that help us engage and enter such a life are those of meal sharing, supporting local and alternative economies, reducing our reliance on motor vehicles and others that point prophetically to the new life available in Christ – a life which is often talked about but rarely tried. Enough is a wonderful and charitable book. I hope many Christians will read it and use Samsons suggestions to begin living into the life to which Christ calls us.
Grace & peace,
A.T.
May 18th, 2009
SPalm
I’ve been speaking to my friends and anyone else who would listen lately about the lack of exegetical living in the contemporary American church. By it I mean that my lifestyle, and the lifestyles of most of the people I know in the American church does not resemble that which we see in the New Testament. We are rich, white (though I am not), and overly concerned – some might say, “obsessed” – with politics, power and control (at least in my humble opinion). All that to say, Will Samson’s newest book, “Enough: Contentment in an Age of Excess” is part of a necessary corrective the church needs.
Following in the vein of Justice in the Burbs, Samson, offers forth an argument for people of faith to ask difficult questions regarding excess, the Other and how much “stuff” is “enough stuff.”
It should be said at the outset, as a reader of Justice in the Burbs and as one who is and has friends connected to Christian involvement in social justice and emerging churches, I strongly agreed with Samson’s assessment of American Christianity. I found his diagnosis predominately correct and his suggestions useful. Unfortunately, I suspected I would before the book arrived in the mail for review. Therefore, I attempted to read the text as someone who would be either neutral or suspicious of Samson’s views.
Enough establishes two dominant goals for itself. First, Samson wants to reveal to us how deeply consumed we are with “stuff.” Indeed, “consumed” is the operative word throughout Enough. Secondly, Samson offers to call us to an alternative consumption: A vision of God and God’s work in the world.
The Major Problem:
Enough is divided into two sections. The first six chapters lend themselves to theological concerns, while chapters 7-10 present issues and suggested actions and attitudes to alleviate or relieve the before mentioned issues. As Samson clearly states, if you have a strong theological background or formal theological education you can skip the first section of the book, and I suggest you do.
The major deficit within Enough is that it is simply not convincing – at least in terms of convincing those who need convincing. Reading as a neutral, someone in need of convincing, I continually thought that I didn’t understand what the problem was/is. Samson’s work simply does not lay out the argument in a ways wherein someone who did not care would be caused to care. It was not until chapter 7 that Samson states, “…we are consuming ourselves to death.”
As a pastor, I know many good people who are casualties of commerce, one-sided political listening, and American exceptionalism gone mad, that they simply see nothing wrong with our culture of excess. What’s more, when presented with an argument like Samson’s, they respond to it as “radical liberalism” or “radical social justice.” This issue of contentment and consumption is important enough that I wish the theological rationale was as weighty as the issue itself. Oftentimes, I felt Samson voiced a strong conclusion that his argument either could not or did not support.
Part of the unconvincing nature of the work is the overt, left-leaning political messages. Throughout Enough, Samson takes us on his own political journey from a political, social, and cultural conservative to someone who has rejected much of what he once held dear. I fear that many who would benefit from reading Enough, will be off-put by a tome that too often reads as a quasi-treatise on “How Christians Can Be Democrats.” This, ultimately, blunts Samson’s message. It becomes too easy to dismiss. Again, this is not necessarily a repudiation of Samson’s ideas, rather I offer a perspective on how more people may embrace contentment over consumption.
The Major Benefit:
However, there is far more positive than negative to say about Enough. It’s greatest strength is that Enough does not leave the reader in the abyss of ideas. Samson furnishes some real, reasonable, and workable solutions to finding contentment.
First, Samson highlights the importance of the Eucharist as a lens in which we view the Other and what it means to live at table with others. This image alone should reshape much of what happens in the American church. Using the Eucharist as way of life has endless implications. Samson could have massaged and developed that metaphor alone and Enough would be well worth the sticker price.
Second, throughout Enough, Samson drops thought-bombs that prompt the reader to set the book aside and think about the repercussions. Such lines include the following: “There is a big difference between being pro-life and pro-birth,” and “…without government spending, companies such as Amazon or Google would not exist.” Here Samson puts many of our assumptions under the microscope and reveals our forked-tongued lifestyles and rhetoric.
Third, Enough places lifestyle over think-style as the major conversion from carnality to Christianity. It have an inclination that many of the young people in my faith-community and the larger community where I live would be easily won to the vision of Christianity outlined by Samson. It is both compelling and, at times, inspiring in terms of the what the world would be like if more Christians were drawn into Samson’s portrait of the Kingdom of God.
Fourth, the concluding chapters of Enough are choc-full of realistic, helpful suggestions for moving away from consumption. This is truly what people need. In fact, if someone does not need convincing, the last six chapters will serve as a valuable “how-to” that should be kept near your day-planner in order to check in monthly and ensure you are moving toward goals of repair and sustainability.
Conclusion:
Book reviews should answer one question: Should I buy this book? In the case of Enough, the answer is an adament “maybe.” It’s just hard for me to suggest making a purchase when we’re discussing consumption. I am one of those people who have read and own enough books for any two or three people, and often I purchase books I can’t possible read in a timely fashion. Currently, I have 5 books on my “to-read” list. For me, reading and books are a problem of consumption. I consume ideas and the articles, books and blogs that contain them.
At the same time, I know that books are the best way to disseminate information, and the information Samson sketches needs to get out. So the decision is ultimately yours. I will say this though; the ideas argued in Enough are good and worthy of integration. Shop wisely….
May 19th, 2009
jimmy_best
The current economic upheaval has many people thinking or re-thinking issues of consumerism, sustainability, and simplicity. For some, the motivation is purely survival while for others, they are looking for a new way of life. A way of life that looks something like the “life to the full” Jesus promised in John 10:10.
For those who are interested in wading into these subjects there are many books available , such as the excellent book Affluenza, but for the most part there has not been very much written from the unique perspective of a Christ-follower. Until now. With the writing of Enough, Will Samson has provided a very helpful critique of consumerism and how we can live contented as a Christian spiritual discipline. More than anything this book seeks to help readers re-imagine a new way of life instead of laying out a heavy handed guilt trip, which is usually the preferred method for Christians to initiate change.
My favorite part of the book was the chapter introductions written by Samson where he takes a familiar passage and then he re-tells it in an upside down backwards manner to highlight and exaggerate the point Jesus was trying to teach on the topics of things like money and possessions. I also appreciated that Samson included in each chapter material to help interact and process the ideas in a more tangible way. Many of these suggestions dealt with ways to cultivate new practices or habits that have a subversive way of working their way deep inside your reality. For example Samson says that he always challenges people who are interested in fighting hunger to plant a garden. Planting a garden will put them in touch with the tangible realities of what is involved with putting food on the table and get them to think in ways more powerful than simply reading a book or attending a seminar.
Pick up a copy of the book and read it with an open heart and mind. The hurting world around us is eager to follow the lead of those who can have a full and satisfying life in spite of tumultuous economic forces.
May 22nd, 2009
nimblewill
Theologian and heretic; liberal and conservative, Will Samson, takes you on a sometimes familiar sometimes untraveled journey through the reality of Christianity as it could be and should be. About halfway through this book, I wrote in the back “am I ever going to get to a place where I’ve done enough” because it at times made me feel like a failure as a follower of Christ. At other time it did the opposite; it made me feel like I was traveling in the right direction. This book is this type of book. That is a good thing. Samson dares you to be comfortable in your Christianity. He challenges you to living community oriented with love and compassion as your goal. Sounds a lot like Jesus to me. If you want to be stretched read this book. If you are just fine with where you are leave it be.
May 22nd, 2009
taralamont
Enough to share: What is Enough?
Enough, by Will Samson is a book that asks questions for those who seek contentment in an Age of excess. With all the privilege and possession I have in my life and world, how is it that at times I still feel I’m missing something? It’s in reading his book that I find that I’m not the only one asking these kinds of questions.
“We were living the model American Christian life. We had nice kids, great jobs, fun cars and still found time and a bit of money for the church. Why wasn’t I happy?” (Samson, pg 23)
As a result of Samson’s honesty, I discovered a sense of freedom to ask my own questions concerning my search for contentment. In all the striving for possessions, what is being lost in the exchange? What is the human cost of consumption? To break it down further, how does unending consumption effect the heart, mind, body and soul of humanity?
It was refreshing to hear Sampson’s perspective in struggling to resolve the conflicts that over-consumption instigate. Many of his questions, echo my uneasy feeling when intangible needs are attempted to be met with tangible resources. How do we discern what is physically enough and if we feel we are to entangled by material things, how do we take steps to become untangled?
Enough, allows the reader to wrestle through their own questions of balancing consumption and contentment, and with Samson’s help – begins to reconnect the reader with opportunities for change in daily life.
” Christianity includes a implicit call to embody our faith, to be that which we believe…Imagine the transformation in our lives, our communities, our congregations, if we began to literally offer ourselves as ‘living sacrifices’ and did so graciously.” (Samson, pg 41-42)
In resetting the reality of over-consumption in perspective to the example of Jesus words and life, Samson helps to strip away the attitudes self-focused therapeutic faith or nationalistic entitlement that can muddy the focus of the gospel. It is only in moving beyond seeking our own well-being and a sense of entitlement because of the fortune of where we were born, that we can begin to sort out to live out a sacrificial life lived to benefit others. In looking to others needs, we can begin to better understand and live and understand Christ’s humility, that all his followers are called to live in. If our life’s work as Christians is to foster the restoration of earth as it is in heaven, then we should look at the challenge written in this paraphrase of Amos 5:18-27 as it is recounted in Samson’s book.
“Seek the welfare of your community. As people in exile, your future and the future of the place you live are one and the same. So make you world more whole, that you might be more holy.
And live in love. I had hoped you would get that message when my Son joined humanity and demonstrated sacrificial love in action. But you are so worried about his return that you forget why he came. Be a people shaped by the model of Jesus, not just the prospect of escaping the world I have asked you to help heal.”(Samson, 63)
Beyond Hot Buttons
In a time where hot button topics like debates on sexual orientation and abortion take the front seat in discussions and perspective in Christian life, I feel that people are spiritually stunted when all their discussions and perspective of faith are based on where they stand only in regard to these and other hot button topics. To develop greater roots of faith, Christians should, ” As disciples of Christ..(followers) should be rooted in the teachings of Christ” (Samson, 66); instead of remaining content to debate and argue the hot topic of the week. The roots of faith are ones that need to be developed by greater understanding of Christ’s life and how to follow his example and live it out in reality.
Samson challenges the reader to compare their own Christian experience to see Jesus’ example of reaching out to those who are marginalized or excluded and realign their lives to his example. ” The very uniqueness of Jesus is the refusal of exclusivity.” (Samson, pg 70)
In his short ministry, Jesus also spent a great deal of time restoring, healing, and creating. Wouldn’t it seem wise for those who follow Christ to be at work restoring, healing and and creating as well?
One of the most challenging statements Samson makes is his reporting that:
“Study after study shows that the average Christian in America is statistically indistinguishable fro someone from another faith, or of no faith. The culture seems to have an attitude of “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die,” and we join in the party. But is this the posture for a follower of Jesus?” (Samson, pg 84)
In a world where Jesus healed, restored and created; wouldn’t it seem logical that those who follow Jesus be involved in the same kind of activity?
How can we live?
My own questions and feeling of discontent with the status quo of my own consumption makes me desire to seek out a depth of living in my own life that I sometimes find missing. I have this need for roots that I can’t find from another shopping trip to the mall or another pair of shoes to almost fit under my bed. In addition to my own desire for roots, I desire to help my own children in their search for life’s center. I desire for them to also understand that contentment or happiness is something that can’t be purchased.
The book Enough, does not stop at the point of pointing out the weak spots or the tendency to fill our lives with more and more material things. Samson takes the time to suggest some practical ways of living a life of fullness in Christ while on the earth. He suggests that practices of expressing thanks, getting our hands dirty by growing a garden and eating with each other will help to slow us down and develop some greatly needed roots to center our otherwise frantic lives. He continues to discuss the reality of developing greater responsibility for the earth, the economy, our communities and begin to foster daily prayer practices that help to show ways of living lives of faith that breathe restoration, healing and creativity to the world around us.
What if instead of consuming our world, we were consumed by the passion of Christ in a way that we would become deep wells of life that could satisfy all of those around us that are thirsty? Imagine if we were the wells of refreshment, the seasoning of salt, the lantern of light that God calls us as followers of Christ to be. When I think of that world, I think that would be a place where there would be enough resources to share – for everyone. Imagine a world with no more thirst or hunger. That world sounds like Earth as it is in Heaven. That, most certainly, would be enough.
May 24th, 2009
wilddreamergrl
“Enough: Contentment in an Age of Excess” by Will Samson is an easy-read type book, all while presenting a lot of important ideas. Samson challenges American Christians to rethink their consumption of “stuff” (shorthand for “things that gunk up our lives, things that make our lives more complicated without making us more whole.” p.32) and the ways that we’ve gotten sucked into the typical debt-ridden, upwardly mobile life.
Obviously, this is a challenge that we middle-class Christians who feel like owning a house, two cars, and a dog is our birthright need to hear. But Samson doesn’t take it far enough. While he rightly challenges the overconsumption of stuff – buying too much, going into too much debt to finance our “lifestyle” – he doesn’t talk very much about the love of money. In my mind, the two are tied together. I know some Christians who have no debt and seem to live frugal lives, who feel they are being “good stewards”, yet they hoard their money in savings accounts and investments. It’s the same problem as the consumerism Samson talks about, just the other side of the coin. I think a lot of the wealthy Christians I know could read Samson’s book and think that they’re doing pretty good, because they don’t buy a lot of “stuff”. Whether we store up treasures on earth in terms of stuff, or in terms of a padded bank account, we’re missing out on the teaching of Jesus that instead we should be storing up our treasures in heaven.
Samson is also fairly simplistic in how he approaches political questions such as global warming (and energy consumption) and economic issues. He rightly states that God is not a capitalist, but his chapters on how to take care of the earth and national economy seem to come straight from an NPR broadcast. I don’t think it works to throw out the misguided notion that Christians must be Republicans only to start toeing the Democratic party line.
That said, there are a lot of positive things about this book. I really loved how he challenged the common perspective that Jesus is coming soon (tomorrow hopefully!), so we bear no responsiblity to take care of creation or live in a way that is sustainable. Why worry about sustainability if the world is going to end tomorrow?
Samson also does a great job of tying everything back to living in community and pouring out our lives (and our resources) for the good of others. Consumerism, like so many modern ills, really isolates the individual and makes the goal of life to have more stuff–a nicer house–nicer cars–etc, rather than living in relationship. Samson states, “I want to ask about the story we are telling when we consume as if there is no tomorrow. What is the message of the gospel if we don’t think we have enough? And what is the meaning of the Eucharist, this joyful celebration of giving that is to be a model for all of us in our communities, when we are neither grateful nor sacrificial to even those in our communities?” (p. 138.)
So I guess my feelings about this book are mixed. I think we American Christians need to be challenged to rethink our priorities as pertain to stuff and money. I think we need to throw out the idea of the “American Dream”. Is it really that important that we own a house? Nice cars? Should these things be our goal in life?
Samson makes a good point for answering “No.” He presents a way of following Christ that is relationship focused rather than stuff focused – I love that. However, his approach is too simplistic. Sometimes people have debt, not because of mindless consumption of stuff, but because their car broke down and they had no other option but to put the repairs on the credit card. Some people own an iPod, not because they think it’ll make them “cool”, but because they’re musicians and they love listening to music. To say that all people who are in debt or all people who own gadgets like iPods are consumeristic (as he seems to imply) is to oversimplify the problem and leave out the people I mentioned earlier, those who hoard money rather than stuff.
May 26th, 2009
Warren Wade
Will Samson’s “Enough,” ironically, left me longing for more.
There were a variety of different things happening in this book which, if each idea had been catalogued in a single book, could have been much more developed, poignant and persuasive; however, as Samson himself noted in a number of spots in the book, he is somewhat tangential which I feel muffled some of his more potent ideas. I know that he was trying to make this book palatable to his probable audience (those who are concerned with the effects of consumption who, stereotypically, reside on a specific arc of the political spectrum) but his subtle commentary with sarcastic references to political ideologies also kept me from fully engaging in the book and seemed to detract from the gravity of American and Christian consumption. And I think that the most difficult component of this is that he recognizes the significance of Christian consumption and, yet, neglected to really spell out the potentially cataclysmic effects.
So, that being said, here is my response to the book.
To begin, (again, as he notes) the structure of the book is “a bit more wonky” (27). This is me being nit-picky but had he structured his book the way he detailed it on the previous page (26) it would have presented a much more cogent argument with a more fluid transition from idea to idea.
There could have been much more time spent on chapter 2. At the core, the issue of Christian consumption is derived from a misinterpretation or misunderstanding of certain biblical narratives, it has become exacerbated by the American civil religion which has wed American ideologies (in all of its facets: war, good and evil, consumption, morality, etc.) with Christianity. Rightly stated, he notes that it often leads American Christians to “see what God is doing in the world and what America is doing in the world as the same thing” (44). While this is disturbing and depressing that American Christians sometimes feel that way, the most important effect of this is that “the actions of our churches interpret for the world the message of the gospel” (37). This is enormous and, in my view, should have been the primary message of the book and should serve as the primary impetus for American Christians when they consume.
One message that the American Church (and, of course, I don’t mean all. I’m speaking in generalizations) is sending out to the world is that, “yes, we are aware that there is hunger, disease, strife, and death, all of which is in our financial purvey to alleviate; however, our homes and cars, our churches and stuff, come first. Charity is a secondary byproduct of our conversion/conviction. Not first.” Recent studies has noted that the American Church (both Protestants and Catholics) make over $3 trillion dollars a year. With global organizations noting that it would take mere tens of billions of dollars to eradicate extreme hunger, poverty, and preventable diseases, what message is the world hearing is the “message of the gospel?”
Samson makes references to some of these ideas but, as stated earlier, doesn’t spend enough time and doesn’t include enough statistics to make the issue powerful.
I appreciate his discussion of prophetic voices and visions and the reactions of the American church in Chapters 3 and 5. People both in and outside of the church are voicing their concerns about our consumption and we don’t appear to be listening. When eschatology is brought into the conversation, Samson, again, does an ok job of tying the two together but not “enough.” As the “prophecies” of modern apocalyptic visionaries converge with political ideologies regarding consumption, the voraciousness of Christian appetites becomes seemingly insatiable. The ideas of “America’s robustness is a result of faithfulness to God” and “the world will end soon” lead to words like Ann Coulter: “‘Earth is yours. Take it. Rape it. It’s yours. That’s our job: drilling, mining and stripping. Sweaters are the anti-Biblical view. Big gas-guzzling cars with phones and CD players and wet bars — that’s the Biblical view” (Ann Coulter, “If Democrats had brains, they’d be Republicans”).
I really felt like the latter half of the book, starting with Chapter 6, had a good deal of great ideas that were spelled out well (but still left me wishing for more). The correlation to the mind-body-spirit crises was great. In a world that is hungry and sick, it is not only irresponsible of Christians to consume the way that we do, it is indicative of a mental dichotomy between a God who is sufficient, who calls us to consume well (not a lot but responsibly and good), who calls us to care for and nurture both the world and the people in it and a religion that appears to selectively ignore those passages of the Bible. Christian consumption on a physical and spiritual level is far more of an issue and a reflection of a cancerous ideology than some of the other seemingly insignificant issue of homosexuality, for example. There are 12 passages that make some sort of reference to homosexuality in the Bible each of which, when contextualized, could yield very different ideas than the interpretation people outside of the church assume we all think. Yet there are thousands of verses about caring the poor and I believe the life of Jesus reflects that as well.
So, in this review, I’m not trying to berate Samson’s work. I enjoyed it. I really did. I do recommend this book. Read it. It’s relatable. It’s palatable. He does a fine job getting the conversation started. Start with him and then move towards books like “The Ethics of Consumption” or “Hot, Flat and Crowded” and read them as a concerned Christian.
I would give this book a three and a half. I just felt like I wanted more. Christian consumption (especially those of American Christians) affects our spiritual disposition, the global environment and the souls that God yearns to heal and draw close. If we as a church don’t recognize the gravity of the issue and realign our priorities to be like that of Christ, we will continue to tell the world that our God is not enough.
May 30th, 2009
mrhackman
I chose to read this book because I wanted to read something about curbing consumerism from a Christian perspective. Saying “Enough!” is something most of the Church has been silent on- or has proclaimed the exact opposite. Many of the church circles I traveled in growing up were very encouraging of the accumulation of stuff… it was a sign of God’s favor.
I highly believe that, because Christianism has been largely silent on consumerism, God has had to seek out agnostics like Rev. Billy to get a message of contentment out to the world. So, I am glad to see that the Claibornes, Wallises, Sojourners,… and the Will Samsons, are getting a voice in the Christian subculture. Christianity needs to have a counter culture, not a parallel one.
Samson proceeds early on from a personal foundational statement:
I had two Volvos, three kids, and a five-thousand square foot house. Everything was coming up sevens. But, like a consistent majority of Americans, I did not feel content with the dream.
I related to this because 5 years ago, I made twice the money and had twice the house that I do now. However, now I am content, and then I was not. Contentment does not come with possessions. I had to downsize to learn that.
He observes that:
Most, I would guess, had more material wealth than their grandparents could have imagined possible. Yet for the majority it was not enough. It seemed they would never be satisfied.
He goes on to say:
Something deep within us, from time immemorial, causes us to want what we do not have.
He makes the case throughout the book that it is our consumerism and bottomless desire for commodities that undercuts our ability to develop community. Neighborhoods never truly form when people are working endlessly to acquire more so they can move to a bigger house somewhere else. And while we grasp to get more and find our selves increasingly empty, the church, for the most part, has offered no alternative.
Here are some other quotes from the book that caught my attention:
When we use energy without thought of consequence it seems that we are making one of two theological statements. Either we believe that the resources of creation are given to us without concern for their stewardship, or we believe that God is unconcerned with how we use the resources we have been given. Neither of those views seems consistent with what we can learn about God from Scripture or the tradition of the church.
I wonder if those who benefited financially from predicting the soon destruction of the world, and then used that money to build things in that world, might cause some to question their message.
Study after study shows that the average Christian in America is statistically indistinguishable from someone of another faith, or of no faith. The culture seem to have an attitude of “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die,” and we join in the party. But is this the correct posture for a follower of Jesus?
Too many of us who were raised as “Bible-believing Christians” have often approached scripture to affirm the things we wish to be against and to provide permission for the things we wish to do… Christians are just as likely to carry higher loads of debt, buy bigger homes than they need, and load those homes up with all manner of useless stuff.
Samson weaves the Eucharist and its metaphor throughout the book. If the book has one Achilles Heel, this is it. Not that I do not consider it important, but if your tradition did not teach this well or you do not connect here, you miss a fair amount of his emphasis.
For myself, I grew up in a church where 200 people drank out of a common communion cup. It took me years after leaving to overcome a subtle nausea every time I took communion.
mrhackman.blogspot.com
May 31st, 2009
pastorjeff
So I finished reading Enough: Contentment in an Age of Excess by Will Samson. I have read Will’s blog for some time (although he hasn’t posted in a while), and have always found his writing to be insightful, incisive, and practical. Enough was even better. Will takes on our culture’s obsession with stuff, pulling back the blinders that we usually use to hide it, and not only points out the dangerous implications of living this way, but also uses Eucharist as a model for a different type of life. His points are well researched, his suggestions are clear and very practical. His own words will give you a clear inclination of what it is he is attempting with the book.
Is there enough for everyone? This is an important economic question, and in our discussion here I am certainly going to try to address the question from an economic perspective. But it is not just an economic question, is it? In fact, the question of whether there are sufficient resources in this world may be one of the most important theological questions of our time. How we answer it reveals much regarding our belief about the character of God: who we think God is, how we think God provides for the creation, and what role humans play in that work—this all relates directly to our understanding of God.
In this book I hope to narrate two distinct visions. The first is a vision of people and communities whose lives are out of whack and who are consumed by stuff. Our view of God and our understanding of the way we participate in God’s work in the world have become distorted, and we have transformed ourselves into unthinking consumers of products, ideas, and cultural narratives about what will bring us happiness.
The second is a view of people and communities who are guided, and even made more whole, by a vision of God and God’s work in the world by which they are consumed. Our decisions regarding what resources and how many of those resources we use are not rooted in oversimplified categories of “more or less,” but instead are nourished by a story of a God who is sufficient, active in the world, and forming a community of co-laborers to manage the created order.
This book is so worth the read. Will challenges assumptions that we aren’t even aware that we have. And he presents a way forward that is faithful to what God envisions in the renewal of all His creation. There’s a lot of stuff that we don’t need, but this book is something that we do.
Want to read more for yourself? Go here.
Jun 8th, 2009
williamguice
Will Samson hooked me early in this new book. He paints an image of the communion table where one person eats all of the elements. One person devours all of the bread and the wine and none is left for anyone else. The Eucharist, the beautiful good gift of God that was given to show us how to live is hoarded and misused.
“Surely Jesus didn’t die so some people could grab it all , while others are left out.”
“There was supposed to be enough. Wasn’t there?”
With that the book enters in to a very well paced and sourced discussion of how we as modern Christians need to deal with our poor stewardship of all that God has entrusted us with. Enough goes beyond a simple argument of how we manage tangible resources and digs deep into how well we steward who we are and how we steward our relationships (personally and communally).
One of the elements I love about this book is the pacing. The chapters move well and are just the right blend of insight from Samson who clearly has something to add to the Christian conversation about how much is enough. Samson also really uses sources well and the quotes and statistics really seem to land at the right spots. I have burned out a couple of highlighters on this book and the quotes he uses from other writers and thinkers especially seem to land Samson’s arguments and even take them further.
One section of the book that is really dear to me is where Samson moves the discussion towards our poor view of what it means to be a follower of Christianity and not Christ. He lands the idea of civil religion well and speaks to how we have been sold on the idea that the world will burn and how we steward it really doesn’t matter. We often more than we know are part of system that acts this way, even if this not what we believe at our core. I think he really lands well the idea that if you were watching us behave from 10,000 feet you would see consumers first and Christians second or maybe even third.
The final section of the book really ends well with a very thoughtful discussion that has some great suggestions mixed in. The suggestions for moving beyond being consumers are really simple easy ideas that could radically change believers, if they were embraced. I felt like I could go out and implement most all of them this week. It wouldn’t be easy, but it is possible. I could see how just a few simple steps could really change my family and effect those who live around me.
I really appreciated this book and will for sure be adding it to my “need to read” list for our community. As I read and read the Eucharist story from early on never left my head. It was the perfect backdrop for this book and is an amazing image of how we appear to live. This book with that image and much much more could be a great way for Christians to begin the discussion on modeling better stewardship to a culture that desperately needs to see it.
Jun 17th, 2009
Chad Estes
When I picked up Will Samson’s book I figured I had found an angry author who had an axe to grind against society and the church. Anyone who titled his book, “Enough!” sounded like he was more than a bit fed up with the current state of things. But as Samson, a sociology professor living in Kentucky, started discussing life in this age of consumption I didn’t notice much of an edge to his tone.
In the introduction Samson gives a road map for his book. The first six chapters detail various descriptions, stats and stories regarding the cost of overconsumption. He humbly suggests that if a reader is familiar with current issues that they could skip ahead to the next section. I’d suggest otherwise. These chapters are an easy read and provide a good context for the suggestions that follow.
In the next chapters Samson does what other Christian authors have written lately. He hints at appropriate responses to our problem of American greed. There are ways to be more frugal, to live simpler, and to consume more responsibly. But the difference with this book and others in this genre is that Samson’s answers are not just based on scripture proof-texts toward a new, Christian, environmental movement; instead he shares a story “of a God who is sufficient, active in the world, and forming a community of co-laborers to manage the created order.” It is how Samson describes living out this vision in his own life that really caught my attention. There is a recognizable difference between gathering together with people who are like-minded, and gathering together with those who have like hearts. One is a work force, the other is a family.
Samson ends his story with descriptions of sufficiency and community. It is here that I realize there is no angry exclamation point in the title of his book. “Enough” is not a declaration of judgment; instead it is a calm realization that what we have in Christ, and what we could have with each other, truly is sufficient.
“Enough” will leave you challenged that you have plenty of things, but also leave you aching for more of the expression of community that many of us don’t have enough of yet.
Jun 24th, 2009
divinelymotivated
The moment I picked up this book, I knew that is was going to be good. When Shane Claiborne endorses a book, I get giddy when just reading the Preface of the book!
The book was well-laid out, and was very well written. I love how the book continuously challenges not only the way you things, but the reason BEHIND the way you do things.
He challenges Christians in a place where many refuse to go or question. He challenges Christians so say, “ENOUGH!”, and start taking a look at everything that they have.
He hints throughout the whole book, how greedy America has become, and the results that it has had on the nation and it’s people as whole.
At the end of the book, you will leave challenged, and constantly thinking… “ENOUGH!” This book is not critical, but rather is finally calling out the white elephant in the room that people would rather ignore, than correct. I’ve already recommended it to at least a dozen people and will continue to do so. What an awesome book!
Jul 7th, 2009
backyardmissionary
There are few books that are able to blend depth of thought and substance of content and yet still be readable and accessible. ‘Enough
*
’ by Will Samson scores highly on all counts and even looks like passing the ‘Danelle test’. (Any book Danelle reads is worth noting as it means it is one I can pass on to others who get less of a kick out of reading than I do). At just 160 pages it is definitely short enough to read yet potent enough to really ignite some great conversations and ultimately – hopefully – new ways of living the gospel in this time.
I must admit that from afar another book on the challenges of our consumeristic western culture left me a little uninspired. I have read plenty on this subject both secular and Christian, and challenging the self indulgent way of life has been a key pillar of our Upstream values. So I began a little weary of the topic, and while some of Will’s critique / analysis of the situation is familiar, some of his biblical reflections and practical thoughts as to ways forward were refreshing and energizing.
Some aspects that stood out to me were:
Each chapter begins with a clever rendering of the Rich Young Ruler story and Will shines some light on the things we tend to think are important – even if we say we don’t… sneaky…
Will reflects on his own conservative upbringing regularly and the reductionistic gospel that was so much a a part of that. (Ie Jesus died for your sins so that you can go to heaven) and he does a good job of elucidating a much broader view of God’s work in the world – without negating the cross (for those who are about to label him (or me) a liberal…)
He argues for a morality that goes well beyond being pro-life and anti-gay and looks at the morality involved in issues of justice and poverty. He argues that Jesus is pro-life in that John 10:10 says he came to give us life to the full.
In essence he advocates what he calls a Eucharistic community – and thankfully he explained what he meant by that – because I didn’t grow up with that term either and was puzzled when I first heard it. Essentially its about living grateful, sacrificial lives in community and for the good of the world rather than simply being concerned with ourselves. Very countercultural.
He mentions a couple of times Newbiggin’s notion of the church as the hermeneutic of the Gospel – ie – people can make sense of the gospel by engaging with the church community and suggests that if we take the bigger picture of God’s kingdom seriously then chances are we may offer a more authentic way of being church and therefore expressing the gospel.
As I read I couldn’t help but hear the voices of my friends Geoff & Sherry Maddock
* download green eyed monster dvdrip
in the pages, as Will echoed many of the thoughts I heard these guys share during their time in Oz. That’s got to be a good thing as it shows the strength of shared values and understanding in the ‘Communality’ community. We were inspired by the story of Communality and this book reminded me of the power of a small committed group of people to influence a local community.
On pg 61 there is a great ‘prophecy’ adapted from Amos 5:18-27 that is entitled a message to the American church. It goes a fair bit beyond the text in its paraphrasing, but it is both a critique and a vision for who we are to be as the church. On the money too.
The final section of the book is very practical and offers a valuable list of practical ways we can live differently and actually combat our own selfishness. Some will find his suggestions a little too simple – eg plant a garden, practice the daily office, but if they are seen as simplistic then the point has been missed. The actual practice of many of these things will re-shape us into the people we wish to be.
———————-
So if you’re looking for a challenging and yet easy to read book that doesn’t leave you riddled with guilt then its well worth checking out ‘Enough’.
Recently (in the last 10 years) we have spoken a lot of what it means to be a missional community but personally this was a reminder that as the church we are to be a prophetic community of people who speak to both the broader society about how God intends for us to live as well as speaking to the church itself and challenging the internal inconsistencies.
When we lose our prophetic voice our ‘missional’ business gets pretty dry.
None of this is easy, but the net result of ‘business as usual’ is not something I would like to contemplate either.
Read it. It’s good.
Aug 20th, 2009
Julie Clawson
I recently read Will Samson’s latest book Enough: Contentment in an Age of Excess. When I first started the book, I half-expected it to be a diatribe against modern culture, focusing on the sins of our excess. While the book does mention those excesses, what I found instead was a call to live into true church community. Will encourages us to say “enough” to the consumeristic tendencies that have overtaken our personal lives, our churches, or friendships, and our theology and return to a Christ-centered practice instead.
The book is divided into two main sections. The first is an accessible exploration of the ways we have let consumeristic mindsets control who we are. And the second is a practical section that explores the areas of our lives in which we can say “enough” and provides broad suggestions for alternative ways of living. Both sections are easy to read, full of stories and examples, and do a good job of explaining ideas and trends in culture. While I personally found myself wishing for more substance in parts of the book, I found it as a whole to be a great introduction to the idea of exploring how our lives reflect what we believe.
The main call in the book is for us to live eucharistic lives. Living eucharistically “is to find ourselves in a community of others seeking the same, seeking to follow God in the way of Jesus.”. But instead of living radically in that way, Will argues that we make do on low-cost, low-commitment substitutes. We exchange Christian community for the easy “personal decision for Christ.” We exchange the command of stewardship for a “eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die get raptured” theology. We have failed to realize that what we do, where we live, and what we buy reflects our theology. Will reminds us though that our lives are a gospel account “written in public for all to see” and calls us to question what sort of story we are telling. He encourages us to abandon the story of how our inner longings push us to consume more and more, and adopt a story of finding a place in the presence of God and the community of believers.
I’d recommend Enough to those who are wondering if there is a different way to follow Jesus that just doesn’t rubberstamp the culture. This is a book for those who want to live redemptively but who have no idea where to begin. Will does a good job in providing a biblical guideline for how we can start to rethink our interactions with others and with the world and live in a way that makes the term “Christ-follower” mean something tangible.
Sep 2nd, 2009
tghali
I started reading Enough while vacationing in Aruba. Shut up, it was our first vacation in years
Of course, I knew the irony before I began reading it but fortunately, Shane Claiborne wrote in the foreword that this book is not a guilt trip. Then I lost it for a few months and found it under the passenger seat in my Jaguar (ok, I drive a Mazda but lies sound better) and finally finished it while I was in the Bahamas. (Shut up, I was on a mission trip rebuilding an AIDS Camp)
Most who read books like Tom Sine’s New Conspirators and quote Wendell Berry the way wanna-be mega church pastors quote Bill Hybels will know a great deal of the content. However for those conservative evangelicals (like me) and find themselves frustrated in a post-Jabez world (or were raised in these homes/churches quoting Paul and the Fox News Channel), this book is helpful.
The introduction to the chapters are great like:
“One day Jesus was walking down Main Street on his way of town, and a rich and influential young lawyer came up to him and asked him; “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Give what you can to the synagogue. Ten percent is a good rule of thumb, but whatever you don, don’t be a legalist about it. And make sure you have enough left over to contribute to the economy. You know ‘Give to Caesar ….’” And the man went away very happy, because that was exactly what he was already doing (p.29).”
Will gives some excellent statistics regarding consumption like – “In 2003 nearly 50 percent of American household expenditures were for non-necessity” items. Compare this to the 21 percent of non-necessity spending in 1901 and 35 percent in 1960. In 2004 American consumers spent $2.2 trillion on entertainment and $782 billion of that on televisions, radios, and sound equipment (p.33).” Throughout the book he gives some practical suggestions like the encouragement to bike more, to plant a garden (not just to grow food but to experience the process of planting food), to spend money locally, etc.
As I was reading, I could not help but compare this to Shane Claiborne’s Irresistible Revolution. Shane’s work is extremely inspiring, like a Braveheart-esque speech. The problem for some is that it’s so radical that they would find themselves picking up a sword and learning Scottish so they could fight the Brits again then moving to co-op in Kensington. While the Samsons also live in a similar intentional community, their story is more accessible and, I think, more “user-friendly” to most suburbanites. Married couples with children helps temper the comment, “Well Shane’s young, single, and makes his own clothes so it’s more realistic for him …” (And for the record, Shane feels called to his way of life, I’ve never heard him say, “True Christians live like me …”
I like the option of handing out either book now. It’s yet another topic that small groups would find very valuable because it is a fantastic introduction to the idea of excess, consumption and the Christian’s call to living lives of faithfulness and stewardship. Will argues that living out the truth of the Eucharist, the sharing of the presence of Christ, is the key to overcoming our materialist lusts, our over-consumption and our general self-absorption.
Sep 4th, 2009
Chilly
Enough…
Hmmm. Well, picking up this book was simple. The cover was eye-catching, Shane Clairborne endorsed it, didn’t seem to thick – so yeah, why not?
The next thing I know, I’m at the back of the book. Yep, I read it in one sitting. It intrigued me, challenged me and provoked me.
Did I agree with it all – nope… in fact, NO WAY. But, I don’t have to say, “Amen” every page in order to get something good from it.
I liked the author’s approach and, by looking through his lenses, I was able to see some stuff that I was missing. That’s a good thing.
His criticism of christianity and some of our legendary heroes of the faith was lame. I could see his point but certainly did not share it. It was naive. Yet, the challenge to be unselfish, more practical and frugal is needed (and well done).
I liked the book – I didn’t love it. It’s a good read and I’m better for thinking through some of the observations and challenges. We DO overspend & treat the world’s resources like they unlimited and our’s for the taking. Yikes!
Other reviews of the book are far more cerebral and theological. I guess I’m not that smart. And, maybe I see this book written for application not debate. There’s a lot of stuff I can apply. Not all of it but plenty… like eating hot wings, you grab it and then carefully separate the meat from the bones – eat the meat, toss the bones. And be glad you had a great meal!
… there, that’s ENOUGH.
Sep 6th, 2009
for “Enough by Will Samson”
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