A Scandalous Freedom

Scandalous Freedom

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

I have been listening to Steve Brown‘s Scandalous Freedom podcasts over the past couple weeks.

For those not familiar with Steve, let me issue a warning: Don’t listen to him if you take yourself too seriously or think Christianity is about putting a stamp of approval on your goodness.  I guarantee that if you think that way Steve will offend you, so just save yourself some time and aggravation.

For those who think they can handle him, these messages coincide with Steve’s book of the same title, Scandalous Freedom.  In both the book and podcasts Steve challenges the idols and ideas that rob us of joy and enslave us.  He reminds us, in his masterfully colorful way, how the genuine gospel sets us free.

Here are link to the archived series, which can be listened to online or downloaded.

  1. Free Means Free
  2. Free…Really Free
  3. Freedom’s Power
  4. Some Gods Need Killin’
  5. Struggling with Truth
  6. The Real Deal
  7. The Perfection We Desire
  8. Give Up
  9. Be Still and Be Loved
  10. “The Church is a whore…
  11. The Good News of Cheap Grace
  12. The Masks We Wear
  13. The Power to Stop Pretending
  14. Masks and Gurus
  15. The Punishing Plagues of Putting People on Pedestals
  16. Guilt and Isolation
  17. The Enemies We Demonize
  18. Three Startling Statements
  19. The Humanity that Sets Us Free
  20. The Boldness We Fear
  21. The Way to Boldness
  22. Bring the Pain
  23. Kiss that Demon on the Lips
  24. The Failure We Foster
  25. The Law and Success
  26. The Path We Avoid
  27. Holding the Land
  28. The Fellowship of the Free

Scandalous Freedom

/ Dennis Griffith / 3 Comments

 

In his book A Scandalous Freedom, Steve Brown provocatively writes:

They lied to you about being a Christian. When you first “joined the club,” they promised you’d be set free. But let’s get honest, you’re not free. In fact, you’re religious, afraid, guilty, and bound. What’s worse, now that you’ve been in the club awhile, you’re stuck pretending you’re better than you are. And worse than that, you prefer the security and rules of your self-imposed boundaries. It’s time for a change. You need Scandalous Freedom.

There is no question in my mind that Steve Brown is correct.

So many Christians are imprisioned by their own consciences.  What I think is startling about this is that most don’t even seem to be aware of their spiritual and emotional bondage.  In fact, since most people they know are in the same condition, they assume this is the norm, and that THIS is the freedom for which Christ came to set us free!  And even more perplexing is that, when faced with the radical nature of the gospel, many seem to prefer this state of existence to the freedom offered and secured by the gospel!

I see it all the time. I do it all the time.

But Steve Brown winsomely, humorously, and profoundly, calls it like it is.  And he offers us a path to freedom. It is not a path Steve has blazed. He is one, of many, who has simply labored to uncover the path for us that Jesus laid out. Sadly much of what Jesus paved seems to have been covered over by the garbage of religious tradition and fundamentalism.

Listen Steve Brown’s related podcast series: Scandalous Freedom.