Unfettered: Imagining a Childlike Faith beyond the Baggage of Western Culture (Mandy Smith) -- A Review

 UNFETTERED: Imagining a Childlike Faith beyond the Baggage of Western Culture. By Mandy Smith. Foreword by Walter Brueggemann. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2021. Xii + 212 pages.

                Jesus said that if we wish to enter the kingdom of God, we must become children. That is, we should become child-like but not childish.  What might this look like? What makes faith childlike without becoming childish? What about the need to become adults in our faith? That is, grow into maturity as a follower of Jesus? Can we be adult-like without being adultish? The idea of being “adultish” is a new concept for me, but as we learn in Mandy Smith’s book Unfettered it has to do with becoming overly responsible and obsesses with making sure everything is perfect. So how do we grow into spiritual maturity without becoming “adultish” and letting go of that childlike faith that Jesus spoke of?

                Unfettered is the work of Mandy Smith, an Australian pastor and writer, who recently returned to Australia after living for some time in the United States where she has served as a pastor. Her orientation/audience is evangelical and missional. While the primary audience is evangelical, Walter Brueggemann writes in the forward that reading it as a “liberal Christian” he found that it spoke to his circle of faith (a circle that I spend most of my time in as well). Regarding its message to his and my circle that it speaks to liberals who “are filled with their own certitude and bottomless convictions about what is to be done. Indeed, liberal Christians readily assume that we are the real adults in the room. In a rejection of such certitude among evangelical and progressive Christians, Smith invites us all to rest in the Spirit.” (p. x). So, no matter where you fall in the Protestant spectrum, Smith is speaking words that open new vistas.  

                Smith uses the image of geese flying in v formation as the key to her vision of the Christian life. She notes looking up and watching as the geese form a v and stay in formation even as different geese take the lead. All seem to fly in close formation, drawing on each other so as to rest when necessary. With the image of geese flying in formation as one of her foundations, she also uses the imagery of childlike faith. In her introduction she notes that the reason Jesus chose children as a model of faith is that 1) "Children identify and engage as whole (thinking, feeling, sensing, embodied, relational) selves. 2) Children know how to engage without taking on full responsibility." (p. 3). So with these images in mind, Smith focuses her attention on three key terms/concepts: rest, receive, and respond.

                While the concepts of rest, receive, and respond guide the conversation, Smith uses storytelling as the vehicle to carry the message.  She also invites the readers to engage in "Field Work" along the way. The "Field Work" items are found in gray boxes throughout the book. They are essentially invitations to reflect on the message she has been sharing in the book. The book itself is divided into eight chapters. The first two speak of rest (chapter 1) and what gets in the way of rest (chapter 2). While childlikeness is key to rest adultishness, the fear of being powerless gets in the way of rest. That is a fear of letting go of control. From the conversations about rest and its obstacles, we move to a conversation about receiving and what doesn't get in the way of receiving. Here she invites us to envision the Christian faith in a way that lets go of the baggage of Western Culture. To receive is to be receptive to the lead of God. Finally, we come to the conversation about responding and what gets in the way of our responses to God's lead. Here she speaks of obedience to God, something that many in the West struggle with-- especially in terms of our adultishness. While she had spoken earlier about the fear of being powerless (adultish) here she compares the adult willingness to be powerful versus the childishness of being afraid to be powerful.

                Having spent six chapters speaking to the themes of rest, receipt, and response, in chapter 7 Smith lays out her "Theology of Childlikeness." What she does here invites the reader, who likely is evangelical, to let go of the old model of salvation in which Jesus' cross is the bridge to salvation. In this chapter, she notes that while Western culture focuses on guilt, which is why atonement theology was developed as a way to assuage guilt, Eastern cultures focus on shame. Traditional visions of atonement don't work in a shame culture. While guilt focuses on behavior, shame focuses on the person, on whether the person is bad. While guilt is individualistic, shame is communal. She invites us to consider this difference as a starting point for developing a childlike faith. After all, children don't worry about guilt/behavior, they worry about shame/being bad. She brings into the conversation family metaphors, with God taking on a parental role (both mother and father). Why is this important for Western Christians? Studies show, she suggests, that Western culture is becoming increasingly shame-based, especially among millennials. So, if you want to reach them, the old model isn't going to work.

                The final chapter, which is titled, appropriately, “Rest, Receives, Respond,” summarizes the conversation. The good news of her book is this: "The Gospel is no longer just rehearsing a first-century story of Jesus's life, death, and resurrection or looking ahead to a future heaven with him—although those are part of our story. Now it is good news because it allows us to live with God right now, in these bodies, being like our brother Jesus because we're humans indwelt by the Spirit of the living God" (p. 190). To live an unfettered life is to live in the Spirit who enables us to embrace this vision of faith. That is, we do not walk the path alone but do so in the presence of the Spirit.

                In UnfetteredSmith offers an attractive and inviting vision of the Christian faith that speaks to the true rhythms of life. For Western Christians, whether conservative or liberal, who too often need to control everything, Smith calls us to slow down and live in the flow of the Spirit. As she does so, she acknowledges the realities of life, including the existence of pain and suffering. Nevertheless, she affirms the promise that God is present in all things. The book seems timely as we seek to enter a new post-COVID era (whenever that does transpire). What does it mean to live in the Spirit in moments like this? Perhaps this book will give some guidance as we seek direction. As a pastor and storyteller Smith knows how to bring the message to life, which is why it should prove inviting to readers. 

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