three "a" day: an announcement

so, time for the final "a" of the day. sorry for the alliteration. despite some of my best efforts i remain a southern baptist. who ya' rootin' for? s b c! i digress, though.
a few weeks ago, at a friend's request, i read a book. that alone is not terribly extraordinary. this particular book, though, is one i would have never known about or more than likely even picked up otherwise. not only did i not know anything about this volume, but i also knew nothing about the "movement" within evangelicalism from which this writing had emerged. as an aside, i must add that this ignorance on my part, for which at times i am thankful, is one of the benefits of life outside an evangelical institution. but, as requested, i gave this book a read and, relative to my limited ability, an analysis. after i read it, i began to grow more aware of the babel that more than a few evangelicals are making over it. as one might guess, some significant southern baptists are lending their voices to the cacophony of criticism, much of which seems well-deserved.
now, perhaps because of my foray into a different discipline, i tended overall to find the book a useful read. yes, the author subscribes to a philosophical system quite different than, even anthithetical to, my own. yes, this system often plagues his conclusions, making it impossible for him to say anything substantive even if he wanted to (which he genuinely seems reticent to do). yes, these conclusions, such as they were, frustrated, discouraged, and frightened me. but. the possibilities these same incomplete conclusions offered also bolstered, encouraged, and excited me. furthermore, i was convicted about the state of both the evangelical church, especially the segment with which i am most familiar, and my own belief. there is something refreshing, dare i say glorious, about a faith that is most concerned, first, with loving god above all else, and, second, with loving one's fellow human beings. that, it seems, is a biblical faith.
so, after some reflection and because it affords the prospect of still more relection, i have decided that beginning in the next week or so, i aim to interact even more with the strained findings of this book. to be honest, i am tentative about doing so. i am also excited about trying to do so. both my reluctance and my enthusiasm stem, at least in part, from knowing some of you who actually visit this site from time to time. my reluctance--many of you are clearly more suited for such a task than i am. my enthusiasm--many of you will sharpen my thoughts with your comments, given as the circle demands via email, the phone, or other forms of conversation. my hope--simple: that my friends and i, who share a genuine passion for the state of both evangelicalism (not simply our own little slice of it) and our own belief, will emerge from our conversations and reflections more like christ. i hope, that is, that we come away with something, because, as theologian hans frei claimed, "Generosity without orthodoxy is nothing, but orthodoxy without generosity is worse than nothing." give me something.