Trans4m: Pastor Oprah

March 2008

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Last Thursday's USA Today carried an intriguing story about the power of being Oprah Winfrey and how many Americans (particularly women) see Oprah as a spiritual leader who is changing the world. Here is what actor/entertainer Jammie Foxx said as a guest on her show ...

Last fall, at the start of this 20th season of The Oprah Winfrey Show, guest Jamie Foxx said much the same thing, but he wasn't joking. "What you have is something nobody can describe," Foxx said to Winfrey on the air. Then he explained about how he told Vibe magazine: "You're going to get to heaven and everyone's waiting on God and it's going to be Oprah Winfrey."

He told her she has "different gears" than most people. "You're on the top of the world, and we really do watch and listen for everything you do and say to kind of get our lives together. It's the truth."

In a November poll conducted at Beliefnet.com, a site that looks at how religions and spirituality intersect with popular culture, 33% of 6,600 respondents said Winfrey has had "a more profound impact" on their spiritual lives than their clergypersons.

Cathleen Falsani, religion writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, recently suggested, "I wonder, has Oprah become America's pastor?"

What do you think? Is Oprah America's new spiritual leader? Does the fact that 33% of 6,600 respondents say the Oprah has had a more profound impact on their lives than their clergy person say more about Oprah or about today's clergy person? Something to think about ...

Reading for Revolutionaries

Shane Claiborne: The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical
This book will rock your world! I believe this is a must read for anyone serious about being a genuine Christ-follower. Read it and weep ... Read it and rejoice. (*****)
John Wood: Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children
This is at turns and incredibly inspirational and convicting book. John Wood left a cushy job and promising future at Microsoft in order to devote his life to building libraries and schools in the villages of Nepal and other third world countries with low literacy rates. I wonder if this is what Jesus meant when he spoke to the rich young ruler? (****)
F. LeRon Shults and Steven J. Sandage: Transforming Spirituality: Integrating Theology And Psychology
Shults and Sandage bring a fresh approach to this work on spiritual/personal/theological formation and its integration. As in their previous collaboration, "The Faces of Forgiveness," this book is a paradigm-breaking, creative, and invigorating contribution to the field of spiritual formation - though it deals as directly with subjects such as theology, psychology, anthropology, philosophy, and sociology, weaving them all into a rich, integrated whole. Just a taste of what awaits in Transforming Spirituality ... "However, the reformative Pneumatology we have been outlining can help us understand that our way of being-present to others in space and time is our spirituality." (*****)
Kathryn Tanner: Economy Of Grace
Theologian Kathryn Tanner explores alternative economies that are based on grace rather than greed and money. She provides a challenging and cogent argument for rethinking the foundations of current forms of advanced capitalism. Though I do not agree with all of her final conclusions, I agree with her primary premise that current systems are in need of change and rethinking our theology of economics is where we need to begin.
Larry L. King: In Search of Willie Morris: The Mercurial Life of a Legendary Writer and Editor
A powerful and sad tale about the troubled life of a near literary genius and how his dark side caused him to squander his talent and strengths. A sobering reminder of the need for Self-leadership!
Stanley J. Grenz: The Social God and the Relational Self: A Trinitarian Theology of the Imago Dei
This book addresses how an understanding of the triune nature of God should shape our concepts of "self" or "soul" as well as result in a more relational and communal church which takes responsibility for the "other." Because we are created with the imago dei, we can only find our true self-hood in relation to others. God is a social God. Grenz does an amazing job of debunking the post-modern concept of "possessive individualism" which is killing the missional focus of the church today. (*****)
Gerald Clarke: Capote: A Biography
This is an excellent biography of a brilliant writer whose life was sabatoged by the Dark Side. A study in how not to be a parent! This is an interesting read. (****)

Comments

tramadol acugesic

Posted by:utjwqnbwnz | November 29, 2007 at 03:13 AM

I've thought about this before myself. I'm an agnostic, both in terms of Christianity and Oprah, but it's obvious to me that her influence on the country is nearly spiritual in some of its dimensions. It will be interesting to see the impact of her new show, "Oprah's Big Give." It doesn't look that different from some of the other reality shows, but her popularity and reach are taking on Evita-sized proportions (without all the talk of sainthood or tawdry past, of course) and the reality show will probably either enhance or tarnish that image.

I guess if the Academy decides to give her a retrograde Oscar for being in The Color Purple, we'll know that her spiritual status is shifting. Then again, I'm biased. It was years before I cared about the Oscars after that little travesty, and I was sixteen when I saw that movie!

Posted by:Holly | March 03, 2008 at 03:59 PM