Eric Michael Bryant, who serves Mosaic in Los Angeles, just had his new book published. The release, Peppermint-Filled Piñatas, is available at Amazon and promises to be a fresh look at how Christians can become relevant to, responsive in, and reflective of the global community. Eric's stories, observations, and thought-provoking suggestions challenge the ethnic, racial, and cultural barriers that often limit our community-building opportunities.
Eric also co-authored The Uprising Experience, a workbook developed for Promise Keepers based on Erwin McManus’s book Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul. He teaches at the Southern California campus of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary and is working on his doctorate of ministry with Bethel Seminary. He's a sought-after speaker and a clean comedian (available on YouTube) who I think is pretty funny. But that's not why I interviewed him for this post.
I interviewed him because he's my neighbor. The churches we serve are less than 30 minutes apart. As online means create an opportunity for global communication barriers to come down, it becomes more noticeable where barriers still exist. Here's what Eric told me about Peppermint-Filled Piñatas.
- What influenced / motivated / inspired you to write the book?
My inspiration for writing this book would be my friends who have felt rejected by Christians and as a result walked away from God. Too often the world is aware of what we are against rather than what/who we are for. Personally, I have discovered that when I develop friendships with those around me - even those with whom I may disagree politically, morally, or spiritually, I am a better person for it and ironically I am in a position to influence them. In the process, friendships with those who act or look differently than us helps us to overcome the Christian stereotype and represent Jesus better.
- What was your greatest challenge in writing it?
There were really two challenges: time and content. In terms of time, at Mosaic, we emphasize the importance of developing relationships as well as moving quickly and experimenting in our ministries. It was hard to set aside time from these relationships and projects to write about initiating new relationships and innovating in our churches. In terms of content, writing about topics such as politics, sexuality, race, immigration, and diversity remains a delicate task, yet sharing some of my own failures and struggles while pointing out breakthroughs I have seen, experienced, or discovered became liberating.
- What would you most like readers to walk away from "piñatas" with?
I would be so encouraged if people began to look at their neighbors, co-workers, friends, or even those in their family differently. I would love to hear stories of people inviting people over they would have never imagined befriending. My hope is that those who read this book would find freedom in their friendships, to live without social barriers. Ironically, as we seek to create a diverse community by loving and serving those we too often ignore or overlook or even dislike, we will discover a more fulfilling life ourselves.
Hearing from a local leader about a global subject inspires me. And since I've been purposing to cross barriers for an extended season, Eric's book is timely.
I bet you really want to know 'why the name?'. But if I told you, you wouldn't get the book would you?
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Eric, happy to share the buzz.
great post. looking forward to the book.
Looking forward to this interesting read. I love Mosaic’s podcasts, so this is the next step. Thanks.
the church definitely needs to be more relevant to today’s culture. looks like a great book. ill be sure to check it out.
FYI - your link to Eric Michael Bryant’s website is incorrect.
Hey newsaddikt - Thanks. It was correct last week but somehow wordpress currently keeps attaching it to the image. Oh well, I stuck a couple of spaces in there and it should point correctly now. Thanks to astute readers like you, Eric will get his traffic.
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