Book Review: Searching For God Knows What.
Posted: November 17, 2008 Filed under: Book & Media Reviews | Tags: book, Christ, Christianity, Donald, faith, For, God, Jesus, Knows, Miller, philosophy, religion, review, Searching, What Leave a comment »
Searching For God Knows What by Donald Miller
It took me a little longer than normal to finish this book because of my schedule, but it is one of the few books that I’ve genuinely missed reading when I couldn’t get to it.
Donald Miller does it again with another terrific book. I have read Blue Like Jazz and To Own a Dragon, and this book falls somewhere in between; not quite as powerful as Blue Like Jazz, but definitely a step above To Own a Dragon.
In Searching For God Knows What, Miller seems to take a little more of a theological approach than in his other books. The book isn’t a storyline/novel type of book but more of a collection of essays that all deal with his disdain of the systematic approach to Christianity.
I especially enjoyed this book because it was right in line with my personal views of the “religious checklist,” which I feel very strongly about; I even went so far as to write a blog entry about this very subject a little before I read this. Miller does an outstanding job, as always, of making his points relational and easy to understand while keeping his philosophical depth.
This book is a must read for those bored with the Pharisee-like rules and regulations that are sometimes pushed on us by the ultra conservative, fire and brimstone evangelicals. Although there are not a vast amount of brand new ideas, the way Miller describes them will make you examine your heart and your sinful desires to try and be somebody you aren’t.
I’ll leave you with my favorite excerpt:
“The tough thing about Christian spirituality is that you have to mean things. You can’t just go through the motions or act religious for the wrong reasons… After all, if we are going through religious motions to get people to think of us as religious, praise us and all that, we are receiving our false redemption from a bunch of people who are going to be dead in fifty years. This is a shabby replacement for an eternal God.”
DVD Review: Everything is Spiritual.
Posted: September 28, 2008 Filed under: Book & Media Reviews | Tags: Bell, Christ, Christianity, church, emergent, emerging, Everything, faith, God, Jesus, religion, review, Rob, sermon, spiritual Leave a comment »
Everything is Spiritual by Rob Bell
What an amazing DVD. This was probably one of the most thought provoking things I have ever watched. Rob Bell essentially does a super-sermon that lasts over an hour and, love him or hate him, he is an excellent communicator.
Bell, dressed in black, steps out from the curtain and starts immediately with the story of creation in Genesis while writing on a huge white board that stretches the width of the stage. No lights, no smoke and mirrors; just a pastor and a dry erase marker.
He begins by explaining the order in which God creates everything, from days 1-6, and describes why that order is important. He continues on into quantum physics and explains the breaking down of atoms and ties that into the existence of God. I never thought someone could explain quantum physics in detail and keep me interested, but Bell pulls it off. Through all his ramblings and scribbling on the board, you keep asking yourself, “Where is he going with all this?”
My favorite part of the DVD is towards the middle, when Bell goes into an explanation of two men living in a 2D world and explains that it would baffle them to see something in 3D. He then raises the idea that God is possibly the same way; we see in 3D, but God is another dimension that we cannot comprehend.
I will not ruin the end, you will have to see it for yourself, but I will say that I have watched it more than once and there is still information in it that I haven’t fully grasped. As I said before, it will make you think.
Everything is Spiritual is definitely a must watch, and it will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish, regardless of your level or depth of faith.
Book Review: The Barbarian Way.
Posted: September 19, 2008 Filed under: Book & Media Reviews | Tags: Barbarian, book, Christ, Christianity, church, discipleship, emerging, Erwin, faith, future, Jesus, McManus, postmodern, religion, review, soldier, warrior, Way 1 Comment »
The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus
This book really hit home for me in a lot of ways. McManus, like me, didn’t grow up in a Christian home or in a church. When he came to Christ as a college student, he was somewhat forced to figure out the Scriptures on his own and did not have many of the basic teachings of the church to fall back on, also much like me.
One of the things that I struggle with the most is the fact that the Christians I met in the church reminded me nothing of Christ’s disciples. People were dying for their faith in Jesus’ time. Most Christians today wouldn’t be caught dead, literally or figuratively, preaching the Gospel outside of their church walls. It always disappointed me that there seemed to be a lack of preachers talking about this as bluntly as they should.
In came The Barbarian Way.
This book is an amazing look at the change that has occured in Christianity from the time Jesus taught until today. While reading this book, over and over I caught myself yelling, “Yes! Preach it brother!” McManus makes many references to being devoted to God just like soldiers are to their King. Those soldiers fully believe in the cause that they are fighting for and will die fighting for him. McManus also points out the fact that Jesus’ disciples lived anything but “civilized” lives; they, too, were willing to die for their King.
I suggest that any and every Christian read this book. It is only around 150 pages, but it is packed full of great insights. I have seen negative reviews stating that McManus is teaching Christians to be reckless, but I would argue that he is simply challenging Christians to get out of their comfort zones and to be the strong warriors that Christ calls us to be.
This book really challenges the establishment, and I think men and women who fight for Christ like warriors are the ones who will lead our generation into the future.
