Every now and then I go out on a limb and read something from an author I've never heard of. This particular book caught my attention one day but I passed over it until about three months later. I finally decided to read it when I couldn't find anything else that appealed to me.
Really, really glad I did.
I'm sure you can deduce the idea of the book from the cover. Yes, in some cases you can judge a book. This being one of those cases.
The key word in the subtitle is "following." If you ever have a chance to read this, you'll understand.
First of all, this is one of the most serious and most hilarious books I've ever read. The content is naturally nothing to laugh at because it pretty much slaps modern Christianity, modern Christians I should say, right across the lips. And that includes you and me. We are all reminded frequently to check ourselves and our motives behind what we do, but even still, we usually find a way to make everything we think and do sound holy and anointed. We never really get right down to the heart of the matter.
Read it for yourselves. But occasionally, you run across something that says in black and white exactly what that little nagging vibe you've been having could never voice. And you find yourself screaming out in agreement with what you've felt for a very long time. That's kinda how this book has hit me. You know that feeling -- you sense it deep down but you can't say anything because you keeping hearing that other voice that tells you you're just being silly and over-reacting. Well, it's a good feeling when you realize you're not the only crazy person.
Having said that, I am the world's biggest critic of revolutionizing one's thinking based on the opinions of an author. It's really easy in our Christian culture today to find a book that supports our latest whim. People do it all the time. Following the trends, we are all made to think we have to be purpose-driven, crazy lovin', God experiencing, (insert any Lucado title here) Christians or we're not really followers of Jesus. So I in no way plan on making this my new Bible. I just think the author has really nailed the very center of the church's problems today. Self, with a heavy dose of denial and self-deception.
Anyway, good book. Here's a teaser:
Some of the most significant damage done to the credibility of Jesus' message has been the slipshod approach of conveying it by many of His followers. Though there are a significant amount of Christ-followers who have shown excellence in their art and business, the percentages of crappy art and bad business justified with the name of Jesus are staggeringly high. We have made cheeseball films and abhorrent television, believing that an altar call at the end means it won't return void. We have produced derivative music for a dime, putting a capital "Y" on the "you" in a love song and calling it worship. We have made questionable (and oft illegal) financial decisions at the helm of ministries, defending the action by the evangelistic ends justifying the means. We have mistreated people standing in the way of our goal, berated people who disagreed with our goal, and stepped on good people to climb to our goal -- all in the name of Christ. Why? All because people keep trying to fit where God did not create them to fit. And Jesus is the one getting the black eye over it.
