Sunday, July 29, 2007

Blue Like Jazz

My current book of choice.

Anyone who thinks about evangelism and loving people--or not loving them well--should read this. I'm just two chapters into it and am gobsmacked by Don Miller's hard-hitting style. No cliches. No Christianese. No tepid phrases that let your mind wander off the page and into your dinner plans.

It's not for everyone. But it's just what I've been looking for.

I had to go to the Baltiimore County library system for it. Ebay also has some copies, but I'm into free.

Andrew Slate, from Mercy Ministries Russia, reoommended this book to me. (See my comment to Jessi in the comment box beneath "Meet the Dolls.") That's how I first heard about it. Thanks, Andrew!

Anyone want to read along?

5 comments:

Amy said...

I enjoyed Blue Like Jazz when I read it. But I liked another of Donald Miller's books, Searching for God Knows What, even better. Great stuff!

Jessi said...

I would like to read it along with you...I'll see if I can get a copy while I'm out tomorrow and catch up with you. I've heard great things about it and am familiar with Donald Miller because I've looked into a lot of stuff about the "Emerging Church" movement, which is is often associated with that crowd of people. Our overseers within Dove (our network of churches) all read it together last this past year and said it was really stretching for some of them. I'm thinking I'll enjoy it, but probably won't be as 'shocked' (I use the term loosely - not like anyone was rocked by it or anything)as some of them were. We have a lot of 20-somethings in our church and that would be our main 'target group' as a church plant, so we are very NON-traditional, so most of the people in our church who read it really connected with the book. Maybe reading it with you will actually get me to get around to reading it!!! (I've only wanted to for like almost a year now...)

Anonymous said...

I've been wanting to read this book for a while. It's on my list. I've heard "Searching for God Knows What" is good too. I'll certainly have to get them out of the library.

Zoanna said...

I've gone into it with an open mind. Afraid of becoming too narrow in my thinking of how a church should reach people, or of having "the doctrine", I am reading this. I am a slow reader, Jessi, so don't worry about not being able to catch up. I just would like to discuss it a couple chapters at a time with antoher interested person.

Tara said...

I think I'll check it out! Thx for the recommendation.