I just finished reading Searching For God Knows What, by Donald Miller, the author of Blue Like Jazz. I really enjoyed Blue Like Jazz, but Searching For God Knows What was even better. Donald Miller has a wonderful way of telling stories that some how or other end up illuminating what it means to follow Christ in a new and deeper way.
Example:
In Chapter 10: The Gospel of Jesus: It Never Was A Formula:
Miller writes on page 153:
Each year I teach a class on the gospel and culture at a small Bible college back East. This year I asked the students to list the precepts a person would need to understand in order to become a Christian. I stoood at the white board and they called out ideas: Man was sinful by nature; sin separates us from God; Jesus died for our sins; we could accept Jesus into our hearts (after some thought, students were not able to explain exactly what they meant by this, only saying it was a kind of interaction in which a person agrees Jesus is the Son of God), and so on. Then looking at the board, I bean to ask some questions about these almost universally accepted ideas. I asked if a person could believe all these ideas were true and yet not be a Christian. I told them my friend Matt, for instance, believed all these ideas and yet would never claim to be a person who knows Jesus or much less follows Him. The students conceeded that, in fact, a person could know and even believe all the concepts on the board and yet not be a Christian....
We sat together and looked at the board for several minutes until we conceeded we eren't going to come up with the missing element. I then erased the board and asked the class a different question: What ideas would a guy need to agree with or what steps would a guy need to take in order to fall in love with a girl?
Miller then goes on to talk about how our relationship with God isn't dictated by a checklist, but rather by a love relationship with the Lord. Why do we break down salvation into 4 Spiritual Laws, or the bridge or wheel diagrams? When we do that we oversimplify a dynamic love relationship with God that follows more along the lines of a man and a woman falling in love. Miller's illustrations are brilliant and highlight the difference in belief paradigms between the emerging generations and those who preceeded them.
I'll post more examples in the following days. But, for now, I recommend you go to your bookstore and purchase Searching For God Knows What.
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5 comments:
Completely agree with you, Rick. It is an excellent book. I guess I appreciate it all the more because the nature of the writing makes it easy to translate instantly into my life situation. I've passed my copy along, but plan to get myself another :)
I like Miller a lot. I liked Jazz better though. I like his approach here, but I felt sometimes he was swinging too far out to make the point somewhere closer to the middle...if that makes any sense. I liked the book though.
Thanks for sharing...I haven't read either of those books, but I have heard nothing but good things about them. They are on my "to read" list. I look forward to whatelse you have to say about the book.
Have a great day!!!
I enjoyed the beginning of Searching... but got sidetracked and laid it down several months ago. I never picked it back up. I'm now reading an advance copy of his latest, Through Painted Deserts.
AC
Sorry it has taken so long for me to post another comment. I am very impressed that those of you who I read on a daily basis have also read "Searching For God Knows What". Here are my replies:
Erin: This is such a great book to pass on. As always you are a step ahead of me!
Rob: I agree with you that sometiimes Miller seems to go off on a tangent in his stories, but I like the way he eventually comes back and ties it all together.
Stephanie: Miller has a good way of relating everyday aspects of life to the mission of sharing Jesus. I can hardly wait to read his new book.
Andrew: I guess getting sidetracked isn't a good testimony for how captivating "Searching For God Knows What" is. I read your blog on a daily basis and have been an avid reader of your books (I loved "E-ministry" and "Hooked on the Net") and know that you have much more experience in writing than I do. But Miller's work kept my attention. Please let me know how "Painted Deserts" turns out. It sounds great.
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