Book Jacket
I guess I’m not a very good Christian . . . Do you feel like: I don’t pray enough I don’t read my Bible enough I don’t share my faith enough I don’t love God enough I’m not committed enough I’m not spiritual enough. Then this book is for you. Messy Spirituality was written for the silent majority of us who have been convinced that we just don’t do Christianity right. We spend most of our lives worried about what we don’t do instead of what we have done, focused on our imperfections instead of God’s fondness for the imperfect. Why? Because we’ve been bombarded with books, tapes, talks, seminars, and movies convincing us that real Christianity is all about perfection. Michael Yaconelli dares to suggest that imperfection, infiniteness, and messiness are, in fact, the earmarks of true Christianity; that real Christianity is messy, erratic, lopsided . . . and gloriously liberating.
What if genuine faith begins with admitting we will never have our act completely together? Maybe messy disciples are exactly the kind of imperfect people Jesus came to earth for and whose company he actually enjoyed--and still enjoys. If you want to find Jesus today, look for him in the midst of burned-out believers, moral misfits, religious incompetents . . . men and women whose lives are, well, messy.
Messy Spirituality is a strong antidote for the spiritual perfectionism in us all. Here are truths that can cut you loose from the tyranny of ought-to’s and open your eyes to the deep spirituality of being loved, shortcomings and all, by the God who meets you and transforms you in the midst of a messy and unpredictable life.
Review
This book turns typical evangelical thought on its head in the most beautiful way. A lot of evangelicals can tend to sound a little Pharisaical--if you aren't following all the rules exactly, then God doesn't want anything to do with you. Thank goodness there are people like Yaconelli who remind us that God has always chosen and worked with people who are messy and imperfect.
I find it very encouraging to be reminded that my faith and devotion to Jesus is a lifelong growing experience. God doesn't expect me to have my life figured out--we're working on that together. It's the journey, with both the high points and especially the low, that bring me closer to Jesus and teach me to be more like him.
It took me awhile to get used to Yaconelli's writing style. He tends to say things once and then repeat it in different ways over and over. He likes to be repetitive. The repetition gets his point across more clearly. You see what I mean? But the message is well worth reading important points five times.
Four out of five missteps.
Release Date: March 2002
Reading Level: Grade 8+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection: Not yet part of Dunlap's collection.
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