Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile | Rob Bell, Don Golden

Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile | Rob Bell, Don Golden | rob's best book yet

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Jesus Wants to Sav...

	Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile Rob Bell, Don Golden Zondervan, 2008 - 224 pages average customer review:based on 18 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

There is a church not too far from us that recently added a $25 million addition to their building.
Our local newspaper ran a front-page story not too long ago about a study revealing that one in five people in our city lives in poverty.
This is a book about those two numbers.

One of the best three books I've read this year

This is the only book by Rob Bell that I've ever read and I thought it was terrific. This book and "The Shack" by Young and "Reimagining Church" by Viola have been the best three books I've read this year. All of them have changed my thinking about Christianity and church in a big way and for the better.

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rob's best book yet

rob bell's newest book (his third) is his best one yet, i believe. his main premise is that the bible should be read as the story of exile and reconciliation. and he traces this storyline throughout the narrative arc of scripture. peppered with the storytelling that rob is known for (stories from scripture, stories from jewish midrash, and modern day stories), the book wanders through the old testament - starting with "the first book of the bible: exodus" - and into the new, with more and more implications for "our current exile" as the book progresses. it's a deeply theological book, but extremely accessible. it's a "framing" book for followers of jesus, seeking to understand the story of god and how we fit into it. rob doesn't shy away from taking jabs at the "empire" we live in, the spiritualization of violence and oppression, or the mindset of american christianity. i doubt sarah palin would like this book.

personally, i tire quickly of rob's single-sentence paragraphs, found in strings on most pages. it's a neat literary device to use occasionally. but it grows old for me.

but, other than that minor issue (which readers of other rob bell books will certainly recognize - maybe he's attempting to write in twitter boxes of 140 words or less?), this is a profoundly good book that will certainly impact my thinking from here on out.

here are a few choice sentences that captured my imagination:

jesus wants to save us from making the good news about another world and not this one.

jesus wants to save us from preaching a gospel that is only about individuals and not about the systems that enslave them.

jesus wants to save us from shrinking the gospel down to a transaction about the removal of sin and not about every single particle of creation being reconciled to its maker.

jesus want to save us from religiously sanctioned despair, the kind that doesn't believe the world can be made better, the kind that either blatently or subtly teaches people to just be quiet and behave and wait for something to happen "someday."

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spot on

new exodus understanding of scripture
well thought through
points to some great resources for further study
even - spoken from a the perspective of man who pastors a diverse church community - soldiers and the non-violent, mohawks and the gray hairs, conservatives and liberals.

- most importantly - Jesus is put front and center.

Good read, but just scratches the surface

I am a Rob Bell fan. After hearing Rob and Don share the pulpit at Mars Hill I am a Don Golden fan as well. This book follows in-line with the rest of Rob's work (writing, preaching, and NOOMA video). Rob and Don continue their message of social justice and the Christians part. Good stuff, and a much needed reminder. It's about time someone of faith deals with politics, even taking on the current administration. I am tired of Christians taking one side only. A side that I believe is wrapped in self comfort and attitudes of superiority. I did want to see this book go a bit deeper in content. I felt that they left some illustrations half done and chapters not completed. That's why I gave it an average rating. I didn't get bored with the book, but I was not compelled to read it all in one night like his previous works. I will say that an average rating for Rob would be a 5 star rating for most other authors! Can't wait till your next book comes out.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

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