A few weeks ago, I was sent a copy of My Beautiful Idol, by Pete Gall, for review. A long plane trip earlier this week gave me the chance to really dig in to the book. Once I did, it was easy to stick with it.

Much like Blue Like Jazz, My Beautiful Idol is a spiritual memoir of a young man trying to make sense of life in his early 20s. I’ve even seen the two books compared in this way on a few occasions. The similarity should end there, because otherwise it will distort the way one reads My Beautiful Idol.

About a third of the way through the book, I was struggling with whether I wanted to continue. Spending some time reflecting on it helped me to see why — I didn’t really like Pete Gall. But as I continued to read, I realized that that is kind of the point. Pete Gall writes of his journey as a young man to fully devote himself to God. He offers a great deal of transparency as he shows his own immaturity in that season. And as he does, I was invited to watch how he gradually becomes aware of that himself. And I respect him for showing us so much.

So, don’t confuse My Beautiful Idol with Blue Like Jazz — it’s written from a different stance and should be read as such. But do consider reading it if you want to be refreshed by the honest reflections of one man’s journey through the Christian faith. You might even see some of your own self along the way.

When I first saw that Donald Miller was going to release a book about growing up without a father, I was a little disappointed. It’s not that it’s a great subject, but I was never without my dad, and it just seemed like such a serious turn for him to take in his writing.

The flipside is, I enjoy Miller’s writing so much, I decided to pick it up anyway. So glad I did.

The book continues to carry his style which is so readable and so insightful all at the same time. I can’t express enough how much I appreciate this.

Even more than his writing, I appreciated his perspective on manhood. I think the homophobia that is so prevalent in Christian circles creates this need for a macho image of the Christian man. I loved Miller’s perspective that it is okay for him to own the John Hughes DVD collection and still be a man. So much is lost in a manhood that leaves no room for tenderness and creative expression. That message alone made the book worth reading for any man as far as I’m concerned.

Miller is a great thinker, and hopefully that isn’t lost in his ‘boy next door’ persona. I look forward to more books themed around difficult subjects.

The church keeps following the culture around it
• It happened in the middle ages, the enlightenment and in the industrial revolution
• Today, that means the spirituality is a product and we are consumers
• And the new false god of culture is entertainment, so where does that mean the church is heading?
• To some degree, the church is a success because it has consistently translated itself to the culture around it

Three dominant influences on the church in N America culture
• Free market economic system
• Darwinian theory
• Bible

The lens through which we see Christian spirituality
• 3000 commercial messages a day
• we are continually convinced that we are not happy, and then offered something that will make us happy
• ie, there’s a hole in your heart that only Jesus can fill
• free market finds the most simple solution that does not require time or effort – snake oil!

What happens when we sell Jesus as a product, and then you have a bad day after you accept him
• Is he a bad product?
• Are we presenting the truth of who Jesus is in the wrong way?

What does Jesus teach in Matthew 6? – The Lord’s Prayer from the Message
• Don’t roleplay, just simply be yourself before God
• When your honest, the focus switches from you to him, and you begin to sense his grace
• Don’t fall for the nonsense about simple answers that are all around you
• We are dealing with our Father, he will not always give us what we want…he is okay with us being in discomfort
• God’s metaphors for us are that will grow slow and steady, the consumer culture tells us we should have access to whatever we want now

Spirituality works like reality
• Reality is just a supernatural tool to teach you about God
• When culture says you can have you want anytime, we acts as prophets and point out the lie

The church works like family
• We reunite people with their Father and brothers and sisters
• The only rules we have for what church should be is to have elders

Rick and Donald shared a casual conversation that was delightful to just sit and soak in. Here are a few of their thoughts from the discussion:

R: Once everybody left the doors of the church, we realized God was in the streets.

R: Discipleship is meant to happen on the road, but we’ve turned it into ten books about whatever. It’s not about information.

D: If you tell your congregation to go, won’t they become alcoholics, and drug addicts, and prostitutes themselves? Are you crazy?

R: We don’t need a list of rules to engage with our culture, we need discernment from the Spirit.

R: The primary identity of the church is that we are the sent people of God. The church exists for the world, not itself. … What are the gifts and passions that people have been created with, and how can we come alongside that and release them for the ministry? … The Spirit of God is still very creative, and creating ministry is one of His greatest passions.

D: The staff is serving the hearts of God’s people as they go out and do ministry.

D: In the church, we tend to strengthen what we do like, and ignore and set aside what we don’t. We strengthen the family and step away from divorce. That comes from Darwinian evolution. We might as well teach it in the schools if we’re going to teach it in church.

R: When we started, we thought that the city would be against us. When we began to care about the things they cared about, they had open arms.

R: When the church is on mission, there is nothing more transformational for the world. We are the leaders of the church, and if we don’t lead our people into mission, then the church gets misrepresented to the culture. It’s not size or programs – it’s just disciples on mission. It is our job to lead them out to get messy. Discipleship happens when we lead people out into the streets where God is.