BodyLife to Die For!

I have just finished Larry Crabbe’s latest book SoulTalk on the recommendation of my collaborator on the Jake site. He said it was the best book on Christian interaction he had ever read. Yes, I got over my unspoken what-about-my-books? reaction and read it anyway. Eighty percent of this book is incredible! He definitely gets too cute with the his terminology and too patronizing with his five-steps to transforming conversations, but most of that is probably what the publishers made him do to market the thing.

Don’t let those things, however, rob you from the substance of this book, which strikes to the heart of what koinonia is—a conversation with other brothers and sisters that helps them see beyond themselves and grasp the reality of who God is and how he is drawing them to himself. If you really want to sort out how to have conversations that inspire people in this incredible journey, this is a must read!

Sara and I are reading it together now. Let me give you a quote from what we read this morning, and I’ll entice you with some more in days ahead…

Churches, by no means all but too many, have become as dangerous to the health of our soul as porn shops. People leave both superficially titillated and deeply numbed. Religious events can be as irrelevant to real life as cocktail parties at country clubs. “Oh, you just redecorated your home? How wonderful. You must tell me all about it: or, “Wasn’t that just a beautiful sermon? The illustrations, the stories—I felt so moved.” Christian organizations dedicated to reaching people wit the gospel struggle internally with moral compromise, relational divisions and strutting egos. Christian crusaders push for biblical literacy and expository preaching and abortion protesting and porn shop closing, and their words seem energized more by power-hungry morals and grace-lacking legalism than by engagement with culture on behalf of a holy and loving God. And without a noticeable shift in tone or in mood, religious conversation turns to market woes and prudent investment strategies and fundraising opportunities. …

We rarely hear words that draw our soul into the soul of another human being and together into God.”

Be Sociable, Share!

By: Wayne Jacobsen | 2005/09/26 | History | Trackback | Comments [RSS 2.0]

3 Responses to BodyLife to Die For! »»

Comments

Dave Aldrich

Comment by Dave Aldrich | 2005/09/27 at 08:50:00

Greetings, Wayne.

Okay, you show me your book and I’ll show you mine.

Good stuff there from Larry Crabb – another one for our book lists.

I thought this from John Eldridge’s, "Waking the Dead" tied in with what you shared. This book has been really impacting me. Like Crabb’s stuff you may find things that don’t always sit well but all in all it is food for the longing soul that wants to know the Lord and the reality of this life more deeply.

"The religious spirit has turned discipleship into a soul-killing exercise of principles. Most folks don’t even know they can walk with God, hear His voice. The Religious Spirit has stigmatized counseling as a profession for sick patients, and so the wounds of our hearts never get healed. He’s taken healing away from us almost entirely so that we sit in pews as broken people, feeling guilty because we can’t live the life we’re supposed to live."

I still read stuff by that guy Jacobsen too. He’s okay in my book. (pun intended)

Love you, bro.

Dave
Kathryn

Comment by Kathryn | 2005/09/27 at 20:19:00

I am so glad you are commenting on this book. I read it a couple of times. I got a chacne to meet Larry as well. He practices well what he writes about…about to read again.
Dom

Comment by Dom | 2005/09/27 at 20:39:00

Hey im readin the book byEldridge,but this one seems like it might have to be my next!Praise the Lord we are coming around!

Dom