This book looks at the huge gap between much of the 21st century church and the principles Jesus taught. Some of it was interesting and quite thought-provoking. Much of it made a great deal of sense, although it wasn't as radical as th blurb implied. From a content point of view, I'd probably put it at four stars or even four and a half.

Unfortunately, the writing style didn't work, and the layout was terrible. It was full of single word or phrase paragraphs, which made it almost unreadable. Perhaps it was meant to be read aloud, slowly - had it been a script of one of Rob Bell's TV shows, it might have worked. But as a book to read, it was so annoying that I kept putting it down after just a couple of pages. I did get through it in the end, and tried to extract as much of value as possible. But wouldn't really recommend it as it's so impractical to read. ( )

A clear indictment of Empire and a warning to Christians who buy into the system rather than acting as the Eucharist. Another good one. That voice crying in the wilderness.

"Blood painted on the door posts of the universe" love the imagery!

Ouch. Several months ago, Harper One sent me a short collection of Rob Bell reprints to review. I slowly worked my way through them, enjoying each one, and somehow left this one sitting on the shelves. Too many other obligations. I just now picked it up, and read it in one sitting.

I couldn’t put it down. Forget Velvet Elvis. Forget Love Wins. This 180-page sermon, this little obscure work, is for Bible groupies Bell’s real masterpiece. It’s definitely my new favorite, so maybe that says something about co-author Don Golden, a name I hadn’t come across before.

From the Exodus, to the Temple construction, to the Eucharist, Bell and Golden reveal a surprising thread that weaves its way throughout the Bible. This “new perspective ” opens up what the Bible means to Americans today, living in the world’s most powerful nation, boasting the greatest military, yet holding the strongest responsibility for the world’s impoverished. America is an empire, and the Bible has a lot to say about empires.

“I hope you see that there is a common humanity we share with everybody alive today, and everybody who has come before us,” writes Bell in the preface. This little book accomplishes just that. ( )

Rated: A
Wonderful insights. Convicting. Compelling. Simple truths from God's Word. Great writing style.
"If someone is inspired, which means life has been breathed into them, then someone else had the life breathed out of them."
"A church is an organization that exists for the benefits of its nonmembers."
"Jesus wants to save our church from the exile of irrelevance." ( )