Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile by Rob Bell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book was an interesting read, and fairly different from Bell’s Velvet Elvis & Love Wins. It’s more straight theology & less personal anecdote. He states early that he’ll be taking a “New Exodus” approach in this book, which sets some people off pretty vehemently. For me, I don’t have a problem with it. Indeed, I found it rather enlightening. Bell tells us that Jesus wants us to concern ourselves with the widow, the orphan, the refugee, the poor, etc., and that much of the church is missing the point. He consistently uses scripture to back up his assertions. Here’s one quote I particularly liked:
A church’s authority comes from somewhere else — it comes from how we’ve been broken open and poured out, not from how well we’ve pursued power & lobbied & organized ourselves to triumph. This is why when Christians organize politically & start flexing that muscle, making threats about how they are going to impose their way on others, so many people turn away from Jesus.
Jesus’ followers at that point are claiming to be the voice of God, but they are speaking the language of Caesar & using the methods of Rome, & for millions of us it has the stench of Solomon.
Rob Bell, Jesus Wants To Save Christians
I just love Rob Bell and his books. He singlehandedly makes me want to return to the church and live the kind of life I think Jesus would want from me. He’s a true inspiration. Indeed, I’m re-reading Love Wins just to get a better understanding of what God wants from us, with us, and for us. I think this is my least “favorite” book of Bell’s I’ve read, but it’s still quite good and very much worth reading.
hankrules2011 