Your Jesus Is Too Safe.
Sep/090
About a month ago, I received a free and autographed copy of “Your Jesus Is Too Safe” by Jared C. Wilson. After enjoying Jared’s blog and his contributions over at the Boar’s Head Tavern, I was eager to try my luck at a random drawing for his book via facebook. I became one of the fortunate recipients to a (generously given) free copy of his book. I’m only sorry it took me so long to complete; perhaps I should read one book at a time instead of five… But now onto the review.
With a title like “Your Jesus Is Too Safe,” you’d certainly expected to be challenged, if not outright confronted. The subtitle of this book, “Outgrowing a Drive-Thru, Feel-Good Savior” would also indicate the need for some growth and maturity in one’s view of Jesus. Ultimately, author Jared Wilson delivers a book not of growth and challenge so much as a recall and explication of the essential characteristics that define who Jesus Christ was, is, and always will be. Qualities outlined in chapter titles like “Promise,” “Man,” “Judge,” “Redeemer,” and “King” tell you where the book is going. All in all, Jared focuses on 12 qualities that together still form the one man we know as Jesus, dedicating a chapter to each quality. Jared’s strength is in his theological foundation, biblical exegesis, and his humor-infused, even at times sarcasm-infused, writing style. These elements make “Your Jesus Is Too Safe” a reliable read for understanding the Christ we are called to love and serve (as He has first loved and served us) while also making it enjoyable, even at times laugh-out-loud humorous.
My favorite chapter was entitled “Jesus the Shepherd.” I’m a sucker for the imagery of a shepherd caring for his sheep, so it wasn’t hard for me to love Jared Wilson’s insight peppered throughout this section. He drew a beautiful connection between the Old Testament passage in Ezekiel 34:1-6, 11-16 and John 10:7-16, when Jesus claims the title and role as Shepherd over His people. In Ezekiel, God promises: “Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out… I will seek the lost…” Then Jesus echoes this in John, saying “I am the good shepherd… and I lay down my life for the sheep.”
I’ll let Jared’s words take over here:
“I imagine the religious leaders of Jesus’ day got their panties in a wad over that one. His saying that he was going to assume this role would, after all, be an unambiguous allusion to God’s promise to personally shepherd us. I imagine their confusion and consternation upon confronting in the flesh the God, who, unlike them, does not shepherd the sheep by exploiting them” (pg.115).
Here’s a further taste for Jared’s writing from this chapter. (I figure the best thing is to let the author’s words speak for themselves.)
“Jesus’ leadership is also the hardest part of his shepherding for us to handle. While all of the things discussed so far are things that Jesus the Shepherd does for us–his having compassion, making sacrifices, seeking and saving, and now leading–this is the one that requires the most from us in return. We have a Shepherd who leads, but his leadership will not benefit us one bit if we the sheep don’t follow” (pg. 119)
“Repentance is not just a negative action; it’s also a positive one. It’s not just turning away from something; it’s turning to someone” (pg.119).
“We’ve got to get to the place in our ‘sheepishness’ where we trust our Shepherd as he leads us away from what looks to us like great places to graze and laze around. Because what looks good to us often turns out to be looming disaster. We’re often oblivious to our own selfishness, ignorant of our own gracelessness. We think of ourselves before others. We’re like leaderless Israel, doing what is right in our own eyes, like stupid sheep transfixed on the small patch of green before us while the ravenous lion sneaks up from behind” (pg.120).
(And those gems are from only 1 chapter out of 12.)
Yet, I still come back to the title. Again, I read it, and asked myself, is my Jesus too safe? Am I at fault in loving a Lord that I’ve created in my own image, put in my own box? What if I have? What if those around me have?
I asked these questions but found no solid challenge through the course of the book. The closest we get is in his introduction when Jared Wilson summarizes the ways in which we see erroneous, misplaced, skewed pictures of Jesus, as He has become “a generic brand, a logo, a catchphrase, a pick-me-up” (pg. 13). If He has, do we “do” anything about it? Do we discount and disregard every such picture of Jesus? Do we hold a skepticism that scoffs at the Grammy winners giving Jesus credit for their successes, do we ignore those who tell you Jesus is like an ATM offering you riches? The answer was not clear. The only answer, it seems, is to personally know Jesus for who He really is. I won’t discount this. Christians in the world need to know the living Christ. We can only know Him by knowing what the Word, the Scriptures, teach us. There is no end to this quest, this pursuit of knowledge. Christ is limitless. His mercies and love in many ways remain unfathomable. A life focused on plumbing these depths would never be wasted.
But I digress. I point this out only to guard myself from counter-critics who think I’m advocating a “Jesus alone is not enough” view. I think Jesus is enough. But for a title of “Your Jesus Is Too Safe,” I had an expectation of challenge that was not met. Granted, it was my fault to have an expectation. I will, however, raise the question on whether this book’s title is a misnomer. I had heard from Jared Wilson’s website that the first draft title was “The Unvarnished Jesus.” I don’t know why the publishers rejected that title, but I believe it would have been more apt than the present one. Jared succeeds, gloriously, in giving you Jesus as He is, as the Word presents Him, and gives the reader a fresh reminder, in-of-itself refreshing, of why He is worthy of love and worship. Even so, I think Jared Wilson himself has played it too safe. He gave us Jesus but didn’t challenge the existing problems and perceptions, even beliefs, that are rampant in our society and world today. I would have loved to been challenged more.
A second thought: I would have loved for this book to been targeted to a more mainstream, even secular, audience. I wish it would not have been pigeonholed/marketed as a Christian book for Christians. Jared’s humor and thorough exegesis of the Scriptures would make it an informative and (hopefully) even interesting read for those outside of the Christian faith, who hearken to that very question, who is Jesus? I think any non-Christian reader would find it worth their while.
Thanks Jared, for your insight, humor, and trustworthy teaching for my spiritual walk.
3.5 out of 5 stars. A worthwhile and recommended read, even though I had a personal let-down after completing it.
Mute Math – Armistice.
Sep/090
I believe this is the biggest difficulty in being a fan of any artist: expectation.
You are introduced to their art form (in this case, music). You grow to love it. It becomes a part of your life (meaning, the songs form a sort of soundtrack for experiences and memories you treasure). Like the smell of baking cookies or familiar cologne, a specific guitar riff or drum-beat can transport you somewhere wonderful.
On top of that, you just plain enjoy their craft. It’s catchy, fun, sophisticated, professional. It’s just plain good.
You go to see this band play live and they bring the heat. They are setting the bar high in every arena of musicianship. They’re playing with fire.
Because they can’t just float on the success of one album and one concert. Being a starving artist is an honorable thing, but I respect and expect these men to make a living. Not only will I gladly pay them for the opportunity, I’ll anxiously await the next time I can pay them for music.
And therein lies the problem: the hype; the lead-up; the wait. It gives me an opportunity to imagine in my mind what this next album is going to sound like. What experiences I will have while driving on the road at night with my windows down, stereo turned up.
Perhaps this is my fault. I mean, I did watch all of their video blogs updating their progress recording the album in studio. I did associate the energy and creativity with what I assumed the final product would be. How could you not love this?
or this?
But I digress.
All the above was to say that, when I purchased the album on release day, I was not met with a perfect representation of my expectations for what the next Mute Math album would sound like. I had to listen to the album multiple times before even feeling like I could adequately describe my feelings about it in this review.
To stop wasting your time, here they are:
The album sounds and feels more polished than their previous work — which isn’t necessarily a negative, but for me was an immediate distraction that I could not pinpoint until after a few plays through. I was expecting something gritty, independent-sounding. The album plays like a Top-40 contender.
We’re seeing them live this month, so I am anxious to experience the album’s tracks live to see if the energy is still present, but this album feels more tame, slower. Again, not a slam — but an observation.
I’m still chewing on this album — which is maybe a success in itself. Maybe other bands I would hear something unlike I was expecting a put it down. Forget about it. But I like these guys so much I want to love their new record, so I’m trying.
2 Stars out of 5. {Note: I would recommend this album, so it should technically get 3 stars…but I’m just not ready to award it that until I feel comfortable recommending it to myself.}
(A breakdown of ranking is as follows:
1 Star = Pity Star
2 Stars = Worthwhile
3 Stars = Recommended
4 Stars = Life-Changing
5 Stars = Best Stuff Ever
So now you know.)
Go Green, Save Green.
Sep/091
When I was in college, one of my friends, Lisa, always made a point to turn off lights when leaving the room. As a college student, I didn’t pay much attention to things like electricity. I figured, I’m living in a dorm, I’m paying enough tuition, if it’s convenient for me to leave the lights on, might as well leave them on! Lisa’s response was always that someone has to pay for it. How true this is. Not just in terms of money, but our usage of energy is a wasteful excess that costs others around the world. I wasn’t really aware of this back then, but have been made aware of this thanks to some reading and attempts at awareness I’m making personally.
One way I’ve been educating myself is with a superb book entitled Go Green, Save Green. This book is actually written by a woman who lives less than half an hour away from me. Her husband and her daughter have also each written a book about creation care from a Christian, Biblical standpoint. Check out their books, Serve God, Save the Planet and a teenager’s guide to creation care, It’s Easy Being Green.
Go Green, Save Green is an excellent resource for saving money in so many areas of life – each chapter tackles one area that you can make changes, both big and small, to save money and benefit the earth. From transportation to entertainment, home and church, community and honoring the Sabbath, there is an endless supply of eye-opening realities to the detrimental effects our American, Western consumption is costing our pocketbooks and God’s creations. Her tips on recycling, reusing, and reducing are invaluable. Having a Biblical basis for honoring the creation and helping our neighbors gives credibility to her advice and compels you as you read.
Some things she advocates we have been able to implement in the Durbin household – things like composting, using CFL light bulbs, replacing standard batteries with reusable ones, conserving electricity and water.
Here’s one tip taken from Go Green, Save Green that has recently been implemented for water conservation. We purchased a $3 bucket to catch the extra water from the shower as you run it, waiting for it to heat up. Every time each of us showers, that 10 quart bucket fills up 3/4 full. We then reuse this water to water plants, flowers, and herbs outside.
The book will challenge your lifestyle and our ingrained American habits… but we feel grateful for the suggestions and encouragement, and hope you will too. So check it out.
Robins and Bluejays.
Aug/090
One of the things we enjoy doing in our free-time is reading. It’s intellectually stimulating (use it or lose it, right?) and can be, maybe against popular opinion, an enjoyable experience. Books, like music and movies, are an art form that express and invite one into the human experience.
While we were dating (and also engaged) we read through The Brothers Karamazov together — sharing the experience and our thoughts on each page. It was something we really valued, so we decided to make it a habit of occasionally reading the same book.
Our recent excursion was through “Bird by Bird” by Anne Lamott. We’re both aspiring writers, as well as aspiring life-livers, and Anne promised instruction on both.
I had read some of her stuff previously — noting her giftedness with storytelling (she’s a true raconteur). This book is a bit of a diversion from that. There are still wonderful anecdotes from her life, which give life to the page, but they come in small spurts in between more “stale” (impassive) writing advice. Not that the advice is unwanted, or amateurish — just different from what we knew as her normal form.
Her advice could basically be distilled down to this: write. It may sound trite, but it’s probably the best advice you’ll ever get regarding writing (and, honestly, living). To steal from Nike: just do it. Today, tomorrow, etc. If you want to be a writer, write. A photographer? Shoot. A normal person? Breathe.
You can’t avoid the discipline of the obvious and monotonous.
This is a good book for those who want to invest into a few hundred pages of a book that migrates through hot and cold, hits and misses, good advice and repetitiveness; but, finishes well and leaves you realizing two things: you’ve learned a bunch of good, practical lessons and maybe a little about life at the same time.
3 Stars out of 5
(For the record, 1 star would be rewarded for something I read/listened to/etc. and reviewed that was terrible, but still gets a star because I gave the effort and want to feel it was worth my time. A 2-star review means it wasn’t horrible, but you probably wouldn’t miss anything if you skipped the item. A 3-star review means it’s worth looking into, but it’s not necessarily going to change your world. A 4-star review is for masterful work in whatever form of art is being reviewed. 5-stars are reserved for the best stuff I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing — e.g., The Brothers Karamazov). I could get very particular about these ratings (giving out 1/2 points and 1/4 points) but I’m just not going to do that.)
10K Training
Kristi's Training Mileage:
Trevor's Training Mileage:
Good Reads
Kristi's read shelf:
Trevor's read shelf: