VELVET ELVIS

It wasn't long ago that sitting down and reading a book was about as exciting as watching a catapillar morph into a butterfly. I mean, you knew that it would a cool process but man I just didn't have the patience to do it. (I know a wierd analogy) Luckily I have overcome that lack of patience and I find myself reading -- a lot (no, I mean A LOT).

I just finished Rob Bell's first book "Velvet Elvis" on Monday afternoon and I still can't put the book down. I've read a lot of good, maybe even great, books recently but this one was different. It was just awesome and I really can't totally describe why. Maybe it's the fact that I am still picking this book and re-reading some of the portions I highlighted again and again. Maybe it's because Rob Bell is just freakin' awesome. Maybe it's just because this book has challenged me and resonated with me like no other. For whatever reason, I just can't keep it on the coffee table.

Just a quick little look at some of the content:

"Questions are not scary. What is scary is when people don't have any."

"When everything gets answered, it's fake. The mystery is the truth."

OK, as a person who truly is interested in "living in the questions," those statements fire me up! There are seven pages of the books devoted to the whole "question" thing. Oh man, break out the bright orange highlighter.

The second thing that really, really pumped me up (about sin and sinning):

" ... I move on. Not because sin isn't serious, but because I am taking seriously who God says I am. The point isn't my failure; it is God's success in remaking me into the person he originally intended me to be. God's strength, not mine. God's power, not mine. So what does it mean for the Christian life? To begin, Christians are people learning who they are in Christ. We are being taught about our new identity."

Ok, go with me here ... We as Christian, and even more specifically Christian leaders, need to start telling people who they are in Christ rather then telling people what they can and can not do. You know, stop doing sin management but rather let people be the re-newed person they are in Christ!

You know, a re-newed person just like the catapillar and butterfly?!? (well, maybe not but ....)