Religious Book Store > Religious books beginning with M
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Messy Spirituality |
Author: Mike Yaconelli
Published: 2007-08-01 |
List price: $12.99
Our price: $10.39
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As of: December 03rd, 2008 11:59:11 PM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 Thought provoking look at the church
When I initially read this book I knew nothing of Mike Yaconelli and was shocked by some of the people he brought into the church and the disruptions he accepted (and even welcomed) within the church. The more I have thought about this book over the years the more I relate and hope to lead this type of church. Mike has changed my view of ministry and focused me on a a life and ministry focused on working within the community to change lives.
 Messy Review
Am not a book critic but I love God, I love truth and I love this book. This book jumps off the pages and screams "THIS IS THE WAY WE SHOULD BE!!" This book taught me that I will never be a perfect Christian only a human loved by God and trying my best to love and obey Him. I am who I am and God created me that way.
Messy Spirituality
I never realized that my being a christian was because I was not perfect but very messed up. How cool to know that my problems and pains are what attracted to Papa(God).
A grace-full book...I loved it!
Do you ever think: "I don't pray enough. I don't read my Bible enough. I don't share my faith enough. I don't love God enough. I'm not committed enough. I'm not spiritual enough??? I guess I'm not a very good Christian." Well, do you ever feel like that? I've been ordained for 25 years and I can still resonate with those statements from time to time. That's why I so enjoyed this book.
Mike Yaconelli co-founded Youth Specialties Ministries and the Wittenbergy Door, a Christian satire magazine akin to MAD magazine. I used to regularly attend Mike's youth ministry conferences as a youth minister and as a young Episcopal priest. The thing that always struck me about him was his candidness and authenticity. He was known for his nitty gritty honest approach to spirituality. When he described spiritual struggles, you knew he knew what he was talking about, because you knew from your own experience the truth of his words. Sadly, Mike died about 5 years ago. Yet his Christian realism lives on.
His book is an attempt to convince us that Christian perfectionism is not about us becoming perfect, but about us being comfortable enough in our imperfection that we're willing to give our messy lives to Jesus. It's only through our acknowledgement of our deep personal need for God's grace that we can truly be in fellowhip with God. Not one Biblical character, outside of Jesus, is anywhere near perfect, and most are terribly flawed...like us. That's why they became saints! Confused? So am I. Read the book! It's truth will free you from the bonds of perfectionism and make you better Christian.
Refreshing
As a Christian, I believe that the most important tool to strengthen our relationship with Christ is through the reading of his Word. But there are times in our lives when we need a little extra boost of encouragement and that comes through the people God has placed in our lives and through their words and experiences. Messy Spirituality is an encouraging display of God's grace in people's lives and a reminder that in a world filled with people trying to measure up to the standards set before us not only by society, but by the church, it is okay when our lives sometimes feel like they are a mess. Michael Yaconelli provides a beautiful display of God's imperfect people no longer seeking perfection in their lives through the works that they do, but seeking God in their lives and through that, He works in them to impact the world around them, no matter how big or small that impact may be. I also appreciated his honesty in his feelings of inadequacy throughout his life. I feel that more Christians should speak up about these feelings we have so that we can come alongside each other and work through those times, instead of being fearful of the reaction of those around us. I would highly recommend reading this book and sharing it with others so that we can begin being more open about the messiness in our lives instead of trying to mask it to look like the "spiritual" people we feel we need to be.
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