Velvet Elvis

I'm not much of a reader. I'd like to say that I am, but I am really not. And that's why I am proud to say that I have officially finished reading a book this week called Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell....and it only took me a couple weeks!! YEAH! I came across it after I had seen one of his NOOMA videos that we watched with the kids at the drop-in centre. I'm not quite sure if I can pull off a formal book review here, but I'll tell you what I liked about it. This book is basically following this guy's thoughts on Christianity today. The subtitle on the book says, 'repainting the Christian faith' which really describes the way this guy thinks. I loved the way he is real and honest and wants Christians to know it is okay to ask questions about our faith. "Questions", he says, " are central to faith. A question by its very nature acknowledges that the person asking the question does not have all of the answers. And because the person does not have all the answers, they are looking outside themselves for guidance."
I was hooked on his train of thought as soon as I read the first chapter. He describes his book as 'one for those who need a fresh take on Jesus and what it means to live the kind of life he teaches us to live'. Although there were many parts of the book that really connected with me, I'll type this one out that I really liked near the end of the book. He's talking about how much God actually believes in us (and up to this point, has given a really clear description of what the rabbinical system was like in Jesus' day).

He says, "God has an incredibly high view of people. God believes that people are capable of amazing things.....Let's spend some time here, because the implications of this truth are astounding. A rabbi (with includes many other leaders as well as Jesus) would only pick a disciple who he thought could ACTUALLY do what he was doing. Notice how many places in the accounts of Jesus' life that he gets frustrated with his disciples. Because they are incapable? No, because of how capable they are. He sees what they could be and could do, and when they fall short, it provokes him to no end. It isn't their failure that's the problem; it's their greatness. They don't realize what they are capable of. So at the end of his time with his disciples, Jesus has some final words for them.. He tells them to go to the ends of the earth and make more disciples. And then he leaves. He promises to send His Spirit to guide them and give them power, but Jesus himself leaves the future of the movement in their hands. And he doesn't stick around to make sure they don't screw it up. He's gone. He trusts that they can actually do it."

So if you come across this book, I recommend reading it. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.