Velvet Elvis

It's been an inspiring morning. I woke up and followed my everyday routine, but when I sat down in my usual chair on the porch under the mango tree, something was different. And all I can tell you is that it had something to do with the breeze. It was the perfect temperature, mild and refreshing, persistent but varied, and smelled subtly of home. (A breeze that doesn't smell of diesel or human waste is a welcome enough change here, but this was so much richer. It was startling.)

So I sat there and soaked it in and marveled once more at how blessed I am. And then I felt a little embarrassed at how little I do to try and spread that joy. When people ask "What's new?" I blush that my life revolves around my work and nothing much to say besides that. Nothing much to blog besides that. Yet I smile like I've got an oil well / pumping in my living room. (Thanks, Maya, that's exactly it!)

Then I thought about the book I'm reading, Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell: how it challenges and encourages me to think destructively about established patterns of thought, and compellingly about new, creative, communal ways of thinking about and living and breathing in God.

So I thought, Why don't I just blog this book? And to reassure any of you that think I'm about to get up on a soap box, allow me to introduce this book by quoting the back cover, a tidy glimpse into its tone:

We have to test everything.

I thank God for anybody anywhere who is pointing people to the mysteries of God.

But those people would all tell you to think long and hard about what they are saying and doing and creating.

Test it. Probe it.

Do that to this book.

Don't swallow it uncritically. Think about it. Wrestle with it.

Just because I'm a Christian and I'm trying to articulate a Christian worldview doesn't mean I've got it nailed. I'm contributing to the discussion.

God has spoken, and the rest is commentary, right?

Right off the bat, Rob speaks to my own discomfort and insecurity around mainstream Christianity. If Christianity has become a list of things to subscribe to and affirm and vote for, then I'm simply not. But if it's about living more in tune with the ultimate reality that creates and sustains and loves, then I'm in.

That's what this book is about: claiming truth -- wherever you find it! -- and throwing out the garbage. It's a discussion. And I hope you'll join in.