CRANKY, BEAUTIFUL FAITH:FOR IRREGULAR (AND REGULAR) PEOPLE.

My not being a person of faith this might seem a bit of an odd choice of reading material but it really was one of those occasions when fate, destiny (call it what you will) stepped in and I felt compelled to read it.

Now I just need to think of a way to review it in the same impersonal way, without personal circumstances clouding my thoughts, as I would any other book.

CRANKY, BEAUTIFUL FAITH:FOR IRREGULAR (AND REGULAR) PEOPLE by NADIA BOLZ-WEBER.

BACK COVER BLURB: Former stand-up comic and unlikely pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber weaves personal narrative, hilarious rants and powerful spiritual insight as she relates her unusual journey of faith, offering a fresh and uncompromising look at the transformative power of grace. As one of today's most provocative Christian leaders, she blends irreverence and brilliant theology to offer a new portrait of faith - one that is edgy, outrageous and, above all, real.

FIRST SENTENCE {Fall 2005}: 'Shit,' I thought to myself, 'I'm going to be late to New Testament class.'

MEMORABLE MOMENT {Page 83}:You hear a lot of nonsense in hospitals and funeral homes. God had a plan, we just don't know what it is. Maybe God took your daughter because He needs another angel in heaven. But when I've experienced loss and felt so much pain that it feels like nothing else ever existed, the last thing I need is a well-meaning but vapid person saying that when God closes a door he opens a window. It makes me want to ask where exactly that window is so I can push him the f**k out of it.

SOURCE: A book belonging to Mr T.

MY THOUGHTS: Beautifully written and not nearly as 'preachy' as you might imagine it to be. I think it safe to say that Nadia Bolz-Weber's isn't the kind of pastor that most of us come across every day, her church, House Of All Sinners And Saints, hardly what you'd call mainstream. And that is what makes it such a fascinating and refreshing read (yes, even for someone not of the faith.)

A woman who comes across as wonderfully compassionate and insightful, a woman who is well aware of her own frailties and short comings. Take away her obviously deep faith and what you are left with is a very human story that focuses on real life.

Funny, quirky, raw, sad (I defy anyone not to cry as they read of the author sitting with two children whose mother has just died), poignant, heartfelt - all this and so so much more. I guess that ultimately what I enjoyed most about the book was its potential to challenge what may well be the readers perceptions of what a Christian should (or indeed should not) be. 

The second book read for this Read-A-Thon. My first review, The Fourth Lad by Sydney Carr, can be read here with my review of Demons Not Included by Cheyenne McCray to follow tomorrow/Thursday.