The Hole In Our Gospel

First of all… Yes!! I am so excited to start on this journey. I love to read and I love to read substance. AND I love community. So why not put all three together? Brilliant 🙂

I wanted to start with an absolutely fabulous book called, “The Hole In Our Gospel” by Richard Stearns. I didn’t even know this book existed until my Mom mentioned that she was reading it. And being my Mom, the next time she showed up she had a gift for me… this book.

This was my recommendation on LinkedIn/Amazon: “If you are not willing to be convicted, challenged, and motivated to action then do not pick up this book. If however, you are willing to take a close look at your life, your priorities, and are willing to be hard on yourself and change habits, priorities, and timelines in order to help those that need and receive a great reward. Then this is the book for you. It is life changing if you let it be.”

I think the best thing to do to explain it is to let Rich do the talking.

“On Sunday morning, safe in our church pews and surrounded by friends, it can be all too easy to leave the world’s violence, suffering, and turmoil outside – out of sight, out of mind. But wait – as Christians, are we really given the option of turning away from the world’s problems?

The idea behind The Hole in Our Gospel is quite simple. It’s basically the belief that being a Christian, or follower of Jesus Christ, requires much more than just having a personal or transforming relationship with God. It also entails a public and transforming relationship with the world…”

In my opinion, this book is a call to action. To those of us who claim to love and follow Jesus. Are we following his commands to serve and to take care of those in need? Can I also suggest that although this is written from a Biblical perspective, that one need not fully buy-in to that perspective to really get something out of this book? I think can. Let’s see what Rich has to say again.

“I write this book unapologetically from the perspective of one who holds a Christian worldview.  And because more than three-quarters of all Americans call themselves “Christians,” it is obviously a worldview held by the large majority… But if you are not a Christian, I hope you will read this book anyway. You will find it to be both self-critical and judicial of the shortcomings readily found in the Christian community. As a group, we are far from perfect. But Christian or not, you must not read this book dispassionately, as if you are somehow exempt from caring. All of us who live in this world share responsibility for tackling the world’s problems and showing passion to our fellow man.”

I’d like to shout an “Amen” at this point, except that doing so would imply that I am pulling my own weight, doing my part. And let’s be honest. I’m not. There is so much more that I could and should be doing. I love that this book is challenging me to be honest and to change.

Ready to start?

The logistics – 1. Finding the book!
Barnes and Noble: Paperback is $12-$18 (.com vs in store). Click HERE for .com. The Nook version is $10.39 and you can use that same link. B&N also has a Marketplace similar to Amazon – starting at $1.29 for the book. Click HERE for the Marketplace options.

Amazon: Click HERE for Amazon’s options. Anywhere from 75 cents to $11ish. The Kindle version is $8.63.

Or any bookstore I’m sure you can pick this up at. I’m a fan of cheaper books myself, but hey, whatever works for you I say go for it!

2. Starting! Let’s try to begin the week of October 7th. This gives everyone a little over two weeks to get the book. I will do the write up and begin our virtual discussion of Chapter 1. Whoever is interested I will set up a totally random, nonscientific schedule of who can begin discussions on subsequent chapters.

3. “I’ve never blogged,” you say. No problem. Email me what you think and want to say, I’ll simply post it for you!

In the mean time, if you are interested in pursuing this. Leave a comment below with a fun fact about who you are and maybe your favorite book, or the last good book you’ve read. Let’s start to get to know each other!