Feature Reviews:

Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith

Author: Rob Bell

Earlier this year, this particular book was mentioned during a couple of sermons at Peace so we thought it might be helpful to review it for you. The odd title, the graphic design of the pages, the chapters referred to as “movements”, even the positioning of the page numbers tell the reader that this book is not quite the norm. Neither is the content. Rob Bells writing style is quite relaxed, more like a face to face conversation than a tone of theology. You will quickly discover something fresh.

Rob Bell, at the age of 28, founded a church called “Mars Hill” in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1998. The book reviews how he came to that act and where it lead him on his faith journey. By is own admission he says, “what do you know about anything when you’re 28?” But, as we read we see that he is driven by his desire, creativity, celebration and sense of connection to share his views about God.

He starts by telling us that we are all people of faith - every person on the planet. “Everyone believes in something.” On a daily basis our decisions lead our lives and our interaction with all living things, including God, because everything ends with Him.  There is nothing beyond God. “The way of Jesus is not about religion, it’s about reality,” says Rob. Velvet Elvis is down-to-it straight talk about our relationship with our Creator. Think for a moment about the Bible, our instruction manual, so to speak. When it was written, the meanings for words and actions were quite different than what they represent today in the 21st century. It was written by men, with no female point of view offered. It was written with hidden political agendas and influenced by personal opinions. Rob Bell says that it’s no wonder we have a hard time understanding it sometimes, and that’s why reexamining it is so vital for each generation. In order to keep Christianity alive, vibrant and fresh, new ways must be used to deliver the Word. It follows that some people will be turned off by a newer presentation because it is so different. The word “trinity” is a good example. It isn’t used in the Bible; not once. It was developed as a way to help a new generation of people understand what God is, says Bell. We need to think about our spirituality in new ways in order to help grow us to be the people God means us to be. Bell states that Jesus first messages began with the Hebrew word T’shuva, which translated means “to return”. To return to what we were originally meant to be with God, in God and of God.

There is a lot to mull over in Velvet Elvis. There is a section provided at the back of the book for notes and endnotes to cited Scriptures, people and events. Velvet Elvis is available on audiocassette from the publisher, Zondervan, and a website is also available for readers comments. While this book is fairly short (less than 200 pages, it offers up some big ideas to help bridge the gap between traditional and contemporary forms of thought. We think you’ll agree.

Title: Death by Suburb: How to Keep the Suburbs from Killing Your Soul

Author: David Goetz

Does life in the suburbs kill our souls? Without a spiritual focus we start acting as if the world's highest priorities are a perfect lawn, a daughter on the honor roll, and A son's victories in soccer. David Goetz shows that the suburbs are a real world, but a spiritually dead one.

For many busy American suburbanites, attending to one's spiritual life has become just another box to check off the daily to-do list. We heed the call to join committee after committee and are promised that the more time and energy we give to the church community, the closer we will feel to God. But although we seem to have it all together, with our yards perfectly manicured, our children's homework done, and the items for the church clothing drive folded neatly in plastic bags, we find that our suburban spirituality and religious life seem as artificially flavored as soda pop.

This book is a wake-up call to suburbanites who have put their spiritual life on cruise control and let the caffeine-driven culture of speed wreak havoc on their relationship with God. Combining witty anecdotes and a suburban insider's sometimes surreal experience, Goetz offers eight spiritual disciplines that can help you create what he calls a "thicker spiritual life" without having to leave your cul-de-sac comfort zone. Whether it means creating room for the ancient traditions of stillness and silent meditation or battling the hyper-competition that breeds in the suburbs, Goetz spells out concrete methods for nurturing the spiritual life amidst the noise and routine of daily suburban experience