Blue Collar God / White Collar God [Hardcover]

Terry Esau (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2001

The truth is simple but the perspective is revolutionary. Terry Esau tells stories of a God who became regular, approachable, and accessible- not because He had to- but because He wanted to. Imagine God as a cab driver, a garbage man, or an insurance salesman- these are the stories of a God who went to great lengths to erase the distance, close the gap, and become one of us so we would truly know the extent of His love for us. But turn the book over and meet the White Collar God: the galactic CEO, the big I Am, the artist extraordinaire. In this book, we see both sides of the Creator-transcendent, yet accessible.

Editorial Reviews

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

CHAPTER ONE: Blue-Collar God He could have been born the son of a CEO. He could have attended a snooty prep school. He could have shuffled himself into the deck of humanity as a king.

But he didn't.

He came as a three of clubs.

He chose to be common. Ordinary. Regular.

He was born in a blue-collar hospital. He lived a blue-collar life. He hired a blue-collar crew and ran a blue-collar ministry. He was, literally, one of us.

In Blue-Collar God, that's exactly how I hope to portray him. Approachable. Accessible. I want to bring him down to the level to which he willingly brought himself; down to earth, down to us. He pressed the button for the basement of existence, becoming sub-God, trading in his puncture-resistance for human flesh.

Imagine . . .

God, a New York City cabdriver.
God, a garbageman.
God, a kite maker.
God, a homeless insurance salesman.
The I Am, now Everyman.

These are the stories of a God who gave up his CEO position to become a grunt, who traded his high-profile I Am status for a lowly John Doe existence. Instead of us struggling to live up to God, he willingly chose to live down to us. These are the stories of a God who went to great lengths to erase the disconnectedness between us and him.

This book is for people who struggle with that disconnectedness, who struggle to feel a closeness with God, who struggle walking with him even though they may be working for him. It's for people who have accepted God's gift of grace but have left it sitting under the tree, unwrapped. It's for people who keep asking for his forgiveness but are suspicious as to whether it has been granted. This book is for kitelike people who keep trying to fly themselves with no strings attached.

These stories aren't all neat and tidy. They're pictures of real life and the things that sometimes happen in real life. The symbolism may disturb you at times, but stick with me, follow the images all the way through and reach for the underlying nugget of truth. My wish is not to offend, but to jump-start our thought processes by sketching some pictures of God that are a bit nontraditional. After all, a God who swapped deity for humanity, even if only for a while, can't be accused of being overly traditional.

My hope is that you will become more comfortable with this nontraditional God who became human, ordinary; that you will feel a safeness in reaching for his calloused hand, that you will become more trusting of a God who willingly traded his white-collar superiority for blue-collar accessibility. These are the stories of a God who became a regular guy. A God who became approachable, accessible-blue-collar.

 

CHAPTER ONE: White-Collar God To say he's successful would be quite an understatement. To say he has entrepreneurial inclinations would be stating the glaringly obvious. To say he's a big shot, a big wheel, a big deal, the big cheese, would be selling him short on "bigs."

The name embroidered on his white collar pretty much says it all . . .

God.

Think about it. His address? Heaven-it's about as white-collar as you can get. His staff numbers in the billions-that's enough to make any CEO's white collar turn green. His portfolio? It makes Bill Gates's pile of green turn a pale shade of white. Yeah, his collar's white all right, blindingly white.

Virtually everything about him is bigger than life. He's not your ordinary, everyday, run-of-the-mill superhero. He can't be boxed in. He can't be packaged. He can't be defined. It's not just that he doesn't fit the mold-it turns out he is the mold. It's not just that he strays outside the lines-turns out he is the lines. He never had to climb the ladder-he is the ladder.

In White-Collar God you'll meet . . .

God, the CEO of the Fire Factory.
God, the architect of the Tomorrow Tower.
God, the Big Is.
God, the benevolent Mr. Wellington.
God, the high-bidding portrait Artist.
The ultramega Alpha and Omega.

These are the stories of a big God. The stories of a God who may have taken a ride on a train through a town called Mortality, but he didn't get off there. The route went on and so did he.

But let's back up a minute and check out that detour through downtown Mortality. What was that all about? How do you reconcile that with this mysterious mighty Messiah? It's baffling, this flip side of the white-collared guru. Just when it seems this all-powerful leader ought to cinch up his tie a little tighter around his white collar, he flagrantly unbuttons his top button and shows us something completely contrary.

He shows us he's vulnerable. He shows us emotions that VIPs shouldn't show. We see an entourage that doesn't look very presidential. We see a carpenter who doesn't look very kingly.

That's the kicker. This white-collared king became smitten with a little peasant girl named Humanity. The God of everything-who could have had anything-came down with a "thing" for us. He could have snapped us like a twig, yet we were the very habit he couldn't break.

These are the stories of a mysterious God-one who measures the height of his love by the depth of his sacrifice. A God who wasn't afraid to not use force, to not command submission. He wanted the peasant girl, us, to love him for who he was, of our own free will. He became weak to show the might of his love. The prefect inverted the flow chart to demonstrate perfect love. It's not the standard MO for deities, but then he's never been the poster child for "standard." He's never worn the "predictable" label.

This book is for people whose God has become manageable, definable, predictable. It's for people who haven't been surprised by God in a while. For people whose God never goes over fifty-five.

I suggest you buckle up.

These stories aren't all neat and clean, but neither is life. The symbolism may disturb you at times, but look beyond the images to the truths they represent. These aren't fairy tales, they're better than fairy tales, they're snapshots of truth. Pictures of God, fully engaged with humanity.

Get ready to stretch your imagination. Dare to see the God outside the lines, beyond the box. Prepare yourself for a God who's not your average, everyday run-of-the-mill superhero. His top button may be open, but there's no mistaking him. He's the one in the dazzling white collar.

 

 

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (October 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0849917042
• ISBN-13: 978-0849917042
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,986,176 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read it once, then again to your children, December 17, 2001

By 

Tom Garlinghouse (Maple Plain, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blue Collar God / White Collar God (Hardcover)

The best gift you can give yourself is to read this book out loud to children. Not only are they great stories to read, but like poetry they come alive and take on a new dimension when you hear them being read aloud. I suddenly found another layer to each tale as I read them to my 13 and my 16 year old son. We have given several of them to friends as Christmas gifts. When you read the book, you will know why. The author has a great folksy style, rich with symbolism.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hardly typical, December 13, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Blue Collar God / White Collar God (Hardcover)

This is not your typical Christian book. It didn't feel or sound religious, but still hit hard. Stunning word pictures. Unique settings. Esau definitely strays outside the lines...I like that. This book is certainly worth your time and $s.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing stories, December 11, 2001

By 

Brian (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blue Collar God / White Collar God (Hardcover)

I've read the book and have heard the author read the stories. Every time I read the stories I see more examples of incredible writing and how incredible God's work is in my life. Esau grabs your attention and then reveals surprise endings with potent meanings. Great for everyone in your life. I gave it to my parents for their 35th wedding anniversary.