The Christian Culture Survival Guide: The Misadventures of an Outsider on the Inside [Paperback]

Matthew P. Turner (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I found myself laughing, shaking my head, sighing and smiling all because I could relate." -- Owen Thomas, The Elms

"If you’re ready for a new, honest and even hilarious take on Christianity and today’s culture, this is your book." -- Christa Farris, Editor of CCM Magazine and CCMMagazine.com

"The Christian Culture Survival Guide is a must-read for anyone who has ever walked through the doors of a church." -- Andy Argyrakis, Chicago Tribune contributing writer

"The Christian Culture Survival Guide is one of the most hilarious books I have ever read!" -- Jaci Velasquez, singer

"Witty, insightful, edgy, cynical, hopeful, faithful, disturbing, indicting, and provocative. You won't come away from it with a neutral response." -- Will Penner, speaker, author and editor of Youthworker Journal

About the Author

THE AUTHORS Chris Seay is pastor of Ecclesia, a progressive Christian community in Houston, Texas, and is author of The Gospel According to Tony Soprano (Relevant Books). Seay lives in Houston with his wife, Lisa, who is a marriage and family counselor. They have three children.

Chad Karger, the community pastor at Ecclesia, holds an M.A. in counseling and has worked with countless couples over the last ten years. He is part of Better Days, an organization that provides intensive spiritual direction and personal coaching to individuals throughout Houston. He has been married to Meeka for thirteen years and has three children.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Relevant Books (May 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974694207
• ISBN-13: 978-0974694207
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #959,068 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Matthew Paul Turner is the best-selling author of "The Christian Culture Survival Guide" and "The Coffeehouse Gospel." Before he began writing and speaking full-time, he served as editor of CCM and music and entertainment editor of Crosswalk.com. He, and his wife, Jessica, live in Nashville, Tennessee.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing. Just know what to expect., March 23, 2010

By 

geek-chic (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Christian Culture Survival Guide: The Misadventures of an Outsider on the Inside (Paperback)

I was hoping this book would be along the vein of my favorite blog, Stuff Christian Culture Likes, which is also written by a pastor's kid and is open-minded and edgy. I soon discovered my expectations were misguided, however. Though Turner seems to think his observations and opinions are refreshing and edgy, they would only really appear that way to someone who is still very much a part of baptist/evangelical culture and has never ventured outside of it. When Turner switches from teasing about a silly Christian culture norm to sharing advice, that is when you realize that his belief system and theology still falls squarely in the conservative, most likely Calvinist, camp. He doesn't explain why certain cultural practices or beliefs are misguided; rather, he just points them out and concludes with a "that's ridiculous!" Most of the time I was left confused as to what he was actually trying to do, and what message he was trying to get across. For example, when he makes fun of the audience at a Rebecca St. James concert for cheering her decision to save herself for marriage, he then goes on to say that he also made that decision and is committed to that principle. So there are a lot of mixed messages in the book.

I think the person who would most enjoy this is someone who is very much on the inside and shares the evangelical/fundamental/baptist worldview, but wants to be able to laugh at the culture they live in. For anyone from outside--whether you're of a different type of Christian denomination, a person who has "escaped" that kind of Christianity but still has faith, or if you are a non-Christian looking for a humorous inside look at evangelical Christian culture--you will not find what you are looking for here.

Based on other reviews, it looks like most readers of this book (myself included) had a different preconceived notion of what they wanted this book to be. In fairness to Turner, that's not his fault and he can't please everyone. My primary goal in writing this review is to clarify what the reader should expect so to prevent others from making the same mistake I did. Based on the descriptions of his books, I excitedly bought 3 of them. I read this one first, was disappointed, but still hopeful that the next would be good. I got a couple of pages into "Churched" before I decided I didn't want to read any more (it was the jab at infant baptism that turned me off). As a Lutheran Christian who spent 4 years at a Christian Bible college with strong Baptist leanings, I was much more of an "outsider living on the inside" than Turner probably ever will be. I was hoping his books would be comforting, but instead I felt I was reliving the pain.

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book by an, umm, Christian I have ever read, June 29, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Christian Culture Survival Guide: The Misadventures of an Outsider on the Inside (Paperback)

First, let me say this: I'm not a Christian. I grew up in church, but have not been to church for a very long time. A friend of mine gave me this book and told me to give it a chance, that it wasn't your ordinary "Christian" book. And she was right. I laughed so hard at Turner's stories, lists and opinions. IT'S ABOUT TIME SOMEONE WROTE THIS BOOK. He isn't preachy. He calls a spade a spade and does it all with a humorous twist. My favorite story is when he talks about getting baptized. I about fell out of my chair. I agree with the last review, I think some are taking this book WAY too seriously. It's meant to be fun. It's not blasphemous. It's a man's life--he's telling it like he sees it. His writing isn't Shakespeare, but it's far from immature and pointless. I'm probably not going back to church anytime soon, but a week ago, I did pick up a Bible for the first time in ten years. Thank you Matthew for being honest ... perhaps, you can put another star in your crown ;-) HAHAHA!!!!

2.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected, September 30, 2011

By 

Canuck Monk (VanCity) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Christian Culture Survival Guide: The Misadventures of an Outsider on the Inside (Paperback)

I've followed Matthew Paul Turner's blog for about a year and I bought this book before that but I finally got around to reading "The Christian Culture Survival Guide" last weekend.

This book is mildly humourous and I think Turner does capture some of the peculiarities within the Christian subculture (such as his guide about the Christian guys and girls one will see at church).

I am by no means a fundamentalist nor do I agree with a lot of things fundamentalists preach, but I think Turner is a bit too dismissive of orthodox theology. He provides some "key verses" in each chapter but I would hesitate to take his advice on several matters.

This book could've also been a lot longer.