Dirty Word: The Vulgar, Offensive Language of the Kingdom of God [Perfect Paperback]

Jim Walker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2008

This is the story of a devout faith community, made up of people you'd rarely see sitting in your sanctuary on any Sunday, that meets in an old warehouse (and former basement tattoo shop) on the wrong side of the tracks - founded by a self-proclaimed rule-breaking team of ""a recovering evangelical"" and ""a theological mutt."" Dirty Word is an honest and raw theological story of mission and ministry with people who are turned off by the practices and appearances of traditional church. Follow Walker's story and expect to find God in the most unexpected places. It's an uncensored look at an unapologetic way of being the church by getting out of the pews and into the streets. ""Jesus gets in the grime and muck of life,"" writes Walker. ""If we follow Christ (the Sufferer), we too are going to have to get dirty. Really dirty. All the time. Not just on the special, once-a-year mission trip to Central America, where we get to eat exotic food and touch a lizard."" God's good news is as subversive and counter-cultural today as it was in Jesus' time. Perhaps even more so as some characterizations of American Christianity have mainstreamed into vanilla-bland, glazed smiles of the ""well-dressed blessed."" It's a mixed message. What Walker saw on the streets, what he read in the Bible and what he saw heavily promoted as the Christian lifestyle in bookstores didn't match. So he decided to find another way. He reached out to the hardcore South Pittsburgh streets, gathering outcasts who wanted to live in a new way but couldn't find a place where they fit. The worshiping body they built together - Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community - is a place of loving honesty, tender care, deep hurt and great joy. Being a Christian doesn't mean you get to have it all as you pick up the cross and follow Jesus. It's a life of surrender and sacrifice, which means sometimes you might not be comfortable and happy. And, yet, you might find the most precious gift of all through your own brokenness.

Editorial Reviews

Review

As I read DIRTY WORD, I kept thinking of the difference between a staged sitcom with a laugh track and a gritty, real-time, behind-the-scenes documentary. Jim Walker documents with raw and sometimes painful honesty, what it's like to be a committed Christian pastor working on the messy, unscripted, turbulent and exciting future side of the present. As an innovative founding pastor of one of the most creative new churches in the country, Jim speaks with a reflective practioner's perspective. More and more pastors and denominational leaders--young and old, mainline and evangelical--need to understand the realities Jim powerfully documents in DIRTY WORD. --Brian McLaren (brianmclaren.net), Author/Activist<br /><br />Defying the experts, Jim Walker and co-pastor Jeff Eddings broke the usual boundaries to found HOT METAL BRIDGE FAITH COMMUNITY on the south side of Pittsburgh. Witness the flash points of missional communion and community as you experience the kingdom of God through this story. You may discover God's unpredictable grace dirtying up your life, too. --Dr. Thomas F. Tumblin, Associate Pastor of Leadership, Asbury Theological Seminary<br /><br />Defying the experts, Jim Walker and co-pastor Jeff Eddings broke the usual boundaries to found HOT METAL BRIDGE FAITH COMMUNITY on the south side of Pittsburgh. Witness the flash points of missional communion and community as you experience the kingdom of God through this story. You may discover God's unpredictable grace dirtying up your life, too. --Dr. Thomas F. Tumblin, Associate Pastor of Leadership, Asbury Theological Seminary<br /><br />Defying the experts, Jim Walker and co-pastor Jeff Eddings broke the usual boundaries to found HOT METAL BRIDGE FAITH COMMUNITY on the south side of Pittsburgh. Witness the flash points of missional communion and community as you experience the kingdom of God through this story. You may discover God's unpredictable grace dirtying up your life, too. --Dr. Thomas F. Tumblin, Associate Pastor of Leadership, Asbury Theological Seminary

Defying the experts, Jim Walker and co-pastor Jeff Eddings broke the usual boundaries to found HOT METAL BRIDGE FAITH COMMUNITY on the south side of Pittsburgh. Witness the flash points of missional communion and community as you experience the kingdom of God through this story. You may discover God's unpredictable grace dirtying up your life, too. --Dr. Thomas F. Tumblin, Associate Pastor of Leadership, Asbury Theological Seminary

About the Author

Jim Walker lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and is pastor of Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community. He is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church. Jim is an actor and playwright whose work is part of the congregational ministry at Hot Metal Bridge. He is married to Brenda, who is completing seminary and serving as pastor of a church. They have two children.

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Discipleship Resources (August 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881775398
• ISBN-13: 978-0881775396
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #412,415 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Christianity as Usual, July 29, 2008

By 

T. Cox (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dirty Word: The Vulgar, Offensive Language of the Kingdom of God (Perfect Paperback)

This is not a view of the church from the air conditioned, theatrically-lit, four-hundred dollar ministry conference mountain top. No, this is the church in the trenches. This is the church caring and loving and pleading one soul at a time in the alleyways, bars, and tattoo shops of the city. You remember the city? That place where the church used to thrive before she high-tailed it to the cul-de-sacs, Hummers, and drive-thru Starbucks of the suburbs because that's where the money is. Was that harsh? I just appreciate a book that uses real stories and experiences to remind us that, ultimately, the kingdom of God is not about strategic plans, million-dollar auditoriums, or "church growth," and that holiness is not about clean living and keeping yourself pristine and pure. It's about being Jesus...dying to yourself (even if it means you get a little dirty) to love that one person God puts in front of you--especially if they are lost, forgotten, and unloveable. This is a book every ministry leader should read.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars awesome-awesome-awesome!, July 16, 2008

By 

Laura Phillips "laura" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dirty Word: The Vulgar, Offensive Language of the Kingdom of God (Perfect Paperback)

i love how the book is this awesome representation of the kingdom of God - people who are broken, dirty, messy, smelly, and "uncool" are valued. people who have maybe never even read a book are written about as important, valuable and beautiful people. the book itself practices what it preaches.

i like the mix of personal-story/testimony and really thought-provoking commentary on the church and culture today. These personal stories, thoughts and ideas are consistently held up against the Word of God to show their value, merit, worth and truth.

everyone should read this book. the way that the spirit has moved through this community is an awesome testimony to God's power and also can be an awesome challenge to the church today.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's About Time, July 16, 2008

By 

Lauren - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dirty Word: The Vulgar, Offensive Language of the Kingdom of God (Perfect Paperback)

I loved this book's honesty about the shortcomings of today's Church and the hopeful picture of what the Kingdom of God can look like once we get out of the pews. There are no freshly painted facades here, it's time to be real about where and who we're failing. The Kingdom of God is for everyone, even those feeling alienated by Church, but they can't be reached by the best praise band or multi-media experience. This book isn't always comfortable because it challenges us to fix a broken system we've held dear, but no one ever said a life following Jesus would always be comfortable.