God in the Alley: Being and Seeing Jesus in a Broken World [Paperback]

Greg Paul (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 7, 2004

“Greg Paul tells of whores and crazies, misfits and rejects that sound as if they stepped out from the pages of the Bible.” –Eugene Peterson

Sam has survived physical, sexual, and substance abuse, terrible violence, and life on the streets. Wendy lives for the next high on crack, oblivious to her boyfriend’s love. Neil is dying of AIDS.

These are the people of inner-city Toronto. Look into their distorted, obscure faces, their fractured lives, and catch a glimpse of the sublime. Greg Paul calls them tragic heroes–individuals who can offer a testament to God’s love and mercy.

With emotional depth and spiritual intensity, Greg’s compelling stories reveal that people with desperate lives have precious lessons to teach us about the character of God. God in the Alley offers a profound message of grace and calling that each one of us needs to hear.

“The experience of reading this book haunts, convicts, delights. But one thing is for sure: you don’t want to miss it.”
–Mark Buchanan, author of The Holy Wild: Trusting God in Everything

“Greg Paul writes beautifully and welcomes us into the life he lives.… I am grateful to have read this book.”
–David Wilcox, musician, songwriter, and storyteller

“I dare you to read this book at more than one sitting. Each page is a seat belt that straps you in and the turning of the page pulls the straps tighter. When the ride is over, you’ll want to start again.”
–Leonard Sweet, author of numerous books including Soul Tsunami

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In this brief, affecting memoir, Paul chronicles his life as pastor of the evangelical Sanctuary Community in Toronto, which "make[s] it a priority to welcome people who have, for the most part, known only rejection and abuse." As Paul tells stories about prostitutes, drug addicts and abuse victims, he shares an epiphany from early in his ministry: While helping a man with AIDS who had soiled himself, "It became clear that being Jesus to Neil... was most perfectly summed up in the odious task of gently wiping excrement from his foot." Paul goes on, "I recognized that Neil was, at that moment, a physical representation to me of a vulnerable and dying Christ." In a similar vein, Paul writes about Mutt, whose love for his prostitute girlfriend mirrors almost exactly Hosea's love for Gomer and, as such, Jesus' love for humanity. Most refreshing about Paul's book is his awareness that many at Sanctuary may never have a conventional Christian conversion experience or may fall off the wagon even after conversion. In the midst of one story he explains, "This is not a fairy tale. Nobody, in this life at least, lives happily ever after." In Paul's experience, God does not make everything better in this life, but instead allows people to connect redemptively to one another and to Him through their brokenness.
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Review

“Greg Paul tells of whores and crazies, misfits and rejects that sound as if they stepped out from the pages of the Bible. The only difference is that he finds them on the streets of Toronto, instead of the Jericho Road and at the Samaritan Well. But they continue to be Jesus stories, every one–honest, accurate Jesus stories of which he gets to be a part.”
–Eugene Peterson, professor emeritus of spiritual theology, Regent College, and author of numerous books

“I dare you. No, I double dare you to read this book at more than one sitting. Each page is a seat belt that straps you in, and turning of the page pulls the straps tighter. When the ride is over, you’ll want to start again.”
–Leonard Sweet, author of numerous books including Out of the Question...Into the Mystery

“Through Greg Paul’s eyes, we’re surprised to see Jesus here and now–alive and right in front of us. He doesn’t preach at them: ‘I have learned too well the bitter emptiness of chirpy gospel-talk to ones so deeply wounded.’ Instead, he listens to them. He shows up and gets to know them. He sets aside his plans enough so that God has space to act. And Jesus moves in Greg’s heart and in his actions. And now in his writing, that light also shines. I am grateful to have read this book.”
–David Wilcox, musician, songwriter, and storyteller

“Greg Paul has been my guide on several encounters with the street people of Toronto. To him they are not ‘the homeless,’ but rather his friends; he knows them by name, is familiar with their stories, and treats them with a mixture of respect, sensitivity, and concern. I think the reader of this moving narrative of Greg’s work at Sanctuary will be hard pressed to decide whether he finds God in the back alleys of Toronto, or takes God in there with him.”
–Hon. Hilary M. Weston, former lieutenant governor of Ontario (1997-2002)

“With the writing of this book, Greg has not only told his story and the story of those who live on the periphery but he has called us, his readers, to come to grips with our own prejudices and brokenness and to understand what it means to follow a suffering Savior.”
–Dr. Rod Wilson, president of Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia

“A riveting book. From the first story in this book, you are drawn in to a world that Jesus walks in and through.”
–Marsha Marks, author of If I Ignore It, It Will Go Away…and Other Lies I Thought Were True

“We should have known better: all our elaborate and contrived efforts to discover Jesus in our midst, and all the while the kingdom has been among us, though hidden beneath its tumbledown exterior. What’s more, the king himself is here, only wearing the disguise of the least of these. With candor, humor, and love, Greg Paul tells his tales of urchins and vagabonds, street walkers and panhandlers, and in doing so pulls scales from our eyes to reveal Christ for us, with us, in us, through us. The experience of reading this book haunts, convicts, delights. But one thing is for sure: you don’t want to miss it.”
–Mark Buchanan, author of The Holy Wild: Trusting God in Everything

“Greg Paul has found the courage–and the calling–to walk as Jesus walked among the disillusioned, the downtrodden, and the discouraged. Read God in the Alley and you will be encouraged to look for lonely people where you live.”
–Angela Hunt, author of The Debt

“Profound yet simply and poetically written, God in the Alley is engaging, inspiring, demanding, and so needed. Greg Paul writes with a poetic eye for detail and a deep love and affection for those whose lives have intersected with his. Detailing his own journey in learning to live a life of compassion and grace he inspires and invites us all to join him in the journey of living the life of Christ, every day, and every hour of our own lives.”
–Devlin Donaldson, author of Pinocchio Nation

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: Shaw Books (December 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877880921
• ISBN-13: 978-0877880929
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,038,991 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finding Jesus in brokenness, January 20, 2006

By 

Darryl Dash "DashHouse" (Toronto, ON Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: God in the Alley: Being and Seeing Jesus in a Broken World (Paperback)

A friend of mine reluctantly read this book, thinking it would make him feel guilty. I suppose a lot of us approach a book like this with mixed feelings, hoping to be challenged but scared of where that might take us.

The book is called God in the Alley, and the subtitle says a lot: it's about "being and seeing Jesus in a broken world." For those of us who are sheltered, we are introduced to unfamiliar places and people, not far from home but far from our experience. I'm introduced to the underside of a park in Toronto that I've visited many times, and I learn where the high-priced working girls offer their services, and where the low-rent girls work. We meet crackheads, prostitutes, and victims of unimaginable abuse. And, surprisingly, we meet Jesus in the lives of these broken people.

"That's what I want this book to be about: the cultivation of our ability to both be Jesus and to see Jesus," writes Greg Paul, "if only by a dim flickering light - the afterimage on the darkened retina of a momentary, brilliant burst." Those of us who think our lives are not all that bad might overestimate our abilities to be Jesus, but Paul challenges us: you can't be Jesus if you aren't truly seeing him.

"If I truly want to be present as Jesus was and is, I must choose to act in very specific ways. Theory, or doctrinal correctness, is not enough. Seeing Jesus is a discipline of stillness. If I really want to see him, I'll need to avoid being consumed by trying always to do things in his name, and I'll need to learn to be motionless, intent on beholding what is in front of me."

Being present involves not only breaking through the comfort of middle-class life. It also involves breaking "beyond the internal barriers I have erected to protect myself.

So we read stories. These stories are not sanitized or romanticized. There is a lot of messiness in this book, and surprisingly, the messiness shows up in the good guys like Paul just as much as it does in the sinners. Even more surprising, we meet Jesus in surprising people: in those who are broken and who have little going for them. In one of the most moving stories, we meet a modern-day version of the story of Hosea and Gomer. Jesus shows up in the most surprising places, and if we're not careful we'll miss seeing him there.

Greg Paul teaches us to see Jesus in people rather than to see people as projects. He offers hope that we, too, may be able to develop the skill of seeing Jesus, just as he has, and ultimately in being Jesus to the people that we meet.

Paul reflects that at one point, if he had been asked how to be the presence of Jesus, he would have talked about being pure and strong and faithful. Although these are important, Paul explains today that he would answer differently.

"I am more likely to have Jesus revealed to me and through me in weakness than in strength, sinfulness than in purity, or doubt than in perfect faithfulness....I come to this astonishing conclusion: Jesus is found in brokenness..."

"The surprise of this brokenness is not just that the Almighty allowed himself to be broken, and that he invites me to touch him there in that brokenness. It's also that my own brokenness - that hidden, ugly, twisted stuff that I had expected would disqualify me forever from his friendship, and that, if it were known, would torpedo all my other relationships too - is precisely the place where he desires to touch me, and it is the place where I am most able to truly connect with other people."

I began this book expecting that it would teach me about how to serve those the middle class usually ignores. I finished realizing that it did much more than that: it introduced me to my own brokenness, with the "most attractive cover" we can find to hide the mess underneath, and it introduced me to the presence of Jesus in some of the people we see as being most broken. It gave me hope that I, too, can be and see the presence of Jesus in a broken world.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Earth Angels, October 11, 2005

By 

Randall Hardy "Dr. Randall Hardy" (Toronto/Ft. Lauderdale) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: God in the Alley: Being and Seeing Jesus in a Broken World (Paperback)

Although Christians would not consider me to be a Christian, (because I also believe in the best of what other religions have to offer) nontheless, to me Greg Paul demonstrates what it takes to embody the "Spirit" of Christianity. Jesus didn't sit in a comfortable pew every Sunday. He was 'in the trenches' as Greg Paul and his staff are.

This book is a great read. It will get you thinking about what it must be like to live in the 'shadow' city areas. It may motivate you to ask yourself deeper questions as to fate and purpose and God? Why them? Why must this be? Where is God in all of this? How can I help?

The personalities described in this book along with their successes and failures, help us understand our common humanity - these were folks who once had dreams and hopes too (and some still do) - despite the fact that reality has faded their aspirations greatly. How could we cope in their place? How can these people still show an indomitable spirit to survive the madness and pain they are exposed to every day?

Buy this book. It is raw and real. People of all faiths (those who are open-minded) will find these true stories to be uplifting and encouraging (no candy-coated trite Bible verses).

Is it possible to demonstrate the highest of spiritual principles on the street? Greg Paul wrestles to understand the complexity of this question and writes honestly about this issue sharing his experiences, vulnerabilities and insights.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars God in the Alley, January 8, 2005

By 

A. Osborne - See all my reviews
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This review is from: God in the Alley: Being and Seeing Jesus in a Broken World (Paperback)

This short book is very relevant to all Christians today. It is a quick read but not easy. It is challenging and thought-provoking. I highly recommend this book.