Interrupted: An Adventure in Relearning the Essentials of Faith [Paperback]

Jen Hatmaker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2009

What happens when Jesus interrupts the average life? Interrupted encourages believers to ask if their lives bring integrity to the gospel. Follow the faith journey of author and fellow disciplemaker Jen Hatmaker and rediscover Jesus among the least of us.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Are you one of the millions who crave a new direction in the church? Have you had enough of religious games, empty promises, and “playing” church? It’s time to discover what happens when Jesus interrupts an average life.

Join author Jen Hatmaker in a transformation that begins with one dangerous prayer, “Raise up in me a passion,” and concludes with a life of service to the last, the least, the forgotten, and the forsaken.

It’s time for revolution in the church. Are you ready?

About the Author

Jen Hatmaker is the author of Ms. Understood and A Modern Girl's Bible Study series. With a heart for the women of her generation, she speaks at retreats and conferences around the country. Jen resides in Buda, Texas, with her husband, Brandon, and their three children. www.jenhatmaker.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: NavPress (July 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600062172
• ISBN-13: 978-1600062179
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,002 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #53 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Church History

More About the Author

Jen Hatmaker and her husband Brandon pastor Austin New Church in Texas. They pioneered Restore Austin, connecting churches to local and global non-profits for the individual, collective, and social renewal of Austin and beyond. Jen speaks at retreats, conferences, and seminars all around the country. She is the author of nine books and Bible studies, including Interrupted, A Modern Girl's Guide to Bible Study Series, and most recently, Seven. Jen and Brandon have five children: Gavin - 12, Sydney - 10, and Caleb - 8, and they've recently added Ben - 8, and Remy - 5 from Ethiopia. Drop her a line or check out her ministry at www.jenhatmaker.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clarity, wry humor and strong theology with a green cover, July 1, 2009

By 

Andrew Barlow (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Interrupted: An Adventure in Relearning the Essentials of Faith (Paperback)

I've had the privilege of watching Jen and her husband, Brandon, work their way through the worldview transformation detailed in this book and I can tell you that it is most definitely, sincerely God-ordained.

If you are or know one of those folks who ever marched out of a spiritual development class with the intention of talking people into a relationship with Jesus Christ, then encountered only confusion, indifference or even hostility in response to your best efforts, this book is for you.

If you are or know one of those folks who has found the American pursuit of prestige, prosperity and preferential treatment to be an ultimately hollow undertaking, this book is for you.

If you are or know one of those folks unsettled by churches that pour millions into buildings and thousands into helping the least among us, this book is for you.

In the spirit of sacrifice, humility and generosity that informs this brilliant book, don't buy just one copy for yourself. Buy ten or fifteen and give one to every person you know with a rusty, moth-eaten faith. (Just don't tell them that's your opinion...) It's that good.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Absolutely MUST READ!, August 4, 2009

By 

A. Melvin "atxanna" (austin, texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Interrupted: An Adventure in Relearning the Essentials of Faith (Paperback)

My favorite piece of summer reading so far has been Jen Hatmaker's latest book, "Interrupted." It's Jen's personal account of how God shook up her & her husband's faith and started steering them to interact with & befriend "the lost, the least, and the last" in this broken world.

They've been church-going people since they were kids & vocational ministers their entire adult careers... yet in 2007 they couldn't shake the lingering question inside their heads "God, isn't there more?" She prayed and asked "God, raise up in me a holy passion." And God responded.

"Interrupted" puts words to an inner angst that has gnawed at my insides for almost 2 years now. I have been a Christian just long enough to have gotten a good hold of the "routines" of American Christian life-- I go to church weekly, pray & read the Bible almost daily... I have attended plenty of "Bible Studies" and classes on what we think, I've studied theology, I've read a billion Christian books-- I have learned plenty (that is NOT to say I know it all, or even anywhere close to it). But at the end of the day, what was I doing with any of it? Mostly just talking to other church people about it.

I feel sometimes like we are all just "playing church", and that can be a suffocating place at times (just being honest) because... well, here's the way Jen put it: "Why did I spend all my time blessing blessed people who should be on the giving side of the equation by now?" (p. 21) Answer: because its safe and because its comfortable.

This book resonates because I am hungry. Hungry to serve outside the four walls of the church. In Austin. My city is full of poor people, hurting people, hungry people, beaten-down and broken people. Do I know any of them? Do I spend time with them? Do I know their stories? Have I listened and loved well? How much of my life (my time, my energy, my money, my sleep, my home, etc) have I sacrificed in order to love them well?

I am increasingly wondering... not just "have they HEARD about Jesus?" but "have they SEEN & EXPERIENCED Jesus through MY interactions with them?"

This book will challenge you to live beyond Christian comfort and mediocrity. It will tempt you to be crazy enough to actually DO things Jesus talks about in the Bible.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Punch in the gut!, August 4, 2009

By 

Mykkisu Quimby (Oklahoma) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Interrupted: An Adventure in Relearning the Essentials of Faith (Paperback)

Most of Jen Hatmaker's books make me laugh and then slap me up side the face. This one punched me in the gut. I finished it within 24 hours! Through Jen, God is really working on me regarding what I can do to make a difference for him outside the walls of my church building. I want EVERYONE I know to read this book! Be prepared to be humbled!