Neighbors and Wise Men: Sacred Encounters in a Portland Pub and Other Unexpected Places [Paperback]

Tony Kriz (Author), William Paul Young (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 18, 2012

Hearing from God is extraordinary. But the circumstances He uses to reveal Himself may be more ordinary than we think.

Neighbors and Wise Men introduces captivating dialogues and unexpected moments with God that go beyond the confines of a conventional religious system and offer the chance for powerful life transformation.

Get to know Tony Kriz (known by many as "Tony the Beat Poet" in Donald Miller's best-selling book Blue Like Jazz) through his real-life conversations and experiences that prove that God can and will use anyone and anything— from Muslim lands to antireligious academics to post-Christian cultures—to make Himself known.

Through his own prodigal-son backstory and return to faith, Tony presents biblical truth in a conversational, but bold light that offers readers the courage to open their eyes to the unlikely encounters that are all around us every day; chance run-ins that turn out to be anything but chance.

Have we limited God's ability to speak in our world today? Have we relegated God's creative voice to the select persons who share our particular religious system? Kriz himself felt like he was falling out of faith until non-Christians encouraged him to "fall toward Christ."

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tony "The Beat Poet" Kriz has an earned doctorate in spiritual formation. He is a teacher of faith and culture through the mass media, via social media, and at universities, conferences, churches, seminars, and other speaking engagements. He pastors an imbedded community of life-servants in one of Portland's most culturally diverse neighborhoods. Tony and his wife Aimee have three sons.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (September 18, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0849947391
• ISBN-13: 978-0849947391
• Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 5.4 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (90 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #260,506 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tony Kriz has an earned doctorate in spiritual formation. He is a teacher of faith and culture through the mass media, via social media, and at universities, conferences, and communities of faith.

Tony has served with a variety of international organizations, living much of that time in Eastern Europe ministering with Muslims in Albania and loving a war-torn former Yugoslavia.

Many were first introduced to Tony under the moniker "Tony the Beat Poet." He lived for a season alongside the radically liberal campus of Reed College in Portland; some of his exploits were first described in Donald Miller's best-selling book Blue Like Jazz.

Today, Tony journeys with a community of life-servants among some of Portland's most culturally diverse neighborhoods and lives in submission to a multiracial gathering of Jesus-followers. He is giving his time to transforming urban missions: nurturing the Parish Collective network, integrating a holistic gospel-life, and serving as coach/consultant for church planters from diverse traditions.

Tony lives with his wife, Aimee, and their three sons (Malachi, Hudson, and Tristan) in an intentional community of faith. Together they have been foundational participants of several spiritual communities that serve the disillusioned, artistic, and dramatically post-Christian cultures of east Portland.

www.tonykriz.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I Highly Recommend This Book! August 31, 2012

By Josh B

Format:Paperback

I loved this book! It's well-written, refreshing and will expand where you look for Jesus in the world around you. Tony shares life-changing stories of Jesus encountering him through those outside the Christian faith: Muslims and atheists, addicts and nudists. The stories are powerful, personal and will make you hungry: hungry to hear God speaking in unexpected places through people who've been written off.

A unique thing I loved is Tony's ability to make others, rather than himself, the hero in his stories. If the classic saying is, "The victors write the history books," meaning those who write history tend to depict themselves as enlightened noble heroes and the "outsiders" as unvirtuous folks fumbling through the dark, then Tony inverts this truism: he lets us into his times of weakness, areas where he has stumbled in the dark, and lifts up the "outsiders" as those God has used to minister and speak to him in that place.

One of the biggest takeaways of this book is it can inspire you to be more attentive to God's voice speaking in the unexpected places in your own life, to listen more closely to the neighbors and wise men God has surrounded you with.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars LOVED this book! August 30, 2012

By Girl of Cardigan

Format:Paperback

If Tony Kriz were to write a "How to" instructional book of any sort, it would be "How to See and Love People Well." Kriz's ability to see the God-given value in others radiates off the pages of this book, giving the reader the opportunity to glimpse the world, its lessons and grit and beauty, with a humility and openness that is sometimes lacking in Christian text.

The story of Kriz's disillusionment, quest for answers and meaning, and unconventional reconciliation with his God isn't a particularly new one, and whole chapters of this book seem wildly familiar to the reader - not because they aren't original, but because so many of us have been in those spaces. This book is comforting in its honesty - Kriz's doubts are real, his questions are difficult, and the answers aren't always the cookie cutter ones we expect - much like, you know, actual life walking with God.

The gift Neighbors and Wise Men has to offer is a change in perspective - read this book only if you're willing to let it change the way you look at people. There are windows into the heart of God in all kinds of unexpected places - the stories in this book will open you up to them. Expect to be mightily blessed.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A thrilling tale of God in human form August 31, 2012

By Todd Price

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Disclaimer: I know Tony personally. So it touches my heart deeply to read his stories by the mere fact that he is important to me.

That said, I found myself in tears and cheers throughout this read, because it is a deeply human story. And the glory of God in all things and all people shines through Tony's story, which is really a glimpse into all of our stories. If you dare to read with an eye towards understanding your own heart (what Jesus, Paul, and the mystics are concerned with), and leave the judgments of what is good and right and proper (what the Pharisees are concerned with) behind, you can't help but be caught up into an experience of finding God in all the places you never expected to - inside your own story.