Customer Reviews

Red Letters: Living a Faith That Bleeds

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I will never play the game Chicken with Tom Davis. I would lose, guaranteed.

Tom Davis, author of Red Letters: Living a Faith That Bleeds has the ability, through his writing, to stare you directly in the eye and speak truth that takes your breath away. He begins Red Letters with an apology on behalf of the Christian church, to the 25 million people currently infected with HIV/AIDS. He apologizes for our unwillingness to respond to the Bible's 'red letters'... those words set apart in some Bibles as Christ's own. And Davis clearly outlines his take on Gospel: "The only Gospel worth living is the one that incarnates love. The only Gosepl worth giving our lives for is the one that elevates the needs of others above our own. That's what the "good news" is all about."

Davis weaves biblical passages with his own experiences working with orphans in places like Russia and Swaziland. He names the fears that keep us immobile. He provides statistics that stun. He looks at the sanctity of life and call to justice. He names the immense needs faced by so many of our children living around the world.

But in the most amazing way, Davis does not try to shame us into action. Rather, he informs, inspires and then provides a host of resources to help us follow through with the call Christ has placed into each of our hearts. Somehow he maintains hope for the orphans... and hope for us.

My green highlighter got a work out. While this is not a technically difficult book to read, it was very challenging. Davis takes away any excuse to be inactive because of ignorance. There were many passages I could have chosen to share, but I felt like they were really speaking to my own failings (you've got to appreciate a book that feels like it was written just for you). But I will add here a quote from Mother Theresa that is used in a chapter called A Call to Justice:

"When a poor person dies of hunger, it has not happened because God did not take care of him or her. It has happened because neither you nor I wanted to give that person what he or she needed."

The proceeds from the sale of these books goes back in to feeding orphans. In fact, the profits from each book will feed a child for a month. Seriously.

This is an important book. Challenging. Practical. Loving, in the most Christ-like way...

There are lots of "call to action"/social justice books coming out lately - many of them from unlikely sources. I think this is a great thing...except that many of them sound a lot like the typical colonialist views of the "let's save the barbarians because they need us civilized people" days.

Red Letters is a refreshing exception. This book is raw and gutsy and very Christ centered. The call isn't so much to social action as it is to be such a genuine and radical follower and lover of Jesus that you cannot help but be transformed into his likeness...and in turn, see his likeness in those around you.

Davis shares touching and powerful stories of living out the "red letters", of capturing the ethos of the Gospel, not just developing a collection of obligatory behaviors.

This book is a quick read and very conversational in nature. It would be a great book for youth to read and discuss (that isn't to say that this book is dumbed down in any shape or form, just that it's not intimidating or pretentious).

Davis has done a great job at weaving personal experience with the life and call of Jesus with raw statistics with specific actions that can be taken to live a faith that bleeds.

These words left an impression with me as they did another reviewer - I use similar words with our faith community quite often.

Every morning when I get out of bed, I look for Jesus. No, not because I've misplaced Him. And I'm not talking about a feeling I get during prayer, or revelation that comes to me while reading Scripture. I'm talking about finding Jesus in the eyes of real people. In the eyes of the poor, the handicapped, the oppressed, the orphan, the homeless, the AIDS victim--the abandoned and the forgotten.
(Tom Davis, Red Letters, p. 15).

We often talk in the emerging church about being incarnations of Jesus - BEING Jesus to people. True enough but we also need to see Jesus in others...after all, he tells us himself that he's there.

Be sure to check out Davis' campaign, 5for50

In his latest book Red Letters, Living a Faith that Bleeds Tom Davis leads us into a world that so many of us could not conceive of, the life of an orphan ravaged by the blight of the 21st century, that blight of course is A.I.D.S. He goes much further then reminding us of our Biblical mandate to take care of the widow and orphan and shows us how we, as God's church, can reach out in practical and life giving ways and make a difference. It is a full out indictment of the church and how we have treated this in the past, and then it provides us with the motivation to go and do something about our previous apathy.

The last 30 pages of the book are dedicated to providing you with the practical resources to get involved. Some of it may be familiar, and some of it will not. Please take the time to read the list of organizations and worthy causes that he has compiled and prayerfully get involved. You will not be disappointed. One such campaign of note that Tom himself has recently started is called 5 for fifty.

Soon the world will see it's 50,000,000 (yes that is million) case of A.I.D.S. The unfortunate fact is that it will probably happen to an orphan, and likely in Africa. Without the mobilization of the church it will only get worse. 5 for fifty is 5 steps you can take to begin to change the plight of the orphan.

1) Give 5 minutes a day to prayer for those with HIV/AIDS.

2) Give 5 hours a week to fast for those with HIV/AIDS.

3) Give 5 dollars a month to the 5 to fifty fund to support worthy causes in the regions hardest hit by HIV/AIDS.

4) Give 5 days a year to travel over seas and to work to alleviate the suffering and burdens of children in extreme poverty and burdened with HIV/AIDS.

5) Give 5 people the opportunity to join you in your journey. Not necessarily traveling to the area if you do not have the monetary resources, but sharing about what you are doing in the first three with others and encouraging them to join you.

Tom has written a book that is close to my heart. I work for Compassion International and we are well aware of what HIV is doing to our children. I am forever grateful for Tom and his willingness to shake the church out of it's slumber and say "arise, go forth and do great things in the name of Jesus" The church, allied with governments and other N.G.O.'s has the ability to eradicate A.I.D.S, and to share the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ at the same time. Let's step out and do it. God will be in our midst.

Carl Holmes
www.thoughtsofagyrovague.com

I've known Tom Davis for a while now, so I jumped at the chance to get an early copy of his new book Red Letters. Like anyone who works in Africa, he has the desperate passion of someone who has literally changed the lives of hundreds but only sees the millions that remain.
(A word of warning; I've already passed this book along to a friend in North Carolina, so my apologies for being a bit vague here.)
The best (and by best, I mean "the most tear-inducing) parts of the book come through the stories of the children that Tom has met. There's the girl that was so violently raped BY HER UNCLES that she is unable to control her bladder. Another girl who, after the death of her parents, has to provide and care for her younger siblings at the mature age of 10. These are stories that will make you cry, no matter who or where you are (it's a bit embarassing on the bus, might I add).
Red Letters does a good job illustrating the ways that our (the Western world) help is needed. Tom walks the somewhat delicate line between conviction and guilt well, leaving the readers wanting to help in whichever way that they can. It's not a high-art piece of literature; it's a gritty, desperate plea for us to start to read the red letters of our Bibles and live accordingly.

May we all get the message.

I read Davis' first book, Fields of the Fatherless, earlier this year and it made me revisit my priorities; and it changed my perspective regarding the world I live in...the community I live in. Davis' heart for orphans is undeniable. Davis' vision for caring for orphans is the foundation of the Children's Hopechest (www.Childrenshopechest.com) organization in which Tom Davis is President.

In Red Letters, Davis pulls out all the stops and calls on the Christian church, Americans, me..and you to stop ignoring, start talking, and take action. Davis makes a convincing argument for us to stop acting like HIV/AIDS is not "our" problem.

I was shocked when I read the following statement....."Six and a half thousand Africans are still dying every day of preventable, treatable disease for lack of drugs we [Americans] can by at any drug store."

"Preventable"....."Treatable"

There are several stories in Red Letters that are heart breaking as well as shocking....but yet, as Davis points out, we choose to be deaf, dumb, and blind to what is happening in Africa, what is happening to the world. Even, as Bono of the famed U2 brings attention to the horror of HIV/AIDS....we continue to live in the "me" world.

Davis sums up Red Letters, in my opinon, with this statement...."This is not about charity: This is about Justice and Equality." Davis drives his point home...."We" are letting the "injustice" happen. I am not sure I agree with the usage of the word "justice," but Davis brings attention to what is happening in Africa. The question is "how numb are we?" Is it because it is surreal?

I love the statement in the book (that is a Wealth Lifeline (TM) core value)..."Building walls around our possessions and our lives leads to selfishness and hardened hearts." This is so true and so obvious....but the world's view of wealth encourages this.

The Wealth Lifeline (TM) definition of "wealth" is "To love and be loved." Yet....we focus on being loved by doing all the wrong things...."buy building walls around our possessions...." When we do this...it is impossible to love....and impossible to come close to see the world through Christ's eyes.

Tom Davis' Red Letters will shock you into reality, if you let it.....the question is....will "we" do anything about it?

Rob Powell
www.wealthlifelines.com

This book has a sticker saying that monies from the sale will feed an African for a month. What the sticker should really do is warn you of how it will mess with you. Newcomer Tom Davis has written an amazing book for 21st century Christians. For all followers of Jesus, this is a hard look at whether we are really living out what our leader says. I recommend you read a few pages at a time and process slowly the contents of this small but provocative book. Life-changing and highly recommended!

A child becomes an orphan every 14 seconds because of AIDS.

The number of children orphaned by AIDS is expected to exceed 25 million by 2010.

With these realities, someone is desperately needed to "stand in the gap" (Eze 22:30) on behalf of Christ's church for the children and adults in the world suffering with HIV/AIDS, especially those affected most in Africa. Author and President of Children's Hopechest, Tom Davis, has answered this call. In his book, RED LETTERS: Living a Faith That Bleeds, effectively persuades all of Christ's followers to be Jesus' hands and feet to our neighbors effected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and around the world and provides practical steps on how each follower of Christ can begin to do this. In RED LETTERS, Tom Davis beautifully captures and portrays God's heart for the poor and oppressed, namely those living with HIV/AIDS in Africa, and what it means for those who confess to be Christ-followers to live out their faith by being Christ to the hurting world. Through his gift of storytelling, Tom brings the reader into the lives of those suffering because of HIV/AIDS. Tom builds a bridge by helping the reader relate to those suffering, by putting faces, names and stories on individuals who were once merely seen as statistics. Being confronted with the reality of the enormity of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, it is easy to become overwhelmed and frozen by not knowing where to start ministering. Tom clearly gives the reader practical ways to help and minister to the children, women and men in Africa and around the world who are suffering because of HIV/AIDS.
I was deeply moved, encouraged, inspired and empowered by RED LETTERS. Just like Tom's other book, Fields of the Fatherless, I am sure I will use RED LETTERS time and time again in my ministry to orphans. I enthusiastically recommend every Christian read this book and then give it to a friend to read. RED LETTERS will inspire and empower you to see Christ in others and, by living the words of Jesus, become His hands and feet to your neighbors, those suffering because of HIV/AIDS in Africa, the orphan, the widow, the stranger and those living right next door. Please purchase this book (by purchasing it you will feed and orphan for a month), read it, and live the words of Christ.
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As a youth leader this book needs to be on hand as a continual reminder of how to live for Christ. In a job where this message is essential to not only our own personal relationships with Christ, but stands as a foundation to our calling to create disciples, Red Letters: Living A Faith That Bleeds succeeds in its attempt to show how the world would be a better place through both compassion and hope. We need to leave behind our fears and comfort and replace apathy and silence with action and care towards those that really need both hope and compassion. When reading Matthew 25:41-45, and taking in the words from Davis, there is a clear understanding that ignorance and apathy can no longer be acceptable answers to our stalling in the mission of God, which is to love God, love our neighbour, and to create disciples. In order to be a successful Christ Follower, or promote Christ's teachings effectively, we need to do one thing correctly: To care for what God cares about.

This book is life changing! I could not put it down, and finished it in a couple of hours. As Christians, we are called and commanded to care for the orphans and the widows. We are told that which we did for the least among us, we also did for our Lord. This books shares real life examples of how to live out your faith in this day and age.

In 2004, when Tommy and I were researching resources to start an orphan adoption ministry, I came across a man with compassion for the orphan.....his name is Tom Davis. I spoke to him once on the phone and could tell immediately his heart for the orphan! His first book, Fields of the Fatherless, touched my heart in an amazing way. His new book, Red Letters: Living a Faith that Bleeds is no different. Tom, with all his passion that he has for the orphan, takes the reader on an amazing journey of how to live out the gospel! His passion is contagious!! His stories are real life. This book is not for the person who is satisfied with mundane living. This book is for the person who wants to live a faith that bleeds, who wants to know how to be Jesus' hands and feet to the HIV/AIDS orphan, to the abused lonely child in Russia, to the outcast and the downtrodden!