Rumors of God: Experience the Kind of Faith You've Only Heard About [Paperback]

Darren Whitehead (Author), Jon Tyson (Author), Bill Hybels (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 19, 2011

Rumors of God is a call to Christians seeking a vision of the life God is calling them to, one that transcends the shallowness of our culture.

In his classic work, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis likens an encounter with God to coming to life: "This world is a great sculptor's shop and we are the statues. But there is a rumor going round the shop that some of us are some day going to come to life."
  
However, today many Christians live with tension. What the Scriptures promise seems like a far cry from what we experience in our lives. As a result, God seems distant, and the life described in the Scriptures seems more like a series of rumors than reality.

Does God still do great things today? Is it possible to really experience Him? Can we close the gap between what we hear and what we see?

Rumors of God is a rally cry for the church. Authors Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson share compelling stories about the work and activity of God today. Packed with fresh cultural observations and illuminating Scriptural insights, Rumors of God will ignite a passion in your heart to see your faith come to life.  

Foreword by Bill Hybels, founding and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., and chairman of the board for the Willow Creek Association.

 The irony: two upstart Aussies from tiny towns half a world away wind up leading high impact churches in two of the most significant cities in North America.  Only God.

Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson are deep thinking Christ followers with a bias for action in the world.  A rare combination these days.  They are both leaders and communicators, visionaries and "get stuff done for God" guys.  Extremely rare.

I have had the privilege of working closely with Darren at Willow Creek Community Church for over 7 years.  He is thoughtful, relationally intelligent and one of the hardest working young leaders I know.

In Rumors of God, Darren and Jon have some how succeeded in slipping 3D glasses over our eyes.  The results are that passages from scripture come alive in ways that will impact readers for a long time.

 I salute the efforts of these young mates and pray that readers will be as stretched in their minds and hearts as I have been.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (July 19, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595553630
• ISBN-13: 978-1595553638
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (143 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,485 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars promises of something more, January 4, 2012

By 

K. Burns "Blessed by GOD" (Somewhere LA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rumors of God: Experience the Kind of Faith You´ve Only Heard About (Kindle Edition)

The book promises something more...I found it hard to get into...hard to finish...I read a book every few months or so so getting into a book IS a challenge for me...so this may not be an indication of how well the book was written it just didn't draw me in...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Content, but Shallow, December 22, 2011

By 

Lindsey (Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Rumors of God: Experience the Kind of Faith You've Only Heard About (Paperback)

I'm not usually of books like this. This one, while not great, was not as horrible as I anticipated. There were a lot of good points made. Many things that I think many Christians today do need to hear. However, it was still shallow and seemed to linger on long after the point was proven. The small group questions were completely useless. They were really not good small group questions, in my opinion. If I were doing this book with a small group, those questions would keep the conversation moving for about 10 minutes, then we'd be done. This book would be a good devotional or small group book for established, but still shallow Christians.

The forward by Bill Hybels was actually a turn off for me. It didn't say much of anything about the content of the book. It read like a job reference, not like an actual forward that contributes to the book. It was very clear that a bigger name was wanted for the book, so Hybels wrote a quick note about the author so they could put his name on the cover and add credit to the otherwise little known authors.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze Blogger program. I am not required to write a favorable review (clearly).

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Challenging!, July 21, 2011

By 

Kara Swanson (St. Paul, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rumors of God: Experience the Kind of Faith You've Only Heard About (Paperback)

Rumors of God: Experience the Kind of Faith You've Only Heard About is a fantastic read. It's challenging, insightful and convicting. Although I've had a Kindle for a few months now, this book inspired me to learn how to use the device's highlighting feature -- and I used it quite liberally. There's so much good stuff here.

Written by two Australian men who both emigrated to the United States and became pastors in two very different American Churches, Rumors of God is a bit like a few other books I've read this year, such as [...] by David Platt. Both books challenge mainstream Christian culture to rise above the level of complacent, cultural church-ianity and live a life that is truly worthy of the radical, life-changing Gospel.

Comparing Rumors of God to other books isn't to say that it's unoriginal or lesser in anyway. I thought Radical was amazing. I loved this book, too. Their approaches are slightly different, but their message is the same. What I really liked about Rumors of God is how real these guys are - their stories help illustrate the points they discuss.

I highly recommend this book. You'll walk away challenged and inspired, wanting to live a different kind of faith that really makes a difference.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Booksneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.