Stories That Feed Your Soul [Hardcover]

Tony Campolo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 2010

Soren Kierkegaard once said that “the gospel is seldom heard; it is overheard.” Best-selling author and modern-day prophet Tony Campolo believes that one of the best ways to tell the grand story of the gospel is to tell stories of everyday life where God is at work… just as Jesus did during His earthly ministry. In Stories that Feed Your Soul, a collection of stories from Tony’s life-long friendships and international travels, readers will “overhear” the gospel at work around the world. Set around Romans 8, the stories center on eight gospel themes: freedom of condemnation, new life in Christ, intimacy with God, the call to rescue creation, living with hope, praying in the Spirit, God’s plans for us and the assurance we need. Whether humorous or poignant, each one is an unforgettable echo of God at work around us and within us.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

TONY CAMPOLO is a professor emeritus of Sociology at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. Founder of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education (EAPE), an organization that develops schools and social programs in various third world countries and in cities across North America, Dr. Campolo is an ordained minister and is presently recognized as an associate pastor of the Mount Carmel Baptist Church in West Philadelphia. He is a media commentator on religious, social and political matters, having appeared on television programs such as Nightline, Crossfire, Politically Incorrect, The Charlie Rose Show, The Colbert Report and CNN News. He cohosted his own television series, Hashing It Out, on the Odyssey Network, and presently hosts From Across the Pond, a weekly program on the Premier Radio Network in England. Dr. Campolo is the author of more than 30 books, including Letters to a Young Evangelical and Red Letter Christians: A Citizen’s Guide to Faith and Politics.

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Regal (September 13, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830747753
• ISBN-13: 978-0830747757
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 0.7 x 8.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #432,498 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tony Campolo (Ph.D., Temple University) is professor emeritus of sociology at Eastern University in suburban Philadelphia, a media commentator on religious, social, and political matters, and the author of a dozen books, including Revolution and Renewal, Let me Tell You a Story, and 20 Hot Potatoes Christians Are Afraid to touch.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars stories with heart and soul December 9, 2010

By gs

Format:Hardcover

I bought this just before a two-hour flight and read the whole book in that time. These are stories Tony has experienced, heard, or been told. Some are half a page; few (if any) are longer than a page. I kept saying, "Just one more," and kept going. They are not meant to be devotionals, I don't believe; they are simply stories to make you think and, if appropriate, take action. With each, I thought, "This would be a great illustration for a sermon or Bible lesson." Some are funny, some touching, some pointed. I'm giving a copy to my pastor!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Fed my soul, but still have room for more April 27, 2011

By Nithin N. Thompson

Format:Hardcover

Tony Campolo is an author, speaker and professor of sociology over at Eastern University. I haven't read a lot of his books, but his reputation precedes him. I've heard him speak a couple times and have always enjoyed hearing him. I was excited about getting this book in the mail, "Stories That Feed the Soul". This is a collection of stories that Tony has used for preaching or other stories that are now in this compilation. What I found interesting that he ordered them along the lines of Romans 8. There are 8 parts to this book:

Part 1: Freedom from Condemnation

Part 2: The New Life in Christ

Part 3: Intimacy with God

Part 4: The Call to Rescue Creation

Part 5: Living with Hope

Part 6: Praying in the Spirit

Part 7: God's Plan for us

Part 8: The Assurance we need

These are a great collection of stories. Some are better than others. As a preacher myself, I'm always on the lookout for stories that I can use to explain biblical truth. In fact, the importance of this book is the stories that we tell. Stories reveal our deepest held beliefs. It's how Jesus shared the Kingdom of God with the world. It couldn't strictly be revealed through propositional truth, but through narrative.
At first I thought that this would be like a chicken soup for the soul kind of book. A bunch of heart warming stories that would be mushy. But the stories in this book, following the line in Romans 8 were powerful retelling of the story. I loved that part. It will be great to use many of these stories to illustrate Scripture as I preach and teach in the coming weeks and months.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars The Power of Story April 15, 2011

By N. Lindroth

Format:Hardcover

I've been thinking and reading a lot about the power of a story lately. It is so hard to remember facts, bullets on a powerpoint, and for me especially statistics. But a story, everyone remembers, although not always accurately.

I wonder exactly why. I think it has something to do with all the the senses that engage, even through your imagination. Or maybe its because stories touch us personally. There is usually a part of any story that we relate to, we've experienced, or it reminds us of someone or something in our own story.

Tony Campolo has just published a book called "Stories That Feed Your Soul." This book is more of a resource than anything. It is full of stories and categorized loosely by topics. For anyone who speaks or writes, it's a great resource for illustrations. He has stories of the lives of well-known people, as well as ordinary people. I've heard Tony speak a number of times. He is a great story teller. He is basically offering many of his stories for all to tell. In reading it I've tried to learn more about how to tell a story in a powerful way.

I really want to learn to tell stories in a way that touches a soul. Stories are all around us, every day. God reveals himself in the stories of the lives of every person. I think I'm going to wake up each day for the next couple weeks and say to God "tell me a story today." Then I'll keep my eyes open for cool stories.

Thanks for the inspiration Tony!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Feed Your Mind and Soul November 3, 2010

By Scandalous Sanity VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Author Tony Campolo is back with another group of stories that illustrate grace, love, and forgiveness. These stories are based on themes found in the eighth chapter of the book of Romans. The book is divided into those eight themes, with about 10-15 stories per section.

Some of the subjects include freedom from condemnation, new life in Christ, living with hope, and praying in the spirit. The stories are rarely more than a page long, so this book can make for some light reading, easy to pick up and enjoy even if you only have a few minutes. The stories are usually followed by some comments by Campolo.

These stories are a mix of Campolo's personal experiences and stories he has obtained from colleagues, history, and readers' emails. My favorite was an interesting anecdote about Charles Spurgeon smoking cigars with a rich businessman, much to his deacon's dismay. This book is filled with great stories just like that. It will definitely feed your soul.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring Lessons on Faith and the Journey April 30, 2011

By Lori E. Lenz

Format:Hardcover

I grew up in the church, went to a Christian college, and have sat through thousands of services, devotionals, and small groups. And while I appreciate the sermon, it's almost always the story - or the sermon illustration - that I walk away remembering. Even in life, my favorite moments are almost always recalled with the statement "so this crazy thing happened to me today - let me tell you the story..."

When I received Tony Campolo's new book in the mail, with a requested review date right around the corner, I thought the deadline would be impossible. I work. I have responsibilities. I like to take Tony's writing and chew on it a bit. This review cannot be finished in...

I started flipping through the book. The longest chapter was 3 pages long.

I can do this.

Stories that Feed Your Soul is just that. A collection of stories centered around the themes in Romans 8. Tony is a known storyteller, and these recollections are about the day to day. The good, the bad, the sacred, the simple. Lessons about the daily struggle to examine ourselves and see just how best we can be servants and disciples. Lessons about thankfulness, grace, humility. Lessons simply about life.

Like most of Campolo's work, Stories focuses heavily on social issues, our attitude toward our neighbors, the poor, the widow. But in these short stories, we get to see mirrors of our own lives. So many sounded familiar, like I might have heard the story in school about a great activist, politician or pop culture figure. Many just gave tidbits to chew on in my day.

So many stories stand out. Mae West talking about Christians. A piece on St Francis of Assisi. A question about if a Buddhist Monk will go to Heaven.... Another on a man who said "Making ten million dollars before I was 40 didn't turn out to be as wonderful as I thought it was going to be." A story on a boy with one arm who won a judo championship.

I had originally told my father, a pastor, that I would give him the book for sermon ideas after finishing this review. However now, I'm going to need to just buy him his own copy. This book will be re-read many times as I believe it was intended, one story at a time. I'm imagining many of these stories will fuel many a devotional and blog of my own.

Thank you Tony for writing a collection of stories truly inspire and Feed the Soul. Read more ›