The Fitting Room: Putting On the Character of Christ [Paperback]

Kelly Minter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2011

Kelly Minter explores what it means—in real life—to “clothe” ourselves (Col. 3:12) in Christian virtues like forgiveness, joy, patience, compassion, and more.

 

Colossians 3:12 tells us to “clothe” ourselves in Christian virtues like forgiveness, joy, patience, compassion. But how does that work in real life? Can we really “dress up” in the character of Christ? Kelly Minter says the answer is yes—if we let the Master Designer do the fitting. This relatable book offers insightful Scripture study with real-life stories and simple, down-to-earth explanations of tricky concepts as justification and sanctification—stitching it all together with dry humor and down-to-earth honesty. There are no gimmicks, no guilt trips, just an irresistible invitation for women to enjoy a spiritual makeover—to put on a life that’s personally tailored by the One who knows and loves them best.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kelly Minter is an accomplished author, songwriter and performer. She leads worship across the country, taking part in LifeWay conferences and their annual Women's Forum. Kelly resides in Nashville, Tennessee.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: David C. Cook; New edition (April 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1434799859
• ISBN-13: 978-1434799852
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.6 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #77,100 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kelly lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and serves the Lord passionately both across the U.S. and internationally in a variety of creative roles. An acclaimed author, musician, Bible study creator and teacher, she is passionate to see women impacted by Jesus and His Word.

Growing up outside of Washington, DC, Kelly was raised in a Christian home, the oldest of
four children and daughter of a pastor. Her childhood was seasoned with competitive sports, learning the guitar, singing, and a litany of church activities in the congregation her father founded and still pastors. Like many young women, Kelly dealt with inner struggles - anxiety and depression were a part of her growing-up years. "Those struggles are what drove me to Scripture," Kelly says, "and the catalyst for me to learn for myself who God is." Throughout her high school career, Kelly played basketball competitively, expecting that to be her path into college. But after a scholarship fell through, she began playing music. And God began a new thing.

Kelly moved to Nashville in the summer of 2000 and released her first record with WORD, followed by a subsequent release on a different label, leading to her first #1 Single on the Inspirational Charts, This Is My Offering. Shortly after this success and several cross-country tours her record company folded leaving Kelly to rethink her vocation and ministry. In the middle of an ever-changing music industry and on a tour through Colorado, Kelly met a book publisher who would two years later sign her to her first book deal.

Kelly's first book eventually led to LifeWay approaching her about writing a bible study. Authoring curriculum was a new challenge, but one she quickly fell in love with. Kelly's first three studies include, No Other Gods: Confronting Our Modern Day Idols, followed by Ruth: Loss, Love & Legacy and Nehemiah: A Heart That Can Break. Respected Bible Study teacher and speaker, Beth Moore, chose each of Kelly's resources for three of her widely-reaching online summer studies. Thousands of women participated and were challenged by Kelly's writing and her unique perspective on Scripture.

Kelly now writes, teaches, and sings across the United States and also in other countries. Speaking at multiple conferences and events, as well as four Women of Faith events in 2012, Kelly has become a steady and respected teaching voice to women, particularly when it comes to the Scriptures. She also partners closely with Justice and Mercy International (JMI), a ministry that serves in the Amazon jungle; she especially loves working with the jungle pastors who encourage her through their remarkable faith.

When home, Kelly's days are spent writing, cooking, gardening, enjoying her neighborhood, loving her community, investing in her local church, and walking forward in the things God has for her. She is relevant, palatable, and uncompromising in her teachings from the Bible, and women relate to this.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb! June 10, 2011

By Shirley Rempel

Format:Paperback

As I read the synopsis about The Fitting Room by Kelly Minter, I knew this was a book that I wanted to read. As a teen and younger adult I struggled terribly with low self esteem, and its only been in the last few years that I have really come away from that struggle.

I have realized that my confidence can only come from God and not man. Minter takes a wonderful piece of scripture and walks you through a beautifully written book, complete with humor and seriousness mixed nicely, to teach us how to truly clothe ourselves in the virtues God wants us all to have.

I truly appreciated all that Minter had to say, and also loved the discussion questions at the end of each chapter. These are perfect for both personal and group reflection. Minter does a fantastic job at teaching us how to let go of all the lies the world tells us about how to look and act as women, and to cling to what God teaches us to do.

If you are a frequent visitor at the Bloom Book Club through inCourage, they recently started a Book Club Study of The Fitting Room, and I am so glad to be able to have my own copy to work through. I highly encourage you to check it out. You will not be disappointed.

I highly recommend this book and give it a huge thumbs up!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Say Yes!!! June 7, 2011

By Jennifer C. Mcilwain

Format:Paperback

My daughter and I love to watch TLC's Say Yes to the Dress. The most fun about watching this show is the transformation that takes place when the girls find that perfect dress for their special day. They usually go to a back room with a wedding dress consultant, try on the dress and then step out to show family and friends. You always know when that perfect dress has been found by all the tears that begin to flow!

In her new book The Fitting Room: Putting On The Character of Christ, Kelly Minter explores God's holy fitting room where you are encouraged to clothe yourself with the virtues of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. The content of Minter's book is based on the following passage from Colossians 3, vs. 12-15:

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful."

Minter's writing is down to earth and I so appreciated her genuineness. What most impressed me about the book was Minter's handling of the subject of justification when writing about being "God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved". She was able to break down justification into understandable portions without losing the richness of this sometimes misunderstood doctrine. Minter also handled God's Word with excellence, always establishing context when making her point with the scriptures....

The book includes discussion questions at the end for each chapter. The Fitting Room would be an excellent choice for small groups, Sunday School classes or a for use in a discipleship relationship with a new believer. If you are looking for a Summer Bible Study or quiet time aid, then purchase a copy of The Fitting Room and join in with a group of ladies online over at (in)Courage/Bloom Book Club for a study of the book with the author Kelly Minter herself!
Thank you B&B Media Group for sending me a review copy of this book!

Go now and get this book and enjoy a makeover like you've never experienced before! Read more ›

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for Bible study/book club September 17, 2011

By Amy Parker

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Easy to read, great conversation starter. I recommend for small groups and Bible study groups. Kelly Minter tells stories we can all relate to.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Put on the virtues July 18, 2011

By L. Wiggins VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Kelly Minter may be a name you've not encountered much in the Christian musician, speaker, author, Bible study, conference circuit; I only heard her name for the first time about a year and a half ago. Lately, though, I've read mention of her on several blogs and listed as a featured speaker at various conferences for women. The author of three books, three Bible studies, and the songwriter and composer for four studio albums, Minter is prolific and passionate in her ministry to women.

In The Fitting Room, Minter shares her spiritual journey to imitate Christ. Though each chapter is titled for a specific virtue or Fruit of the Spirit, it is not a study of that virtue. Minter does not provide long definitions nor word studies revolving each virtue; she is not all that interested in the theoretical or ideal manner in which one can apply scripture to life. Instead, she engages women in an honest conversation about her struggle to exhibit the virtues of Christ in the midst of her daily life. She shares the details of her fight to treat others the way that God has treated her in the Gospel.

Deriving her theme from Colossians 3, Minter takes the reader to the spiritual fitting room where we "put off the old self" and "put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator" (9-10).

"[T]he spiritual concept of throwing off scratch wool for designer silk sounds simply effortless, but the real-life version is another matter altogether. Many of us who have attempted such a wardrobe overhaul have come up frustrated rather than inspired...Because most of us know we're supposed to take off old things like bitterness and anger and full-on recklessness and put on the new self, which is full of qualities such as kindness and joy and self-control.... But knowing this doesn't automatically make it so...Our character clothes are frumpy, because we've never been groomed and fitted from the pages of Scripture."

The Fitting Room is both prescriptive and descriptive. It is prescriptive in that the Gospel is the remedy for us all. Minter begins with a compelling explanation of God's gospel of grace shown to us in Jesus and invites her readers to believe today. To her readers who've been believing, she gently reminds us that we are free to be who we are: holy women of God.

It is descriptive in that it is Minter's unique story of growth in grace. She provides personal anecdotes of how God worked, and is working, through His word to shape and fashion her into His image. I imagine this book in this way: picture a photo collage entitled, "The Gospel in Kelly Minter's Life," filled with before and after photos. In the "before" snapshots, Minter shares her realization that, according to God's word, the old garment no longer fits her new life in Christ. She then explains how God worked in her heart and mind to renew her thinking and behavior so that they were in line with the gospel. The "after" snapshot features a "fitted" Kelly Minter within the frame of the Gospel. In the same way that an identical garment will look different on two women, likewise, the virtues will manifest differently in our lives. We "wear" them in various ways depending on our circumstances, but they flow from and are motivated by the same gospel and grace. Minter writes, "Trying to clothe ourselves in the virtues outside of the fitting room of being chosen, holy, and loved will prove a maddening endeavor of dress-up. We may look the part in the moment, but inevitably the tight collars of moralism and crooked hems of behavior management will eventually give us away. There is no need for such striving when words like 'I have also loved you' have already been spoken. It's this love of Christ that lets us out of the suffocating garments of do-goodism for approval, giving us the grace to obey God's commands while we revel in His affection."

I enjoyed this book. Minter is a gifted writer, and I hope to read more from her pen. If a study of Christian virtues is what you're looking for, then you may want to look elsewhere. If, however, encouragement and a little inspiration are what you need, then I gladly recommend The Fitting Room. Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent June 6, 2012

By LuAnn Logan

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I love Kelly's style of writing. Her book is very inspiring and uplifting. I would definitely recommend it. A great read.