Customer Reviews

Wide Open Spaces: Beyond Paint-by-Number Christianity

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As I read Wide Open Spaces, I found myself recalling my childhood experience of wading into the ocean, progressively further from shore. At a certain point, the breakers begin to wash over me --- it's uniquely, experientially refreshing. Yet, there are several seconds before the next set of waves is upon me. This respite gives one the opportunity to ponder and absorb the invigoration and wonder of it all. Today, as an adult, this experience still has the ability to transform me into experiencing childlike wonder --- one who cannot fathom the thought of ever getting out of the water --- of producing all sorts of questions, curiosities, thanks and hopes. It's magical. My prayer (and my hope) is that this book will have the same effect on you --- producing a childlike wonder for experiencing God in new ways --- that will endure for a lifetime. Soak in this book. Thank you Jim!

It is a rare achievement for any artist to follow their first work - one that remains as highly acclaimed as Divine Nobodies, with a follow-on work that is unequivocally better than the first. Jim Palmer has done it with Wide Open Spaces.

The reading of Wide Open Spaces is not optional. It's mandatory if you are one who desires to know God and be love in our world today. This book is an epic contribution to the way ahead. It is an indelible blessing.

The implications of Wide Open Spaces are clear for the spiritual sojourner and the possibilities for a way of life for those who deeply desire something more in how they experience God on a day-to-day basis:

a. Many feel trapped and confined within the belief systems that they have inadvertently adopted as knowing God. As Jim points out, this is an unfortunate reality that can and must be overcome. This book will speak freedom to those who are currently living within the confines of this deception.

b. Safe harbors become stagnant waters for marine life. The results of a relationship with Christ based solely upon a dependence upon right beliefs is a relationship with belief systems, not God, according to Palmer. The resultant stagnation for the human species is the same as it is for marine life, confined to similar environs.

c. Today, followers of Jesus require voices, like Jim Palmer's, to lead us beyond the man-made breakwaters to the blessing of living in the Wide Open Spaces, exploring the endless possibilities for sustenance and transformation on the open seas of faith.

d. Perhaps, it is here, in these waters, where mankind may come to know God and be love.

This book will definitely facilitate "dialogue" --- my sense it that it will be most intense from the pulpits of the "people of the steeple" (my term, not Jim's). Palmer challenges us to rethink the implications of our penchant with possessing "right beliefs about God," and the obvious Us vs. them, win-lose behavior this creates. Maybe "God wants love to be our belief system?"(p.7). Maybe that's what God really is anyway.

I adored some of the following excerpts penned by Jim:

As Jim states (p. xi), "I am writing for the person who desires to know God as a person, not a program."

"But what if God is bigger than a belief system? What if God is bigger than self, than family, bigger than tribe, bigger than nation, and even bigger than any set of doctrines we try to wrap around him. Whereas religion sometimes brings out the worst in people, could the vision of a bigger God cause us to place higher value on expanding our circles of care and working toward a more peaceful world?" ( p. 2).

"There isn't a lockbox at the center of the universe containing a divine computer program with doctrinal code." (p. 3)

"God is not a belief system of truth propositions; he is a living spiritual reality within us. Two thousand years later, this is still the secret to knowing God." (p. 11).

"We want to figure God out in our head, while God wants us to feel him in our heart." (p. 20. ).

"God provides plenty of opportunity to be the church in the midst of doing ordinary life together with others." (p. 33).

"The more I've been digging around in church history, the more I've seen that the true history of the church often takes its course through the generations of those who were despised by organized Christendom." (p. 38).

"Too often religion becomes so preoccupied with self preservation that its adherents lose touch with their spiritual identity as the hands and feet of God in the world." (p. 94).

"The value of a person to God is not determined by what percentage of his or her theology is correct." (p. 98).

"Religion normally assumes their answers are the right and doesn't take too kindly to people opening topics for further investigation." (p.164).

"If you're willing to be curious about God like a child, you'll find that he is much bigger than what a grownup mind is capable of conceiving. I've learned not to limit God to "the box" of my current set of beliefs because there always seems to be something new and more just outside the lines of my present understanding. If you're open to the wonder of God, you won't be disappointed." (p. 175).

"Have people heard the "gospel" repeatedly and become weary of it --- you know, weary of unconditional love and peace? Or has the gospel been replaced by a Christianity devoid of true love, joy and peace, and now focused on preserving outworn structures, traditions and the status-quo?" (p. 187).

"Virtually every significant thing God has ever done to birth his kingdom has been contrary to human logic and has come through the least likely people." (p.188).

"Be love." (p. 195).

Jim Palmer is a master story teller and evidences the depth and breadth of his skills in this book. Reading a work by Palmer is like listening to a friend seated next to you. An extraordinary, breakwater busting achievement for Mr. Palmer. May the waves of His blessings wash over us through this work. The #3 best book I have read in 2007.

Respectfully Submitted,

Bill Dahl

Wide Open Spaces is not Divine Nobodies II. It stands on its on, but if you liked Jim's first book you will love this one. Chasing the rogue theological thoughts many of us have had but buried in the forbidden bins of our heart, Jim writes from a solid theological head but a supple heart. This book is meant for anyone...period. But for long time Christians and leaders who have a sack full of questions about church, their faith, and the world around them, Wide Open Spaces is a great fireside chat type of book. Get it, read it, give some away.

Jim accomplishes what might be one of the most difficult tasks in spiritual writing: Exploring faith and spirituality without resorting to impersonal tradition-based jargon. In Wide Open Spaces, Jim explores his struggle to make the Apostle Paul's teaching Christ being the center of all of our relationships.

As he did in Divine Nobodies, Jim writes unguardedly. He is honest, self-depreciating and humorous.

My own exploration of the issues has led me to, perhaps, some different conclusions than Jim. But Jim nails what matters most-- love.

Just two books into his career, and Jim should again be grouped with the likes of Lamott and Donald Miller.

With some beautiful insight on the Christian faith, Jim Palmer tells of his faith journey without the support of the church institution. This book could easily fall into the trap of church-bashing, but Palmer has more of a "that didn't work for me but it could work for others" attitude. Through his own experiences and insights, he encourages the reader to look at his/her own spiritual journey and leads towards a deeper understanding of his/her concept of God and religion.
Anyone who appreciates the Don Miller style and depth of writing will enjoy Jim Palmer's new book. This is one of the few books I will keep and reread for many years to come. Happy reading!

Anyone who thinks he or she has God, or anything for that matter, all figured out - whether they are "religious" or totally "non-religious" needs to read Wide Open Spaces: Beyond Paint-by-Number Christianity, by Jim Palmer. I have read tons of books on Christianity and spiritual transformation, but minutes into reading Wide Open Spaces I was scrambling for my yellow highlighter.
Wide Open Spaces is packed with wisdom and practical examples of how the Kingdom of God is real to us here today. As Palmer indicates, we miss so much by glossing over people, situations, and even words in the Bible, based on our concrete, preconceived notions.
Palmer doesn't offer palliatives or platitudes, but shows us in viable ways, according to the time we live in now, how to go beyond the constraints of the physical and material, to the unlimited possibilities of the spiritual... and then... how to apply that to being and living in the "Kingdom" now, here, with our brothers and sisters.
Jim Palmer isn't a "paint-by-number" guy or author. He is like a modern day St. Paul - out among people on the street and on the web, sharing his journey and ours with Spirit and Love. He is real, he is one of us, and he is doing the work thus describing to us how true transformation can occur. He says "It is one thing to feel love and peace within you; it is another thing to be these in the world"
Wide Open Spaces doesn't tell me how to achieve Nirvana, or how to be a good person all of the time, nor does it tell me how I should vote. It does tell me I can be, as Palmer says, a "little Christ", and my transformation is one step at a time, as is for this world, one little Christ at a time.

I really enjoyed this book.I've felt this way for along time.
It's good to know that there's other people that feel the same way.
Especially someone who has so much knowledge about the bible.Thank you Jim Palmer for writing this book.

Jim Palmer has not only quickly become one of my favorite authors and story-tellers but now is doing something that is not only helpful but extremely encouraging...he is making theology and practical living accessible. With wit and insight, Jim takes on some "big topics" - church, the bible, servanthood, and other Christian "cliches"- he examines each in a fresh manner. This is what really happened...I'm reading the book and I'm telling my wife, "hey, you oughta read this, it's great". Then I get on the phone and call a good pal and say, "hey, I'm going to email you a quick quote from this new Jim Palmer book, it's great". And that happened several times in the first two chapters! Hey, I bought 20 copies of Jim's first book (Divine Nobodies) and gave them to my entire community...I'm going to do the same with Wide Open Spaces. Bravo Jim!

Palmer's former life as an executive pastor is a little bit fresh, making his outline of a new kind of orthopraxy both refreshingly freedom-focused and depressingly churchy in its expression. Still, Palmer is vulnerable (and cautious not to overstay his welcome) in sharing his changed perspective on Christ and Christ's message. The result is a challenge to orthodoxy that almost sings (especially his careful explication of American culture's sky-god). If you're fed up with traditional church, read this book.

Don't get me wrong....I loved Divine Nobodies; it really spoke to my heart. I was
cruising through Wide Open Spaces and kind of experiencing it as "Divine Nobodies
Light" when I hit the chapter "The Devil Wears Levis 501 Jeans". Mr. Palmer seems to be trying to convince us that there is "no personal Satan", rather that
what we experience is "our non-spiritual self". I had to reread the chapter to
try to figure out what I was missing. It is pretty clear that Jim is discounting
all Scripural reference to the Satan who rebelled against God, who roams the earth "making war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" Rev 12:17. The Satan who tempted Christ in the desert....how many other occasions do I need to reference?

C.S. Lewis said (paraphrased) "We make two mistakes in regard to the Devil. We either blame him for everything or we blame him for nothing." Jim Palmer falls into the latter camp. I believe that this chapter plays into the Evil One's first line of defense....."I really don't exist." That gives him license to run roughshod over you. Our response, according to Jim Palmer, is "Oh, it's just my non spiritual self". Yes, we battle the "flesh", but what he is asking us to believe is not in any way supported by Scripture.

I am likely one of a few who never read Divine Nobodies. I was lured to this book by the emphatic reviews and perspectives offered by the reviews both professional and the ones on Amazon. I was also enticed by the book McLaren claimes is by the NEW Don Miller (I pray for whatever happened to the last one).

Jim offers a refreshing perspective for those tired of church. This goes for those from everything from Traditional to Mega to Emerging church. Jim redefines church for the past couple of generations that have been stifled by the institutional merchants of religion that have occupied the leadership of most churches.

Jim is not peddling some new model. He is modeling however a life led by daily communion with the Spirit of God. It is a connection that is often preached, but rarely exhibited in the institutional church. Our centuries of reliance upon leadership to identify where God is at work has left us blind to the Kingdom that God is building all around us. Jim challenges us to open our eyes, remove the lens of the modern faith, and to follow the model of Christ with reckless abandonment. Stop going to a church and start behaving like a little Christ. Stop being defined by a faith that revolves around your thoughts about Christ, and redefine others perspective of those that follow Jesus by showing love. Stop trying to proselytize through confrontation, and put your arm around the shoulder of a stranger. Jim's approach to faith is a breath of fresh air. Every page and story brings a better perspective of a life lived in connection to a living God.

As a warning to some, Jim does bring to the table some perspectives that are seeming Eastern at times. They may be difficult to buy. Oddly enough, I do not believe he cares if you buy them. Ponder on them and grind them out. Digging tough these deep and hugely consequential thoughts will greatly add to your faith.

Now go and love.