The Year of Living like Jesus: My Journey of Discovering What Jesus Would Really Do [Hardcover]

Edward G. Dobson (Author), A. J. Jacobs (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 29, 2009

'It may appear from the cover that this is a nice book about growing a beard because Jesus did but be warned- you will quickly discover that Ed's adventure takes him, and us, deep into the heart of grace, mercy and the endless discovery of just what the way of Jesus looks like - which, of course, has very little to do with having a beard.'---Rob Bell, Jesus Wants To Save Christians 'Inspiring, insightful, sometimes infuriating, often funny, a little weird (like its author) and a must read for anyone wanting to become a serious follower of Jesus Christ' ---Cal Thomas 'Highly, highly recommended' ---Brian McLaren Evangelical pastor Ed Dobson had a radical idea... 'Live one year as Jesus lived. Eat as Jesus ate. Pray as Jesus prayed. Observe the sabbath as Jesus observed. Attend the Jewish festivals as Jesus attended. Read the Gospels every week.' Dobson's transition from someone who follows Jesus to someone who lives like Jesus takes him into bars, inspires him to pick up hitchhikers, and deepens his understanding of suffering. Living like Jesus is quite different from what we imagine. 'It may appear from the cover that this is a nice book about growing a beard because Jesus did but be warned- you will quickly discover that Ed's adventure takes him, and us, deep into the heart of grace, mercy and the endless discovery of just what the way of Jesus looks like - which, of course, has very little to do with having a beard.'---Rob Bell, Jesus Wants To Save Christians

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Inspired by A.J. Jacobs's The Year of Living Biblically, evangelical pastor and author Dobson (The Jesus Study Bible) devotes a year to emulating Jesus' life and teaching. His initial commitment to keep kosher, observe Jewish holy days, not shave and read the four gospels weekly expands into an exploration of Judeo-Christian devotional practices. Seeking teachers from several religious traditions, Dobson incorporates Jewish prayers, the Catholic rosary, Orthodox prayer rope and Episcopal prayer beads into his daily devotional life. The book's form morphs from a somewhat choppy daily log into a series of thoughtful reflections on traditions he engages and gospel stories whose messages Dobson aspires to live. Weaving in tales of his fundamentalist roots, work with Jerry Falwell and long-term pastorate, Dobson reflects on the evolution of his religious consciousness: while maintaining a devout prolife stand, he votes for Barack Obama. With dignity and humor, the author addresses his personal struggle with ALS, seeking to model a prayerful response to his degenerative illness on Jesus' approach to suffering and healing. Dobson's strong faith, open mind, humility (I'm a confused individual!) and compassion infuse this offering from a self-proclaimed follower of Jesus. (Oct.)
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Review

'It may appear from the cover that this is a nice book about growing a beard because Jesus did but be warned- you will quickly discover that Ed's adventure takes him, and us, deep into the heart of grace, mercy and the endless discovery of just what the way of Jesus looks like - which, of course, has very little to do with having a beard.' -- Rob Bell, Author, Velvet Elvis and Drops Like Stars

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan; 1 edition (September 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310247772
• ISBN-13: 978-0310247777
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (87 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #535,857 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't get over what I felt was a mismatch between the premise and the reality..., October 31, 2009

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Year of Living like Jesus: My Journey of Discovering What Jesus Would Really Do (Hardcover)

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One of the first books I read and reviewed as part of the Amazon Vine program was A. J. Jacobs' The Year of Living Biblically. It somehow seemed fitting to also select Ed Dobson's The Year of Living like Jesus: My Journey of Discovering What Jesus Would Really Do when it showed up as a selection on Amazon Vine. Whereas I thought Jacobs stayed true to his premise in the book, I felt Dobson missed the boat on that criteria. That's not to say that there aren't things to learn in Living Like Jesus. I just don't think the actual journey lived up to the title.

Ed Dobson is an evangelical pastor with ALS, and he's to the point where he can see the end of his life in the next two to five years. He made a decision that was pretty radical in its intent.... he would spend a year living like Jesus would live. Remove all the religious trappings, remove all the labels that seem to put Jesus in a box, and come as close as you can to doing what it was that Jesus actually did. Go to places where "religious people" are not generally found, share with others, love others... Definitely not the type of lifestyle that's common these days. Along the way, Dobson had to reexamine many of his beliefs, go counter to prevailing attitudes in the circles he moved in, and generally change his entire lifestyle to accomplish his goal.

Being that there was an immediate comparison to Jacobs' book (Jacobs even wrote the forward), I was set to expect a story of how one would attempt to follow Jesus' teachings to the fullest in today's culture. But the execution got muddled right from the start. Do you choose to "live" like Jesus, placing yourself in a Jewish culture and trying to do the things that Jesus did in his day-to-day existence (keeping Jewish law, going to synagogue, etc.)? Or, do you choose to live "like Jesus", and follow his teachings and his words? It seemed to me that Dobson ended up doing a little of both, and the confusion detracted from the book. He spends a lot of time fretting about eating kosher, wearing tassels, and growing his beard out. Later in the book he seems to move more towards applying the teachings of Jesus, but the shift didn't work in terms of how the book was working for me at that point. There were also pages and pages devoted to why he voted for Obama over McCain, and how that upset his evangelical friends and colleagues. Yes, there was the discussion of how he made his decision based on his experiment, but the whole exercise went on for far too many pages given what I *thought* his year of living like Jesus was going to entail.

I was also completely confused by his continued exploration of praying the rosary, using Orthodox prayer ropes, and other forms of religious tradition along the way. Yes, he was trying to focus more on the value and emphasis that Jesus put on prayer. But Jesus wasn't praying with rosary beads nor using any other devices and gadgets. He also wasn't trying to see if he could read completely through the gospels once a week or recite a small prayer thousands of times a day. Dobson's continued focus on these rituals seemed to go *completely* against his book's premise, and as such I thought the book largely failed.

Had this book had a different title or been framed differently, it would have worked much better. Dobson did learn quite a bit about himself and his attitude towards others, the value of prayer, and how Jesus would have lived in a culture like ours (and in the process would have upset the very groups today that think they know Him best). And there *are* flashes of humor along the way as he learns what certain Jewish traditions entail (such as the tassels he would wear on his undershirts). But overall, I still couldn't get past what I felt was a mismatch between the title and the content of The Year of Living Like Jesus.

Disclosure:
Obtained From: Amazon Vine Review Program
Payment: Free

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Inspirational Read, November 15, 2009

By 

Lori A. Bittenbender - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Year of Living like Jesus: My Journey of Discovering What Jesus Would Really Do (Hardcover)

I appreciated how Dobson sprinkled quotes about the reality of how hard it is to live like Jesus throughout the book. One example that made me smile was when Dobson was trying to "honor the Sabbath" but got so eager to wear tassels to remind him of the commandments of God ,that he talked on the phone, used the internet and bought clothes when he was supposed to be resting.

Dobson's confessions of failing miserably when he attempted to fast and go camping were hilarious. He was trying to experience the same story of when Jesus was in the dessert for 40 days and was tempted.


Here are some things I learned from this book:
* The true meaning of "The Kingdom of God."

* Various ways to pray. Dobson uses scripture to pray. A concept that makes beautiful sense. I've also incorporated the saying, "Lord have mercy on ___________, " when I don't really know what to pray, but I know God can help.

* I've been a Christian all my life, but I've never learned much about other practices. Through his year of Living Like Jesus, Dobson taught me about the Catholic rosary, Episcopal prayer beads, and Orthodox prayer rope.

* He also gets brilliant advise for the concept that most Christians have a problem with: praying to Mary.

During the year of living like Jesus Dobson went into bars where he was able to casually talk with customers. Yes, he drank a beer when he went into these bars. His conversations with the bar tender and customers were amazing. They asked all kinds of questions and perhaps Dobson planted some seeds. I applaud his efforts.

During this year, Dobson leads a group of people on a tour to Israel. I have no idea if I will ever get to visit the Holy Lands, so his descriptions of the places he takes his tourists sounded beautiful.

As you can imagine from the concept of this book, Dobson is an amazing individual. I would love to hear him speak some day. In the book, he shares examples of two sermons he preached that would have been fun to hear. In one, he used live goats and in another, he carried a large, heavy cross on his back.

Inspired by this book, and the scripture, "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing some people entertained angles without knowing it. " (Hebrews 13:2), I've started a campaign to help a neighbor/family who I don't know, but who is struggling with their health and finances this Christmas season.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Majored on Many Minors, November 11, 2009

By 

Phillip H. Steiger (Colorado Springs, CO) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Year of Living like Jesus: My Journey of Discovering What Jesus Would Really Do (Hardcover)

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The process of spiritual formation - the drive to live like Jesus - is becoming a deeper concern among evangelicals, and it is a good thing, too. More and more it is harder to distinguish an evangelical from a typical American atheist. So I was drawn to the premise of this book, wondering how Dobson would take on this ultimate question. If a person is a disciple of Christ, they are, by definition, trying (ought to be trying) to live like their master.

Early on I was intrigued by his attention to odd detail. The beard is just the beginning. His first sets of concerns are with things like kosher foods, clothing, prayer tassels, prayer beads (he even takes up the Rosary), alternate prayer traditions from the Eastern church, and so forth. In and of themselves these are interesting and even helpful things, but as matters of substance in service of his premise, I didn't catch the significance.

A lot of the book was like that for me. By its nature, the premise of the book is a little subjective, so I fully expected to find some of his answers in the book disagreeable. I wasn't disappointed. But I wasn't bothered by those things as much as I was by what was missing.

A serious reading of the life of Christ in the Gospels reveals a Messiah who began his ministry with the sermon, "Repent." His staunch stances on doctrinal matters bothered people, and he didn't put up with much from falsehood. Dobson's focus of attention is on the "good deeds" kind of Jesus. And while it is true that Jesus loved and touched the unlovable, Dobson's final portrait missed a significant and even necessary aspect of the life of Christ.

While there are challenging and even touching moments, the book is a bit laborious and ultimately not all that informative about the life of Christ lived out among us.