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Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality Paperback – July 15, 2003
| Donald Miller (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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The runaway New York Times bestseller that became a cornerstone of Christian nonfiction, Blue Like Jazz is a fresh and original perspective on life, love, and redemption.
"I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve…Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way. I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happened."
Donald Miller was raised in a strict Texas denomination where he was only vaguely familiar with a distant God. When he grew older, he ran all the way to the least-religious university in the US: Rice College in Portland, Oregon. Still, God pursued him. When he came to know Jesus, he pursued the Christian life with great zeal. However, within a few years he had a successful ministry that ultimately left him feeling empty, burned out, and, once again, far away from God.
In this intimate, non-judgmental, and soul-searching account, Miller describes his remarkable journey with and back to the infinitely loving God, helping you…
- discover how the Christian faith is still relevant in a postmodern culture;
- learn how to have a genuine encounter with a God who is real; and
- enjoy a renewed sense of passion for your life.
Blue Like Jazz is a gentle, honest resource for those curious about the Christian faith, or new to it, and offers a fresh and original perspective on life, love, and redemption.
- Print length256 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherThomas Nelson
- Publication dateJuly 15, 2003
- Dimensions5.5 x 0.75 x 8.25 inches
- ISBN-109780785263708
- ISBN-13978-0785263708
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From Publishers Weekly
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
About the Author
Donald Miller is the CEO of Business Made Simple, an online platform that teaches business professionals everything they need to know to grow a business and enhance their personal value on the open market. He is the host of the Business Made Simple podcast and is the author of several books, including the bestseller Building a StoryBrand. He lives and works in Nashville, Tennessee with his wife, Elizabeth.
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Product details
- ASIN : 0785263705
- Publisher : Thomas Nelson (July 15, 2003)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 256 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780785263708
- ISBN-13 : 978-0785263708
- Item Weight : 8 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.75 x 8.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #38,024 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #173 in Religious Leader Biographies
- #198 in Christian Discipleship (Books)
- #401 in Spiritual Self-Help (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Donald Miller is the CEO of Business Made Simple (BusinessMadeSimple.com), an online platform that teaches business professionals everything they need to know to grow a business and enhance their personal value on the open market. He is the host of the Business Made Simple Podcast and is the author of several books including the bestseller "Building a StoryBrand." He lives and works in Nashville, Tennessee with his wife Elizabeth.
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One passage that I'll always remember is that the author, Mr. Miller, had the idea to set up a "confession booth" at a particularly wanton campus event at a liberal Western college. Most of us would think that this would mean that he, Mr. Miller, would hear confessions like a priest, but he did the confessing to students who stopped by! He confessed being ashamed of times he has not lived up to Christ's name and times that Christians collectively have not (e.g., the Crusades). He confessed a callous attitude toward injustice and the poor. The results of this project were amazing!
Another book that I found serendipitously after reading this one is a fine companion book, "Faith Unraveled," by Rachel Held Evans. Again, I was reading excerpts to my husband at the dining room table, in the car, and in restaurants. I think that these two books might give us some hope of actual civil dialogue again in our country, an art that, at this writing, is sadly becoming more extinct by the day.
A reviewer listed on the back cover compares "Blue Like Jazz" to Anne Lamott's "Traveling Mercies" (which I'm currently enjoying as well), and I agree with that assessment. Each book chronicles the author's spiritual quest to comprehend the transcendent God they love and make sense of the temporal world they live in, all while striving to discover their destiny. I love it when Christians get together and hash out the unique aspects of working out their salvation with fear and trembling. That's how we grow, bear each other's burdens, and become more Christ-like. Books like Anne and Donald's are the next best alternative.
"Blue Like Jazz" is much more immediate for me because it's set in the region I call home: the Pacific Northwest, specifically Portland, Oregon. Don writes about people I know of (Tony the Beat Poet and Mark the Cussing Pastor), and places I've been (Palio, Multnomah Bible College/Seminary) or at least driven past (Reed College). More importantly, he deals with issues I can relate to, like romance struggles, dealing with (or being) a difficult roommate, and feeling a little different than the "normal" Christian. He even has a website, [...] It's a bit sparse, but there's a couple chapters of "Blue Like Jazz" that you can check out to see if the book might be to your liking.
But the best thing I got out of "Blue Like Jazz" was Imago Dei, the church Mr. Miller calls home. I've been looking for a church where I didn't feel like an outsider, so after reading about Mr. Miller's adventures at Imago Dei I decided to check it out. It has quite an eclectic congregation, but I fit in with them more than the typical suburban churches I've previously attended. Even my non-Christian older brother finds it more appealing. So, I'm grateful to Mr. Miller for his help in leading me to Imago Dei through "Blue Like Jazz." Have I met him? Not yet. I'm hoping when I do I don't come across like a fawning fan-boy. Well, that's a risk I'll have to take.
FYI - I found out from one of the author's roommates that he is finishing up his next book, tentatively titled "Looking For God Knows What." I'll be on deck for that one when it hits the stands. I hope you will be too.
Top reviews from other countries
The book is a loose collection of thoughts and experiences of the author Don Miller as he lives life and works out where faith and Jesus and church and all that fits in. There were for me some real laugh out loud moments at his writing, his exchanges with people, some of the crazy things going on his head, as he moves from college, to camping under the stars, to church, to living with people and so forth. Funny stuff.
And then the last third of the book takes a turn and it became more challenging. Suddenly I could see a bit more of myself in the introverted 'the whole world revolves around me' scenario. It made for more uncomfortable reading, not because it wasn't any good, but precise;y because it was hitting th email on the head.
Recommended for a funny, but at times, challenging, read.









