I got this book years ago as a Kindle freebie. I finally got around to reading it.
I've heard OF Rob Bell, but had not to this point read any of his work. I think he's been described as one of those "Emerging Church" pastors.
For the most part, I enjoyed this book. It still falls under my hesitation to read books by pastors, because they tend to ramble and not get to the point. Pastor Bell somewhat suffers from this and it got a little tedious at parts.
Rob Bell does have a good understanding of doubt and questions and how they fit into the Christian life. I also enjoyed his discussion on understanding the words of Jesus in the context of the culture in which they were originally written and recorded. Many of us 21st century American Evangelical Christians often speak of the Bible in terms of our culture and time context. I appreciate Rob Bell's attempt to discuss them in the proper context.
I also appreciated his discussion on sin, particularly one he committed as a mega-church pastor. I always wondered how those guys did it. He discussed how he came to the conclusion that he had to be a superpastor and why it was bad, but didn't really get into what he did to change things. Did he add more staff to the church? Cut down on commitments? I'm not sure.
Velvet Elvis is a decent discussion on the church and how interpretation of instructions can change through time. It's a short read. I should have been able to finish within 2 hours if not for being on vacation with my wife, stepson, and my own children. Took more like 24.
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