Rating: 
Summary: Human analysis and science are stumped by a smiling God.
Review: Â Â Â As a victim of years of theological dogma, this book for me became a refreshing and life-changing look at God. I was raised thinking that God demanded of humans perfect obedience and I believed that knowledge and understanding were prerequisites for following God. Those are both untrue. Everts has angered many a theologian who wants to think that by being 'well read' they can somehow get a better look at God. Everts has angered all who wish to look at God in a complex world of their own construction. Everts had repeated God's simply command and torn other's complexities to splinters. God did not command beauracracy to be created, God did not wish us to make any great distance between us and him. Jesus gave the simple request "Follow me."
   Everts' book may not be perfect, however, I now have a much better relationship with God.
   To those who wish to learn of God, I recommend this book with all my little heart. To those who wish to disrespect this simple, powerful book; I stick my tongue out at you. :-)~
Rating:
Summary: What Jesus is really about
Review: I read this book after hearing Don Everts speak at a weekend conference. He is a challenging speaker to say the least, calling Christians to not play the "two inch Olympics" game by patting ourselves on the back for doing the basics but to do more, to listen for the voice of God and do what He asks.As for Jesus with Dirty Feet -- this book isn't meant to answer all the deep, tough theological questions about Jesus. Nor is it meant to answer the question of why people use the Bible to excuse their bad behavior (i.e. the Crusades, or slavery). Those questions, for the most part, are answered in the fact that people are selfish and it is easy to take things out of context to fulfill one's selfish desires. Jesus with Dirty Feet is a book meant to introduce you to the bare bones of who Jesus was -- not the excuse for genocide and slavery, etc. -- and to realize that Jesus wasn't born floating six inches off the ground peering hatefully down on humanity. Getting the basics right allows for the deeper questions to be answered without the prejudice of preconceived notions. When I purchased the book we were offered two copies for the price of one and given the challenged to give our second copy to a non-Christian who was curious or skeptical -- this book is a great door-opener and is wonderful for prompting discussion.
Rating:
Summary: What Jesus is really about
Review: I read this book after hearing Don Everts speak at a weekend conference. He is a challenging speaker to say the least, calling Christians to not play the "two inch Olympics" game by patting ourselves on the back for doing the basics but to do more, to listen for the voice of God and do what He asks. As for Jesus with Dirty Feet -- this book isn't meant to answer all the deep, tough theological questions about Jesus. Nor is it meant to answer the question of why people use the Bible to excuse their bad behavior (i.e. the Crusades, or slavery). Those questions, for the most part, are answered in the fact that people are selfish and it is easy to take things out of context to fulfill one's selfish desires. Jesus with Dirty Feet is a book meant to introduce you to the bare bones of who Jesus was -- not the excuse for genocide and slavery, etc. -- and to realize that Jesus wasn't born floating six inches off the ground peering hatefully down on humanity. Getting the basics right allows for the deeper questions to be answered without the prejudice of preconceived notions. When I purchased the book we were offered two copies for the price of one and given the challenged to give our second copy to a non-Christian who was curious or skeptical -- this book is a great door-opener and is wonderful for prompting discussion.
Rating: 
Summary: Moral evasion and verbal masturbation
Review: I was given a copy of Don Everts' "Jesus with Dirty Feet" by a member of a campus Christian group at the University of Pittsburgh. While the book has some strengths, I find that its drawbacks are much greater. The bulk of the book is an explanation/defense of evangelical Christianity in poetic form. Each of the poem's 8 chapters focuses on a particular aspect of the faith: "Jesus," "Repentance," "The Bible," etc. Unfortunately, Everts' faith is a feel-good, self-congratulatory form of Christianity which is incapable of taking on the hard questions. At his worse, Everts strikes me as ethically irresponsible. At the very opening of the poem, for example, he casually dismisses "everything from the Crusades to / the perpetually complex and powerful / Vatican machinery" (13). I am sure that some readers will regard these lines as a bigoted anti-Catholic jab, but I am more concerned about his easy disposal of the Crusades, one of the most tragic and violent parts of the Christian legacy. Real human beings died as a result of Christian fanaticism during the Crusades; are these lives so easy to toss away in a single line? Throughout the book, Everts encourages his evangelical readers to indulge in masturbatory fantasies of "persecution" and alienation. Of his type of Christian Everts writes, "these Kingdom Dwellers. . . / they're illegal aliens, / foreign ambassadors, / a threat to national security" (61). I doubt that many of the privileged campus Christians who will use this book to stroke their egos really know what it's like to suffer true persecution; unfortunately, Everts fosters shallow martyr fantasies over real introspection. There are some good moments in "Jesus with Dirt Feet." Everts' chapter on the Bible, for example, contains some genuinely insightful poetic language. But as in the rest of the book, Everts' message is compromised either by ignorance or moral cowardice. Why, I wanted to ask him, has the Bible been so potent a source of proof-texts for supporters of genocide, slavery, racial segregation, the disenfranchisement of women, anti-Semitism, anti-gay bigotry, and other evils throughout history? Reading Everts' words I was reminded of the ninth chapter of the "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass," which describes how a Christian slaveowner savagely tortures a disabled slave woman while quoting a Bible verse that appears to justify his actions. Everts' vacuous feel-good Christianity fails to address the seductiveness of Christian fanaticism, the problematic nature of many biblical passages, and the long list of victims of "faithful Christians" through the centuries. Everts condemns the many versions of Jesus which have been popular in various circles: "my grandparents' soft Jesus who blesses nice people who don't smoke or cuss, the liberationists' machine-gun toting Jesus, the atheists' papier-mache Jesus" and others (7). But in his arrogance Everts substitutes yet another hollow (and potentially dangerous) cliche: the trendy "coffeehouse Jesus." People interested in a truly challenging and meaningful vision of Christianity would be better off reading the works of Thomas Merton, Carter Heyward, Martin Luther King, John McNeil, or some of the other Christians who have, like Jesus, challenged the status quo. For the true Christian pilgrim, "Jesus with Dirty Feet" is an insulting waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: Refreshing and Powerful
Review: Jesus with Dirty Feet is a phenomonal look at Christ without sterotypes and preconceived ideas that modern day society places on Christianity and Jesus himself. The book provides a captivating and provocitive look at who Jesus is, what he came here for and what he had to say about himself, life and God. Everts wrote the book using sense lines which made reading the book very pleasurable, and this style also added the simplicity needed to break down some very deep topics. I have been a Christian for many years and found something new and different about this book and Everts unencumbered perceptions of Christ. I am a Singer/Songwriter, and I liked the book so much I was inspired to write a song about it! That is powerful stuff! Jennifer Hill
Rating:
Summary: Let's learn what this book is really about already!!
Review: Ok, let me get this out of my system. The purpose of this book is not to prove any theological point, to explain the actions of whatever group at whatever time, blah blah blah, etc etc etc.
The purpose of this book, as Mr. Everts said while speaking one of the many times I've heard him speak, this book's purpose was to take all the stereotypes of who Jesus and Christianity is, throw them away, go back to the beginning and explain them without theological dogmas getting in the way. For example, I love Everts' comment on the church. His general statement is that calling a church a building is the same thing as calling a Christian a two by four. Explination, through the years people have twisted and labeled parts of Christianity to the point where Churches are building where people go on Sunday, but if we take a look at what the Bible teaches, the church a bunch of Christians; a.k.a. the body of Christ.
Now, you also have to understand Everts' target audience. Though this book is great for pretty much anyone, it's intended focus was college kids who have dismissed Christianity for what they think it is rather than what it is.
Now that that's clear, let me say that this is a wonderful book. As almost everyone else has said, is a short book with a style of writing where you can easily fly through this book in a day or two, if that.
When I was in college, I was in Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. A couple of our attendee's were dorm R.A.'s, and they would buy boxes of this book and everyday set one in every stall of the dorm bathrooms or give one to every student on their floor. The response was amazing.
In the end, this book is excellent while being very inexpensive. Buy one. If you don't like it, give it away. Not every seed grows in every soil. It might do nothing for you, but change the life of another.
Rating:
Summary: Let's learn what this book is really about already!!
Review: Ok, let me get this out of my system. The purpose of this book is not to prove any theological point, to explain the actions of whatever group at whatever time, blah blah blah, etc etc etc.
The purpose of this book, as Mr. Everts said while speaking one of the many times I've heard him speak, this book's purpose was to take all the stereotypes of who Jesus and Christianity is, throw them away, go back to the beginning and explain them without theological dogmas getting in the way. For example, I love Everts' comment on the church. His general statement is that calling a church a building is the same thing as calling a Christian a two by four. Explination, through the years people have twisted and labeled parts of Christianity to the point where Churches are building where people go on Sunday, but if we take a look at what the Bible teaches, the church a bunch of Christians; a.k.a. the body of Christ.
Now, you also have to understand Everts' target audience. Though this book is great for pretty much anyone, it's intended focus was college kids who have dismissed Christianity for what they think it is rather than what it is.
Now that that's clear, let me say that this is a wonderful book. As almost everyone else has said, is a short book with a style of writing where you can easily fly through this book in a day or two, if that.
When I was in college, I was in Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. A couple of our attendee's were dorm R.A.'s, and they would buy boxes of this book and everyday set one in every stall of the dorm bathrooms or give one to every student on their floor. The response was amazing.
In the end, this book is excellent while being very inexpensive. Buy one. If you don't like it, give it away. Not every seed grows in every soil. It might do nothing for you, but change the life of another.
Rating: 
Summary: worthwhile--as for "Moral evasion," think again
Review: The great value of this book is that it re-examines and portrays the bold, gritty, wild, fearless adventure that was the earth-life of Jesus Christ. If you are tired of the "stale crackers" "yawn-in-the-pews" approach of theological geniuses and know-it-alls of the last century or so, give this book a try. While it is no substitute for the original source material found in the Holy Bible and would be best read alongside Matthew, Mark, Luke, and/or John, I recommend "Jesus with Dirty Feet" to anyone desiring to encounter Christ in the Scriptures with fresh eyes. As for the claim that this book contains "Moral evasion," I was puzzled by the hateful, hostile, vulgar tone of Mr. Mazza's review until I clicked on "more about me" to better understand his point of view. I am less puzzled now. In his own words, he describes himself as a "'theological free agent.' I am an ordained minister in the Universal Life Church, an ultra-inclusive (one might say anarchic) denomination headquartered in Modesto, California." He further states that his interests include satanism. All of this has taught me a valuable lesson. In the future, if I read a review that seems equally hostile, I will look into the reviewer's background whenever possible.
Rating:
Summary: An uncommon approach to a common topic.
Review: The title says it all. This book is a down-to-earth, logical look at the life of Jesus. He was a real guy!! Its simplistic approach makes the truths about Jesus very clear. Many times people misunderstand who Jesus is and why he came. Since this book is written in a very easy-to-understand way, it is a great book for those who are curious and questioning their beliefs. It is great reading for Christians, also. It really made me think about Jesus in a different, more approachable way, and it also helped me realize that Christianity isn't about falling asleep in the back pew, it's about love and faith. I greatly recommend this book to any and all who want a unique and real perspective of who Jesus really is, and what Christianity is all about.
Rating:
Summary: Hungry for "real" Christianity?
Review: This is a wonderful little book that packs a punch and delivers exactly what it promises. "Jesus with dirty feet" is a down to earth look at Christianity. This little book burns through two thousand years of "stuff"(I deliberately used that word) to get back to what this whole thing is all about and how simple it is(not easy but simple). Thank you Don Everts for a refreshing and totally accessable look Christianity. What this book does not promise is the answer to all your theological questions and 2000 years of church history. This book is less than 100 pages long and the demands of another reviewer were a little unfair. Wonderful book for post-modern folks. A must read, I'm on my fifth.
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