Searching For God Knows What

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful and insightful
Review: Chapter 4 "Free Verse" actually made me get out of bed one night while I was reading and pad outside in my bare feet to where my husband was sitting. I promptly sat down and read him the entire chapter out loud. We both had tears in our eyes when we were finished. This is a book for people that know that there is more to Christ than systematic theology. This book captures the meaning of it all.

Rating:
Summary: A Compelling Look at the Gospel Presentation
Review: Don Miller has got an amazing ability (God-given, of course) to present a series of ideas that all tie together to emphasize an important point. In this book, just like in _Blue Like Jazz_, Miller gives thoughts that lead to criticisms as well as encouragement to the 21st-century church. In _Searching for God Knows What_, the topic focuses on how the modern church has trivialized the Gospel message by turning it into a short series of ideas, or a quick formula that bypasses most of what Jesus' life entailed. These thoughts are all but revolutionary, but so blatantly obvious to me as a reader (though I always wondered why I had never thought of these things in the way he presented...now that he had, it all makes sense).

Specifically, he presents metaphoric symbols of what humans are trying to make in life: justifying our usefulness on a lifeboat, trying to entertain the masses in a circus, etc., and ties them together so well that you find yourself making other metaphors and expanding the range of the implications.

Simply put, Don's ideas are ones that many Christians need to take to heart. He comments on our morality system as something that now takes the place of our loving of one another, a way of justifying our place on 'the lifeboat.' He talks as he did in _Blue Like Jazz_ about the dangers of using war-like vocabulary in our dealings with non-Christians: if we view it as a battle or a war, we feel like we are taking sides against other humans, instead of Satan, who is our true combatant.

I looked forward to getting this book after Don e-mailed me to let me know there was a new book coming up (his 6 month lead time definitely left me eager). Once again, I was not let down. I feel this book is good for Christians and non-Christians alike, though much of the items Don talks about are more Christian-oriented than in _Blue Like Jazz_. I recommend reading this book to, at the very least, think about some issues facing the modern church and deducing your own reaction. It is sure to make you internally debate with your own thought process, but I believe that is the intention of this book. Let it. A+ job to Don, and praise to God for using Don to bring our hearts and minds on Christ and Christ alone.

Rating:
Summary: simply great
Review: i bought this book the moment it made it to the store shelf (it helps i work in a bookstore) i loved his last book "Blue Like Jazz" and couldn't wait to get my hands on this one... it was a perfect follow up - more serious in nature, you can sense the growth that has occured since his last venture. I would say read Blue first (actually since you will love that you should hunt down his older book "Prayer and the Art of Volkswagen Maintenance" and read that first, then Blue - however the older book is out of print....)this book can stand on its own - its wonderful. The experience of this book is only helped by reading the others as well. i can't wait to see what future books miller will write! this is an excellent book - highly recommend it!

Rating:
Summary: Don Miller has done it again.
Review: I enjoyed "Blue Like Jazz" so much that I pre-ordered this one a month ago. It arrived yesterday and I read it this morning, lingering over a long breakfast at a local cafe. It was actually a bit embarrassing as I kept laughing out loud. Other diners were glancing in my direction (perhaps growing increasingly concerned about my sanity and their safety).

At times I wondered if I was reading about the spiritual experience of the humorist Dave Barry. And yet - even before I stopped laughing, Miller would paint a word picture so poignantly that the my laughter stalled in its tracks (much to the relief of those seated at the table adjacent to me).

Miller continues to talk about spirituality in a compellingly authentic and honest fashion. And there is more. He provides a fresh new lexicon for the journey to God. This book will make you laugh and make you think. If you really wonder what God is like, and are disinterested in the minefield of religious jargon - this is the book for you.


Rating:
Summary: Inspired and annoyed....must be a good book
Review: I just recently read his last book, Blue Like Jazz, and loved it. This one seems to have a little more of a serious tone. He opened up quite a bit and had a little less of the light hearted story telling of Blue Like Jazz. At time he inspired me and at other times he annoyed me...sort of like someone would if you knew them really well. I have come to really appreciate that his opinions are well thought out and not condescending like many other authors that write these types of books. He sort of reminds me of Philip Yancey at times, another thoughtful Christian author that I really like. It was funny to see that he writes about being a fan of his too and quotes him in one chapter. The chapter on morality was fantastic and really changed the way I'm thinking about morality, politics, Chrisitanity, and the culture war everyone is talking about.

One of the main things I walked away from this book thinking was that while it was still important to be aware of political issues and vote, as a Christian I should be way more focused on relationships to Christ and others than political causes. As Miller points out, despite a highly charged political environment in his time Jesus didn't join a political party or run for office to change things, but deeply engaged those around him in a loving and forgiving way. Same with Paul and the disciples. I though this was a brilliant point, but then I go to Miller's web site, bluelikejazz.com, to find him pimping a bunch of activist organizations that in his words 'seems to be participating, at least to some degree, in the concerns of our God'. That's cool, but I think that's a pretty big stretch for some of the politically charged organizations he lists like moveon.org. Huh? I'd be just as confused if he asked everybody to listen to and support Rush Limbaugh because he was in part doing God's work. This seems to be exactly against the point he makes in his book. Despite this confusion, I would highly recommend this book and plan on following Miller's future projects. I just hope he doesn't start writing about how all good Christians should be Democrats (or Republicans for that matter).

Rating:
Summary: The Search is Over...
Review: I picked up "Searching for God Knows What" and "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller at the same time. I had never heard of him, but was struck by the chapter titles as I scanned the book. I read Jazz first as I wanted to work chronologically. I knew I had found a gem as I read. Words cannot easily describe the writing of Miller. Funny, to the point, thought-provoking, Christ Driven, Donald Miller is a voice in the desert preparing a generation to see God in a new light. As I read, I felt like Mr Miller was sitting here talking to me. I know for sure that I will be following the writing of Donald Miller. After finishing both of his books I feel closer to God, and am excited how God is present in the glorious and the mundane. Bravo Donald Miller, Bravo.

Rating:
Summary: Throw! Throw! Throw Your Boat (away)
Review: I was pleasantly suprised by this book. I purchased it on a whim. Having been saturated by the same old, same old Christian authors packaging recycled words, I decided to try a new author.

What an inspiring and challenging book! Donald Miller presents an awesome picture of the battle we face everyday; the battle for the approval of others. Sit still. Read this book. You will leave feeling comforted in the approval of the Father, and you will leave with an awesome insight as to why we do the crazy things we do.

Rating:
Summary: A worthy follow-up to 'Jazz,'...
Review: If you're anything like me, you probably loved "Blue Like Jazz." I did and to prove it (as if I really need to) I even ended up buying copy after copy after copy for close friends and family members b/c I believed in it so much. I know that sounds stupid, to believe in a book, but I did and still do and this probably adds one of the reasons that no book following "Blue Like Jazz" could be better so in that sense, I feel bad for Donald Miller.In this book, after the first few chapters jumble through awkwardly funny moments, Miller trying (perhaps) a little too hard to be funny, and his writing style changing away from his own voice and to that of an older, Holden Caufield type-character, "Searching for God Knows What" seems to only then really take off. The chapters on junior high life, the competitive / comparative human spirit, and the whole "lifeboat" running theme were all wonderful and beautiful and so briefly edged on the cliff of brilliance. This is the Miller I remember. It seems he writes and thinks and reflects best when he's not forcing words out onto the page, and it's funny how a reader can sense when Miller is or isn't doing such a thing. When he is, the book tends to be a tad contrived and slightly pretentious; when he isn't, the book breaks through barriers and teeters on a line of greatness...in which Miller is on the road to if he keeps it up. Perhaps he will one day be put along such great writers as Madeleine L'Engle, David Sedaris, Anne Lamott, and others like them...but for now, somewhere in between brilliance/greatness and well/good is where Miller inevitably sits. Keep up the writing! Look forward to reading much more!

Rating:
Summary: Answer to another piece in my personal puzzle...yep...
Review: New Year's Eve we spent some time with old friends. My long held Christian faith was waning. I had been the 'good little christian woman', but my life had fallen apart really. I have been trying to make sense of it all. That night, my friend just gave me this book and said that I should read it. He didn't know anything; I hadn't told him anything about the state of my life, let alone my faith. I started reading Miller's book the next day and couldn't put it down.

Donald Miller helped me with his book, "Searching for God Knows What". Basically he seems to say what I have already been learning, that there are no guarentees in life. Miller wonderfully explains why there are no Christian formulas, political formulas, nor any other formulas for that matter, in life, that will keep us safe and secure. In this book he explains, with intelligence, wit and a great sense of humor, how intamcy in relationship...(however, not with just anyone) will help you find your lost heart again.

I love the way he uses Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" balcony scene as an allegory of conversion. Thanks Donald...what a great way with words...wow!! and yes, elephants shouldn't be caged...(if i had emoticans it would wink and smile...)