Book Review - Blue Like Jazz

Book of the Month - "Blue Like Jazz" (by Donald Miller)

It's a well written autobiography and I truly enjoyed this book as a leisurely read. I can see why it's sponsored by Cru, the organization in which I heard of the book, because it's an evangelistic tool with some great ideas on evangelism. More importantly, it has great thoughts on a true life that wrestles with churches and Christianity. There's a big difference between churches' Christianity and the Christianity of Jesus Christ.

At first, I thought this book was about nonreligious thoughts on Christian spirituality. But after reading this book, I can't say I necessarily agree with this note because there is a lot of hints of Christian thoughts throughout this book. I guess most people's childhood in the Bible belt of the USA will automatically steer the thinking towards a Christian mindset (i.e. spirituality). But can't Christian spirituality also have various definitions?

Main Points

Similarly to my journey of understanding how to be like Jesus albeit very different paths taken, there are quite a few good points mentioned by this author, Don.

• Jazz - like all music that we didn't grow up with (and if it sounds really different from the music we like while growing up), we won't like it when we first hear it. However, we can't appreciate the music (considering the sounds are good) if we don't learn what it's about it. And we can't feel the music unless we see someone else dancing to it. That's how people truly feel music - they dance to it. You can't just sit and listen to a song when it's really speaking to your soul. You gotta dance! Plus, there's more than one type of Jazz and I love smooth jazz, baby.
• Journey - understanding Christian spirituality is a journey focused on seeking more and more understanding of Jesus Christ.
• Chapters - his chapters are categorize very well and he doubles one on the crucial topic of "Love". Well, actually triples on "Love", but you'll have to figure that out for yourself. ;)
• Teenagers - I love how this is a good read for teenagers. I would expect college students to be too busy reading text books, but many teenagers are interested in knowing how college guys and girls think.

Favorite Quotes

There were a lot of nice quotes by the author, but I'll limit to one per chapter (20 total).

1. My father left my home when I was young, so when I was introduced to the concept of God as Father I imagined Him as a stiff, oily man who wanted to move into our house and share a bed with my mother.
2. The greatest trick of the devil is not to get us into some sort of evil but rather have us wasting time.
3. I couldn't give myself to Christianity because it was a religion for the intellectually naive.
4. I still had serious issues with Jesus, though, only because I associated Him with Christianity, and there was no way I would ever call myself a Christian.
5. She believed that all things that were true were rational. But that isn't the case. Love, for example, is a true emotion, but it is not rational.
6. Trying to love the right things without God's help...was impossible.
7. Who am I to think myself above God's charity?
8. Don't complain about the way God answers your prayers.
9. This is why he could be beaten one day, imprisoned the next, and released only to be beaten again and never ask God why.
10. If I walk away from Him, and please pray that I never do, I will walk away for social reasons, identity reasons, deep emotional reasons, the same reasons that any of us do anything.
11. Stop ten people on the street and ask them what they think of when they hear the word Christianity, and they will give you ten different answers.
12. First [thing I didn't like about churches]: I felt like people were trying to sell me Jesus.
13. ...marriage is worth the trade. You lose all your freedom, but you get this [incredible] friend.
14. When a person has no other persons he invents them because he was not designed to be alone, because it isn't good for a person to be alone.
15. Living in community made me realize one of my faults: I was addicted to myself.
16. There's not a lot of work in the Christian market if you won't write self-righteous, conservative propaganda.
17. A statement like this [of Mother Theresa] offends some Christians because they believe if aspects of their faith do not obey the facts of reality, they are not true.
18. The real issue in the Christian community was that it was conditional.
19. God's love will never change us if we don't accept it.
20. ...jazz music was invented by the first generation out of slavery...a language of the soul. I think Christian spirituality is like jazz music. I think loving Jesus is something you feel.

And then you dance to it!

Favorite Verse

No verses mentioned in this book. But, he does mention the Book of Matthew and in particular points out chapter 13 as a life changer.

What's Missing?

Well, if you're going to write an autobiography and compare it to jazz, then I would love some links to some good jazz music. :-)