This book reads like pure fiction. It has been fictionalized in the sense of changing everything that can possible identify any chacter, so that the author, Jamie Blaine, starts out with a disclaimer and states that any resemblance any of his chapter has to anyone living or dead is purely a co-incidence. Blaine includes an author's note to introduce what he is about and his introduction gives the reader the flavor of this book. This book occurs in three parts and includes 43 chapters. He includes an After the Credits Roll where he updates the reader on the latest on the characters. He includes a short list of acknowledgments of those who made this book possible and then he includes his endnotes, not of sources consulted but to explain Biblical verses or others' interpretations of these verses. This author, Jamie Blaine, is a licensed psychotherapist, crisis interventionalist who has worked in mental hospitals, megachurches, rehabs, radio stations and roller rinks.
This book reads like a novel. I found it interesting and fast-moving. We need books that make clear that Jesus came to serve and help those who don't have life together, who are sinners, who are broken, who have issues and who have deep emotional and spiritual needs. I was not disappointed with this part of the book and it is the opposite of so much of organized Christianity where hypocrisy is the result of the unspoken code of silence that makes those in our local churches afraid, ashamed, and inhibited from sharing about our sins, our hurts and our emotional and spiritual needs. Even in our small groups, the sharing and the prayer requests go no deeper than illnesses and deaths in the family from natural causes. Maybe sometimes unemployment will be shared, but sharing about social and spiritual needs is quite rare in our local churches. In fact, in my current local church when I was given the guidelines for small group leaders, included in the guidelines was that these groups were not to become "support groups" and that members who share about deep emotional or spiritual needs were to be referred for "extra support" and "outside help." This kind of church policy encourages and fosters pretense. The Bible makes it clear that Jesus spent most of His time with those who would be considered as "needing extra support"! However, nowhere in this book is the Gospel of the need to repent from sin and trust in Jesus alone to save one, presented in any form. The tone and feeling I got in this entire book was that Jesus is our "Homeboy" and is our buddy. Yes, in a deep and real sense, Jesus is our friend, but He also our Savior from sin sin and hell, and is the Lord of all and desires to reign in our lives. This book shows the love of Jesus but not the fullness of His power, His holiness or His majesty. We need to be reminded of the love and grace of God, but the approach of this book is not the way to go about it. So, I cannot give it a five-star rating.
I mainly recommend this book as wholesome entertainment. I feel uncomfortable recommending it for pastors and church leaders of "seeker-sensitive church fellowships as this book just encourages their views. It is for the same reason that I feel uncomfortable encouraging it for the many who attend such churches unless for wholesome entertainment. It would only confuse and mislead those who do not know Jesus as it does not give the reader a balanced view of Jesus. The notes in the back of the book with the Scripture references, if read, can get readers into the Bible itself and so is the main reason I could recommend this book for "non-religious" people.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Book Look Bloggers.com. I was not required to give a positive review of the book.
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