OUTLAW CHRISTIAN by Jacqueline A Bussie

This is a nonfiction Christian book. Bussie starts out with her definition of the eye-catching title of this book. She arranges this book over six chapters. She starts the beginning of each chapter with a relevant Bable verse, saying or poem. She ends these chapters with a long Bibliography. Then she provides pages of notes for each chapter, giving the sources she used. She wraps this up with Acknowledgments of those who made this book possible and with her author bio. Jacqueline Bussie is Director of the Forum on Faith and Life and professor of religion at Concordia College in Moorehead, Minnesota. She is also an author and theologian. Her first book, The Laughter of the Oppressed (2007) won the Trinity Prize. An active leader in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Bussie teaches religion and theology at Concordia College in in Moorehead, Minnesota.

This book is much what I expected. This author grew up in the same tradition I did, in the conservative Lutheran CHurch. Then she became part of the more liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA). By liberal I mean theologically liberal. This is where people take more liberties with interpreting the Bible as they see fit. As I read through this book, I found that, again, we indeed can learn from each other! I feel uncomfortable with the author one referring to God as She. I was nervous with her statements of God's limited power. She tried to get around this by saying that GOd isn't all-powerful in the way we traditionally define the word. But there is much we can learn from this book. In everything else but the concerns raised, I agree with this author. We put on an act in the Christian community. That's because we see worship services as "museums for saints." She raises valid points about building authentic community, relating to each other and living lives of love and grace. This book, however, seems aimed toward the middle-class and affluent who so often populate our congregations. But she does a great job at making the case for modeling Christ's love to those we may see as the "other." "Outlaw Christian" refers to being willing to depart from human tradition to follow Jesus. The term is obviously meant to grab your attention.

Who do I recommend this book for? I recommend this book for pastors but only so they see gain understanding on how members may see things. Pastors can disagree with ponits of Bussie's theology and not use this book for any theological purposes. They should use the book to gain insight on how to relate the their parishioners. I don't recommend this book for non-Christians or new Christians. The watered-down theology and singular focus on God's love and grace will confuse them. We are to ponder God's goodness and severity TOGETHER, always. This book, like so many others, doesn't do that. I recommend this book for those in Christian leadership. They may gain insight about those they lead, without counting on this book's theology.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Book Look Bloggers in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to give a positive review of this book.