Just remember what the phrase "tongue-in-cheek" means. And be prepared to turn the other one.
Every now and then a book comes along that shakes the Christian faith to its core. A book that dares to ask the questions others won’t, that braves the barriers between what we say and what we do, that takes the reader to the very edge of who he or she is in Christ and shows him or her how life really could be if only he or she truly believed what he or she says he or she believes.
While you’re waiting on me to write that book, let me offer this fun, quirky, “easy-to-read-during-a-little-lengthier-than-average-bathroom-trip” book for your perusal. The Christian Culture Survival Guide, by Matthew Paul Turner, is a must for those who have been in church so long that they now believe there really are people actually named “brother” and “sister.”
You may be a little offended by Turner’s style, but trust me, he’s not laughing with you, he’s laughing at you (along with a LOT of people who may not be coming to Christ because of you). Turner seems to be the guy who is actually grilling the burgers that we always say sacred cows can make, and as someone who has spent the better part of my life immersed in the often bizarre and shallow world of Christian culture, I’d have to say it’s about time someone did.
Now, let me clarify that last statement: Turner (nor I) never rips Christians, or really even the church. He does, however, do a pretty thorough job at ripping into the culture that Christians have created that keeps us separated from the world Jesus wants us to love. The hope would be that by learning to laugh at ourselves, we could begin to get back to the heart of the gospel and find a purity in American Christianity that we seem to have substituted with cliches, Christianese (that language only “we” can understand), and really swell Christian billboards, err, tee shirts.
Turner does attempt at the end of each chapter to kind of reclaim the reader with a quick dose of non-satirical writing, but don’t pick this book up thinking that there’s a lot of those moment here. In fact, that last sentence I wrote in the previous paragraph may be more serious than anything in the book, but here’s some of what you will find:
Church Hopping Essentials
5 Types of Pastors to Look Out For
Seven Cliches that Need to Go – Now!
A List of Today’s Most Popular Ongoing Boycotts
3 Types of Clothing Usually Deemed Inappropriate by Christians
4 Ideas to Help TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network)
…and much, much more!
You should definitely read it. You’ll either love it or hate it. The good news is that if you do hate it, at least you’ll have something to add to the boycott list.
