Are you ever going through life and then just happen to stumble upon something that absolutely speaks to the circumstances you are going through? Me too. It happened a few weeks ago when I began reading Jim Palmer's Divine Nobodies. This is a story of a pastor who had graduated with a seminary degree and was on staff at one of America's largest megachurches - and then his wife left him. No longer able to serve as a pastor (divorce is, apparently, a cardinal sin for ministers), Palmer had to do jobs that would better suit a full-time college student. Through this tearing down and rebuilding of his faith, Palmer emerges with a more authentic, more relational faith.
I guess the main reason this book appealed to me so much is because I'm fed up with institutional church. Yes, you can add me to the list. I'm tired of Christianity being about Sunday and Wednesday programs, organizations designed to help people so I don't have to, and the typical "I'm dying inside but I'm going to smile anyways because I'm at church" attitude. I'm just sick of all that. There really is so much more to life with Christ than all that. I feel like for the first time my faith is actually enriching and enlightening rather than restrictive. And it takes place Monday through Saturday as well.
Covering topics ranging from depression to politics to authentic faith, this book is well worth the read and a unique perspective from a former go-through-the-motions pastor turned true and authentic believer.
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