How could you refuse the polite invitation of begoggled Danny Wallace in Join Me? You don't know what you could be missing out on. It's all about living for the moment in this quirky, seemingly pointless yet addictive narrative. Finding himself with too much time on his hands after quitting his BBC job, Danny revels in "sitting around in his pants" and generally taking a break from the responsibilities of working life. Danny attends the funeral of his great uncle Gallus and finds out that he had set up a commune of like-minded people to escape Swiss small town small-mindedness in the 1940s. Intrigued by this idea, on his return to London Danny places a cryptic advert in the classified ads paper Loot and gets some surprising results.

His Norwegian radio-producer girlfriend Hanne is bemused and infuriated that this has become more than a transient interest; it takes over his life--and hers. The number of "joinees"--people replying to his ad--escalates as word gets out about this new "happy cult", but without a clue about what he wants to achieve, or do with all his newfound friends, Danny has to think fast as dissent rises in the ranks. Now the reluctant leader of a troop of random hopefuls, he maintains their interest with obscure e-mails and watches as his joinees meet and bond.

Whatever he had created, it was bigger than he had anticipated. From an initially puerile idea, it had grown into something of a social experiment--why were people willing to take the risk? What was lacking in their lives that they thought they might get out of contacting a stranger? Taking risks, no matter how big or small, is the essential crux of the matter here and of course, nothing ventured, nothing gained. --Angela Boodoo

A good man to share a pnit with but not a good writer, 06 Oct 2008
I was really excited to get this book having read the reviews. However, although I found the concept amusing and genuinely laughed out loud at some observations, usually the relationship ones, Danny is not a good writer. The prose is overly wordy for my liking and simply not tight enough to the extent that I have added this book to my very small " will never finish" pile of books. I have no doubt that an evening down the pub with Danny would be very funny indeed, he loves people and shows genuine affection for them in this book which is endearing. However, if he does any more projects, I might just wait for the tv show to come out.....

funny, 15 Sep 2008
I think it's really funny, it seems just about all the other reviewers do as well. It probably won't take you long to read, the worst thing to happen if you do read it is you may lose bladder control while your laughing.
By the end you'll feel reassured in the goodness of people.

Be in The Collective, become a Joinee today!, 10 Dec 2007
Danny Wallace, until recently he was more famous as Dave Gorman's sidekick - but now he is a regular face on TV.

This book is in the same sort of genre as "Are You Dave Gorman" which Danny co-authored and tells the true story of how Danny Wallace starts a cult by asking people to join him....

...And people do! They have no reservations and hand over their faith to join a man in an unknown crusade. After having people join him, Danny decides what to do as the leader of a cult and comes up with the ultimate in humanistic altruism - they will all do a good deed per day for someone.

This is a very entertaining book which shows how a decent man can do good deeds and encourage others to do so to ensure the world is a more pleasant place. The same man also sees his love-life fall apart as a result.

This fails to live up to the same level of pathos of the Dave Gorman adventures, which is a shame as it has ample chance to do so given the subject matter. It doesn't ruin the book though, it still remains a very funny book and one which I strongly recommend. The tale is an interesting one, as a jape turns into a fairly large movement and gains press coverage.

Not all cults involve insane religious maniacs killing themselves to ride a comet to paradise - some are for honest people to join forces to make the world a better place. This book does that too by giving the reader a laugh and an invite to join Danny Wallace and become a member of his cult.


You Must Join Him, 05 Oct 2007
Danny Wallace a man with nothing better to do, decides one day to put an add in a local newspaper simply saying Join Me and had an address for people to send off to Join Him. Not expecting a response at all little would Danny know that, that one add would set off a chain reaction that would start a country wide cult that would eventually take the world.

If I went any further I would reveal the entire story but all I really need to tell you is that this is a fantastic read that entertains from front to back. Danny has an amazing talent to make people laugh out loud while reading his books. I can't tell you the number of times I have been sat in a quiet public place and just burst out laughing, only for it to be followed by a mountain of stares from the people around me.

Take it from me that this is a delightful read and a definite must, Danny is easily one of the best comedy writers in the UK of the last decade.

Will you Join Me?, 29 May 2007
This was the first Danny Wallace book i read, and my god, it's brilliant, i read it constantly for hours on end, laughing all the way through, if you like true funny stories, I highly recommend you read this.

If you dont enjoy it, I'll refund your money*





*not an actual offer, i dont earn enough, but trust me, its brilliant

A good man to share a pnit with but not a good writer, 06 Oct 2008
I was really excited to get this book having read the reviews. However, although I found the concept amusing and genuinely laughed out loud at some observations, usually the relationship ones, Danny is not a good writer. The prose is overly wordy for my liking and simply not tight enough to the extent that I have added this book to my very small " will never finish" pile of books. I have no doubt that an evening down the pub with Danny would be very funny indeed, he loves people and shows genuine affection for them in this book which is endearing. However, if he does any more projects, I might just wait for the tv show to come out.....

funny, 15 Sep 2008
I think it's really funny, it seems just about all the other reviewers do as well. It probably won't take you long to read, the worst thing to happen if you do read it is you may lose bladder control while your laughing.
By the end you'll feel reassured in the goodness of people.

Be in The Collective, become a Joinee today!, 10 Dec 2007
Danny Wallace, until recently he was more famous as Dave Gorman's sidekick - but now he is a regular face on TV.

This book is in the same sort of genre as "Are You Dave Gorman" which Danny co-authored and tells the true story of how Danny Wallace starts a cult by asking people to join him....

...And people do! They have no reservations and hand over their faith to join a man in an unknown crusade. After having people join him, Danny decides what to do as the leader of a cult and comes up with the ultimate in humanistic altruism - they will all do a good deed per day for someone.

This is a very entertaining book which shows how a decent man can do good deeds and encourage others to do so to ensure the world is a more pleasant place. The same man also sees his love-life fall apart as a result.

This fails to live up to the same level of pathos of the Dave Gorman adventures, which is a shame as it has ample chance to do so given the subject matter. It doesn't ruin the book though, it still remains a very funny book and one which I strongly recommend. The tale is an interesting one, as a jape turns into a fairly large movement and gains press coverage.

Not all cults involve insane religious maniacs killing themselves to ride a comet to paradise - some are for honest people to join forces to make the world a better place. This book does that too by giving the reader a laugh and an invite to join Danny Wallace and become a member of his cult.


You Must Join Him, 05 Oct 2007
Danny Wallace a man with nothing better to do, decides one day to put an add in a local newspaper simply saying Join Me and had an address for people to send off to Join Him. Not expecting a response at all little would Danny know that, that one add would set off a chain reaction that would start a country wide cult that would eventually take the world.

If I went any further I would reveal the entire story but all I really need to tell you is that this is a fantastic read that entertains from front to back. Danny has an amazing talent to make people laugh out loud while reading his books. I can't tell you the number of times I have been sat in a quiet public place and just burst out laughing, only for it to be followed by a mountain of stares from the people around me.

Take it from me that this is a delightful read and a definite must, Danny is easily one of the best comedy writers in the UK of the last decade.

Will you Join Me?, 29 May 2007
This was the first Danny Wallace book i read, and my god, it's brilliant, i read it constantly for hours on end, laughing all the way through, if you like true funny stories, I highly recommend you read this.

If you dont enjoy it, I'll refund your money*





*not an actual offer, i dont earn enough, but trust me, its brilliant

a call to reckless generosity and selfless love, 03 Oct 2008
Shane Claiborne has found a different Jesus in the gospels than the mainstream church. He's found a Jesus who is homeless, a friend of the poor, who rails against authority and undermines the empire, who tells a rich man to sell everything he owns and give the money away. This is Claiborne's model, and he has done his best to find it, live it and prove such a life is possible.

The book follows his journey, from the disillusionment with the church of his youth, and the ambitious and wealthy `megachurches' where he trained. He talks about how he came to bond with the poor in Philadelphia, and then travelled to Calcutta to see if Mother Theresa offered a better demonstration of Christ than the ones around him. He visits Iraq in the middle of the war, testing Jesus' call to be a peacemaker. He helps stage a `re-distribution' on Wall Street and heckles George W Bush at the Republican conference. He is, in his own words, an `ordinary radical' - radically different, but rooted in real people and real situations.

Claiborne rejects the idea that Christianity has nothing more to offer than some distant and otherworldly heaven. It's a great reminder that the church is a missionary agency: we're meant to go to the poor and the hungry, not wait for them to come to us. There's loads of good stuff about power, simplicity, and community, that's worth coming back to. It's a call to reckless generosity and selfless love in a world of "big beasts and little prophets." It is hopeful, expectant, uncompromising.

'The Irresistable Revolution'is a provocative book, raising more issues than it answers. That's not an approach that everyone will appreciate, but for those ready to ask difficult questions of themselves and their faith, this is a challenge you'll want to take seriously.

An absolutely essential read, 17 Sep 2008
If Shane Claiborne keeps writing books like this he is going to get himself assasinated. I can think of no greater accolade then that.

refreshing, 07 Sep 2008
I found this book really encouraging. It gave me a lot to think about and reminded me of lots of things I believe are important in terms of the two principle commandments of the Bible "Love God with all your heart, mind and soul. Love your neighbour as yourself" 15 to 20 years ago I had read books by Jim Wallis, Ron Sider and Tony Campolo which seemed to call many Western Christians to thinking about justice and a simpler lifestyle.

Shane Claiborne starts to understand what God says about the poor and loving others almost by accident when he is studying theology at a US Bible school - one that I guess would be described as liberal rather than conservative in US terms. Some friends invite him to come and hang out with some of their friends who happen to be homeless.

The book is SC's story and the story of some of the people he meets along the way with whom he shares part of his life. It includes much of his struggles as he evaluates Scripture trying to see it afresh and not within all the confines of his background in church culture. He works a few months with Mother Theresa, was involved in living with the homeless, lives in a poor community in Philadelphia, went to Iraq with a group promoting peace and is astonished by the love and risks that Iraqi Christians would take to protect their American brothers.

It reminded me of the community that followers of Christ should be developing and not just with one another. It made me go back and read Matt 25 when Jesus talks about God's judgement involving the way we treat the poor, the sick, the foreigner, the criminal etc. It is uncomfortable.

I did not think SC was proposing everyone do what he does. He is not trying to recruit followers. He is prompting us to think about how we live as followers of Christ an to be more open to those marginalised in society, accepting people unlike us in our homes and lives.

There were parts of the book which annoyed me and I felt that he perhaps did some things just to provoke a reaction. I felt it possibly could have
been 100 pages shorter and still got the same message over. The style with frequent asides in parenthesis, which work if you are giving a speech, but are irritating when used over and over in a written work got a bit wearing. The style seemed written for students and early twenties, although the content should actually be for all ages.

However overall I found it deeply encouraging and challenging. I am reminded of how community with the poor is not just about justice or improving their situation, it is also about the rich getting the opportunity to know God more in profound ways through individuals who come into our lives. That seemed to be the way Mother Theresa saw it and I remember one incident in my own life of seeing God's image more clearly through a severly disabled, poor beggar who sat patiently waiting for gifts. He apalled me at first, until I saw the loving way some other interacted with him and despite the fact he could not speek his openess to others.

Community in the love of God is not a duty, it is a gift for all, but requires a lot of work.



Serious about being the change you want to see ? Read this., 08 Jul 2008
One of the most powerful and engaging autobiographical works from a `frontline' Christian activist I've read in a long time. It's impossible not to like Shane Claiborne, whose infectious love for Jesus and total commitment to bringing his love to all, whether North Philadelphia's poor or the bombed citizens of Iraq, is plain to see. Claiborne is someone all Christians (and others) could learn from for sheer breadth of sympathy across the Christian traditions, sense of vocation, and depth of theological understanding blended with sassy political commitment to bringing about change. A must-read.

Where is the gospel?, 23 Feb 2008
I should say at the outset, I think I'm out on a limb here. Everyone else seems to raving about this book. But I'm not so sure.

First, the good stuff. I think Shane Claiborne (SC) writes boldly and strikingly about various topics. Much of the book is a wake-up call for those who have got used to dull, timid, worldly, 'big', Christianity. He is immensely quotable: "Most of the time when I see Christian superstars like Jerry Falwell or Al Sharpton, I feel I'm watching professional wrestling. There's a lot of shouting and sweating, but the people seem too superhuman, and I'm not convinced all the moves are real." (p27)
He has some excellent material on the value of singleness. (p109-111) That's humbled me, and reminded me that I need to try to promote that in a Biblical way. Then there's some good stuff about the worthlessness of "cool": "...we must be either hot or cold, because if we are lukewarm (an old-school way of saying "cool"), we will be spit out of God's mouth"! (p230) There are lots of other helpful areas too, mostly only a few pages at a time.
He has lots of great stories, many of which would be excellent sermon-illustration material!

Now the bad stuff:
1) It's *very* Ameri-centric. Big chunks of the book are spent critiquing the Christian Right. Most of that didn't resonate with my experience of the Church in the UK. We don't do flags on the platform, singing anthems, rallying our troups into war or party politics. All that felt a bit meaningless to me as a Brit - who am I to criticise Christians living in another country and culture?

2) Because it's the experiences of a single guy, living in community, doing some wild and crazy things, I just don't see how much of what he says relates to me. I mean, I have a wife and 3 kids. I can't exactly move to Iraq for a while, or open up my house as a homeless shelter (not that I think there's nearly so much need here anyway - see point 1!). What he has effectively done is to abandon his entire culture. Now that's great for him, because he was in a position to do it. But the huge, vast, majority simply aren't. I'm not prepared to because I don't see that there's anything inherently wrong with having a house, or a car, or a job, or food. Parts of our culture are good (schools, hospitals, homes). If you want to live outside popular culture, fine. But I'd rather live out the Christ-life within it. Which is equally as difficult, and arguably more so. He's advocating a form of monastic asceticism that I'm not convinced is Biblical.

3) He redefines well-established theological terms. What he means by words like "evangelical", "conversion" and "gospel" are simply not the same as orthodox, Biblical, Christianity. For example: "Conversion is not an event but a process, a process of slowly tearing ourselves away from the clutches of the culture." No it isn't. Conversion has nothing to do with releasing oneself from the bonds of culture. It's the act of repentance and faith, when we repond to the gospel. Forgive me if I can't see the link between historic conversion and SC's. I suppose "sanctification" would be a more correct word for what he's talking about.

4) He caricatures the church.
"...if someone had a heart-attack on Sunday morning, the paramedics would have to take the pulse of half the congregation before they would find the dead person" (p43) OK, very funny. But certainly not my experience of good, Biblical, modern church. He gives the impression that churches are all navel-gazing, introverted, holy huddles with no interest or ability to communicate with the outside world. Well, again, there are loads of churches that care for the poor, the lonely, the disposessed. In Ipswich, UK, we have "Street Pastors" who are out in the clubs and pubs at the weekend, looking after the drunks and the dropouts; there is a pregnancy crisis centre, a drug rehab centre is soon to open. There's work amongst prostitutes and the homeless. We do care. Perhaps not enough, perhaps we could do with being better resourced. But we *are* trying to live out a life of faith in our culture, and it hurts a bit to be told we aren't.

5) He minimises the importance of theology:
"I learnt more about God from the tears of homeless mothers than a systematic theology ever taught me" (p51) Now, I know the guy is a firm post-modern and that post-moderns like stories more than facts etc etc. But, that kind of statement calls into question the whole value of theology. What did the tears of homeless mothers *actually* teach him? That sharing is good? That we should care for each other? Great - but not much about God. What can those things *possibly* teach us about God? We are made in his likeness, not he in ours. We don't learn about God by looking at fallen sinners (no matter how vulnerable or holy); we learn about God from the Word. SC has it the wrong way around.
Again, "When people ask me if I am Protestant or Catholic, I just answer 'yes.'. And when people ask me if we are evangelicals, I...say, 'Absolutely, we want to spread the kingdom of God like crazy.'" Well, I'm sorry, but the differences between Protestant and Catholic theology *are* important. They espouse completely different ideas about how to relate to God, the authority of the Bible, the meaning of salvation etc etc. They're not just minor tertiary issues, they affect the central tennets of the faith. Theology matters!

6) I'm not sure what his "gospel" is. Throughout the whole book, I could find barely a mention of sin, salvation, or the cross. What there was a lot of is loving our neighbours. Which of course, is good. But surely it's not the whole picture? He seems to see Jesus as an inspirational figure, who showed us how to live and love well. But that's not the gospel of Paul, or of evangelicalism. One story will serve to illustrate the point: It was the time when a bunch of his friends slept on Wall Street, New York, as an act of solidarity with the poor. (p118-119) Then at a certain time, they unfurled banners which read, "Stop terrorism", "Share", "Love", and a quote from Ghandi about greed. They drew pictures on the pavements and blew bubbles, and hugged and laughed. And SC describes it as "bringing God and Mammon together". Forgive me, but, if you look carefully, where is God in that? Where is the Biblical gospel in there? Sure, it's a worthwhile enterprise to stand in solidarity with the poor, and to stand up against corporate greed. But don't make out that this was some sort of outreach with the gospel.

If the church adopted SC's ideas, then we would probably be more happy, more loving, more radical, and probably bigger. We would be nicer people. But would those things lead to more being saved from an eternity without God? I somehow doubt it. What we really need is to be motivated by the truth of the Jesus-filled, Biblical gospel, and to reach out to people with the saving message of the cross.

A good man to share a pnit with but not a good writer, 06 Oct 2008
I was really excited to get this book having read the reviews. However, although I found the concept amusing and genuinely laughed out loud at some observations, usually the relationship ones, Danny is not a good writer. The prose is overly wordy for my liking and simply not tight enough to the extent that I have added this book to my very small " will never finish" pile of books. I have no doubt that an evening down the pub with Danny would be very funny indeed, he loves people and shows genuine affection for them in this book which is endearing. However, if he does any more projects, I might just wait for the tv show to come out.....

funny, 15 Sep 2008
I think it's really funny, it seems just about all the other reviewers do as well. It probably won't take you long to read, the worst thing to happen if you do read it is you may lose bladder control while your laughing.
By the end you'll feel reassured in the goodness of people.

Be in The Collective, become a Joinee today!, 10 Dec 2007
Danny Wallace, until recently he was more famous as Dave Gorman's sidekick - but now he is a regular face on TV.

This book is in the same sort of genre as "Are You Dave Gorman" which Danny co-authored and tells the true story of how Danny Wallace starts a cult by asking people to join him....

...And people do! They have no reservations and hand over their faith to join a man in an unknown crusade. After having people join him, Danny decides what to do as the leader of a cult and comes up with the ultimate in humanistic altruism - they will all do a good deed per day for someone.

This is a very entertaining book which shows how a decent man can do good deeds and encourage others to do so to ensure the world is a more pleasant place. The same man also sees his love-life fall apart as a result.

This fails to live up to the same level of pathos of the Dave Gorman adventures, which is a shame as it has ample chance to do so given the subject matter. It doesn't ruin the book though, it still remains a very funny book and one which I strongly recommend. The tale is an interesting one, as a jape turns into a fairly large movement and gains press coverage.

Not all cults involve insane religious maniacs killing themselves to ride a comet to paradise - some are for honest people to join forces to make the world a better place. This book does that too by giving the reader a laugh and an invite to join Danny Wallace and become a member of his cult.


You Must Join Him, 05 Oct 2007
Danny Wallace a man with nothing better to do, decides one day to put an add in a local newspaper simply saying Join Me and had an address for people to send off to Join Him. Not expecting a response at all little would Danny know that, that one add would set off a chain reaction that would start a country wide cult that would eventually take the world.

If I went any further I would reveal the entire story but all I really need to tell you is that this is a fantastic read that entertains from front to back. Danny has an amazing talent to make people laugh out loud while reading his books. I can't tell you the number of times I have been sat in a quiet public place and just burst out laughing, only for it to be followed by a mountain of stares from the people around me.

Take it from me that this is a delightful read and a definite must, Danny is easily one of the best comedy writers in the UK of the last decade.

Will you Join Me?, 29 May 2007
This was the first Danny Wallace book i read, and my god, it's brilliant, i read it constantly for hours on end, laughing all the way through, if you like true funny stories, I highly recommend you read this.

If you dont enjoy it, I'll refund your money*





*not an actual offer, i dont earn enough, but trust me, its brilliant

a call to reckless generosity and selfless love, 03 Oct 2008
Shane Claiborne has found a different Jesus in the gospels than the mainstream church. He's found a Jesus who is homeless, a friend of the poor, who rails against authority and undermines the empire, who tells a rich man to sell everything he owns and give the money away. This is Claiborne's model, and he has done his best to find it, live it and prove such a life is possible.

The book follows his journey, from the disillusionment with the church of his youth, and the ambitious and wealthy `megachurches' where he trained. He talks about how he came to bond with the poor in Philadelphia, and then travelled to Calcutta to see if Mother Theresa offered a better demonstration of Christ than the ones around him. He visits Iraq in the middle of the war, testing Jesus' call to be a peacemaker. He helps stage a `re-distribution' on Wall Street and heckles George W Bush at the Republican conference. He is, in his own words, an `ordinary radical' - radically different, but rooted in real people and real situations.

Claiborne rejects the idea that Christianity has nothing more to offer than some distant and otherworldly heaven. It's a great reminder that the church is a missionary agency: we're meant to go to the poor and the hungry, not wait for them to come to us. There's loads of good stuff about power, simplicity, and community, that's worth coming back to. It's a call to reckless generosity and selfless love in a world of "big beasts and little prophets." It is hopeful, expectant, uncompromising.

'The Irresistable Revolution'is a provocative book, raising more issues than it answers. That's not an approach that everyone will appreciate, but for those ready to ask difficult questions of themselves and their faith, this is a challenge you'll want to take seriously.

An absolutely essential read, 17 Sep 2008
If Shane Claiborne keeps writing books like this he is going to get himself assasinated. I can think of no greater accolade then that.

refreshing, 07 Sep 2008
I found this book really encouraging. It gave me a lot to think about and reminded me of lots of things I believe are important in terms of the two principle commandments of the Bible "Love God with all your heart, mind and soul. Love your neighbour as yourself" 15 to 20 years ago I had read books by Jim Wallis, Ron Sider and Tony Campolo which seemed to call many Western Christians to thinking about justice and a simpler lifestyle.

Shane Claiborne starts to understand what God says about the poor and loving others almost by accident when he is studying theology at a US Bible school - one that I guess would be described as liberal rather than conservative in US terms. Some friends invite him to come and hang out with some of their friends who happen to be homeless.

The book is SC's story and the story of some of the people he meets along the way with whom he shares part of his life. It includes much of his struggles as he evaluates Scripture trying to see it afresh and not within all the confines of his background in church culture. He works a few months with Mother Theresa, was involved in living with the homeless, lives in a poor community in Philadelphia, went to Iraq with a group promoting peace and is astonished by the love and risks that Iraqi Christians would take to protect their American brothers.

It reminded me of the community that followers of Christ should be developing and not just with one another. It made me go back and read Matt 25 when Jesus talks about God's judgement involving the way we treat the poor, the sick, the foreigner, the criminal etc. It is uncomfortable.

I did not think SC was proposing everyone do what he does. He is not trying to recruit followers. He is prompting us to think about how we live as followers of Christ an to be more open to those marginalised in society, accepting people unlike us in our homes and lives.

There were parts of the book which annoyed me and I felt that he perhaps did some things just to provoke a reaction. I felt it possibly could have
been 100 pages shorter and still got the same message over. The style with frequent asides in parenthesis, which work if you are giving a speech, but are irritating when used over and over in a written work got a bit wearing. The style seemed written for students and early twenties, although the content should actually be for all ages.

However overall I found it deeply encouraging and challenging. I am reminded of how community with the poor is not just about justice or improving their situation, it is also about the rich getting the opportunity to know God more in profound ways through individuals who come into our lives. That seemed to be the way Mother Theresa saw it and I remember one incident in my own life of seeing God's image more clearly through a severly disabled, poor beggar who sat patiently waiting for gifts. He apalled me at first, until I saw the loving way some other interacted with him and despite the fact he could not speek his openess to others.

Community in the love of God is not a duty, it is a gift for all, but requires a lot of work.



Serious about being the change you want to see ? Read this., 08 Jul 2008
One of the most powerful and engaging autobiographical works from a `frontline' Christian activist I've read in a long time. It's impossible not to like Shane Claiborne, whose infectious love for Jesus and total commitment to bringing his love to all, whether North Philadelphia's poor or the bombed citizens of Iraq, is plain to see. Claiborne is someone all Christians (and others) could learn from for sheer breadth of sympathy across the Christian traditions, sense of vocation, and depth of theological understanding blended with sassy political commitment to bringing about change. A must-read.

Where is the gospel?, 23 Feb 2008
I should say at the outset, I think I'm out on a limb here. Everyone else seems to raving about this book. But I'm not so sure.

First, the good stuff. I think Shane Claiborne (SC) writes boldly and strikingly about various topics. Much of the book is a wake-up call for those who have got used to dull, timid, worldly, 'big', Christianity. He is immensely quotable: "Most of the time when I see Christian superstars like Jerry Falwell or Al Sharpton, I feel I'm watching professional wrestling. There's a lot of shouting and sweating, but the people seem too superhuman, and I'm not convinced all the moves are real." (p27)
He has some excellent material on the value of singleness. (p109-111) That's humbled me, and reminded me that I need to try to promote that in a Biblical way. Then there's some good stuff about the worthlessness of "cool": "...we must be either hot or cold, because if we are lukewarm (an old-school way of saying "cool"), we will be spit out of God's mouth"! (p230) There are lots of other helpful areas too, mostly only a few pages at a time.
He has lots of great stories, many of which would be excellent sermon-illustration material!

Now the bad stuff:
1) It's *very* Ameri-centric. Big chunks of the book are spent critiquing the Christian Right. Most of that didn't resonate with my experience of the Church in the UK. We don't do flags on the platform, singing anthems, rallying our troups into war or party politics. All that felt a bit meaningless to me as a Brit - who am I to criticise Christians living in another country and culture?

2) Because it's the experiences of a single guy, living in community, doing some wild and crazy things, I just don't see how much of what he says relates to me. I mean, I have a wife and 3 kids. I can't exactly move to Iraq for a while, or open up my house as a homeless shelter (not that I think there's nearly so much need here anyway - see point 1!). What he has effectively done is to abandon his entire culture. Now that's great for him, because he was in a position to do it. But the huge, vast, majority simply aren't. I'm not prepared to because I don't see that there's anything inherently wrong with having a house, or a car, or a job, or food. Parts of our culture are good (schools, hospitals, homes). If you want to live outside popular culture, fine. But I'd rather live out the Christ-life within it. Which is equally as difficult, and arguably more so. He's advocating a form of monastic asceticism that I'm not convinced is Biblical.

3) He redefines well-established theological terms. What he means by words like "evangelical", "conversion" and "gospel" are simply not the same as orthodox, Biblical, Christianity. For example: "Conversion is not an event but a process, a process of slowly tearing ourselves away from the clutches of the culture." No it isn't. Conversion has nothing to do with releasing oneself from the bonds of culture. It's the act of repentance and faith, when we repond to the gospel. Forgive me if I can't see the link between historic conversion and SC's. I suppose "sanctification" would be a more correct word for what he's talking about.

4) He caricatures the church.
"...if someone had a heart-attack on Sunday morning, the paramedics would have to take the pulse of half the congregation before they would find the dead person" (p43) OK, very funny. But certainly not my experience of good, Biblical, modern church. He gives the impression that churches are all navel-gazing, introverted, holy huddles with no interest or ability to communicate with the outside world. Well, again, there are loads of churches that care for the poor, the lonely, the disposessed. In Ipswich, UK, we have "Street Pastors" who are out in the clubs and pubs at the weekend, looking after the drunks and the dropouts; there is a pregnancy crisis centre, a drug rehab centre is soon to open. There's work amongst prostitutes and the homeless. We do care. Perhaps not enough, perhaps we could do with being better resourced. But we *are* trying to live out a life of faith in our culture, and it hurts a bit to be told we aren't.

5) He minimises the importance of theology:
"I learnt more about God from the tears of homeless mothers than a systematic theology ever taught me" (p51) Now, I know the guy is a firm post-modern and that post-moderns like stories more than facts etc etc. But, that kind of statement calls into question the whole value of theology. What did the tears of homeless mothers *actually* teach him? That sharing is good? That we should care for each other? Great - but not much about God. What can those things *possibly* teach us about God? We are made in his likeness, not he in ours. We don't learn about God by looking at fallen sinners (no matter how vulnerable or holy); we learn about God from the Word. SC has it the wrong way around.
Again, "When people ask me if I am Protestant or Catholic, I just answer 'yes.'. And when people ask me if we are evangelicals, I...say, 'Absolutely, we want to spread the kingdom of God like crazy.'" Well, I'm sorry, but the differences between Protestant and Catholic theology *are* important. They espouse completely different ideas about how to relate to God, the authority of the Bible, the meaning of salvation etc etc. They're not just minor tertiary issues, they affect the central tennets of the faith. Theology matters!

6) I'm not sure what his "gospel" is. Throughout the whole book, I could find barely a mention of sin, salvation, or the cross. What there was a lot of is loving our neighbours. Which of course, is good. But surely it's not the whole picture? He seems to see Jesus as an inspirational figure, who showed us how to live and love well. But that's not the gospel of Paul, or of evangelicalism. One story will serve to illustrate the point: It was the time when a bunch of his friends slept on Wall Street, New York, as an act of solidarity with the poor. (p118-119) Then at a certain time, they unfurled banners which read, "Stop terrorism", "Share", "Love", and a quote from Ghandi about greed. They drew pictures on the pavements and blew bubbles, and hugged and laughed. And SC describes it as "bringing God and Mammon together". Forgive me, but, if you look carefully, where is God in that? Where is the Biblical gospel in there? Sure, it's a worthwhile enterprise to stand in solidarity with the poor, and to stand up against corporate greed. But don't make out that this was some sort of outreach with the gospel.

If the church adopted SC's ideas, then we would probably be more happy, more loving, more radical, and probably bigger. We would be nicer people. But would those things lead to more being saved from an eternity without God? I somehow doubt it. What we really need is to be motivated by the truth of the Jesus-filled, Biblical gospel, and to reach out to people with the saving message of the cross.

Excellent history writing, 03 Oct 2008
Redworth is one of the most readable and interesting of early modern historians and has a remarkable affinity with Spanish culture. This is another success for him.

Brilliant evocation, 26 Sep 2008
This is an amazing evocation of the sights, smells, fears and politics of London in the early 17th century, seen through the eyes of one of its most peculiar inhabitants, as well as the story of her life before coming to London - a Roman Catholic ascetic at the heart of the Catholic paranoia that followed the Gunpowder Plot. It is very readable and throws unexpected light onto the present day.

A good man to share a pnit with but not a good writer, 06 Oct 2008
I was really excited to get this book having read the reviews. However, although I found the concept amusing and genuinely laughed out loud at some observations, usually the relationship ones, Danny is not a good writer. The prose is overly wordy for my liking and simply not tight enough to the extent that I have added this book to my very small " will never finish" pile of books. I have no doubt that an evening down the pub with Danny would be very funny indeed, he loves people and shows genuine affection for them in this book which is endearing. However, if he does any more projects, I might just wait for the tv show to come out.....

funny, 15 Sep 2008
I think it's really funny, it seems just about all the other reviewers do as well. It probably won't take you long to read, the worst thing to happen if you do read it is you may lose bladder control while your laughing.
By the end you'll feel reassured in the goodness of people.

Be in The Collective, become a Joinee today!, 10 Dec 2007
Danny Wallace, until recently he was more famous as Dave Gorman's sidekick - but now he is a regular face on TV.

This book is in the same sort of genre as "Are You Dave Gorman" which Danny co-authored and tells the true story of how Danny Wallace starts a cult by asking people to join him....

...And people do! They have no reservations and hand over their faith to join a man in an unknown crusade. After having people join him, Danny decides what to do as the leader of a cult and comes up with the ultimate in humanistic altruism - they will all do a good deed per day for someone.

This is a very entertaining book which shows how a decent man can do good deeds and encourage others to do so to ensure the world is a more pleasant place. The same man also sees his love-life fall apart as a result.

This fails to live up to the same level of pathos of the Dave Gorman adventures, which is a shame as it has ample chance to do so given the subject matter. It doesn't ruin the book though, it still remains a very funny book and one which I strongly recommend. The tale is an interesting one, as a jape turns into a fairly large movement and gains press coverage.

Not all cults involve insane religious maniacs killing themselves to ride a comet to paradise - some are for honest people to join forces to make the world a better place. This book does that too by giving the reader a laugh and an invite to join Danny Wallace and become a member of his cult.


You Must Join Him, 05 Oct 2007
Danny Wallace a man with nothing better to do, decides one day to put an add in a local newspaper simply saying Join Me and had an address for people to send off to Join Him. Not expecting a response at all little would Danny know that, that one add would set off a chain reaction that would start a country wide cult that would eventually take the world.

If I went any further I would reveal the entire story but all I really need to tell you is that this is a fantastic read that entertains from front to back. Danny has an amazing talent to make people laugh out loud while reading his books. I can't tell you the number of times I have been sat in a quiet public place and just burst out laughing, only for it to be followed by a mountain of stares from the people around me.

Take it from me that this is a delightful read and a definite must, Danny is easily one of the best comedy writers in the UK of the last decade.

Will you Join Me?, 29 May 2007
This was the first Danny Wallace book i read, and my god, it's brilliant, i read it constantly for hours on end, laughing all the way through, if you like true funny stories, I highly recommend you read this.

If you dont enjoy it, I'll refund your money*





*not an actual offer, i dont earn enough, but trust me, its brilliant

a call to reckless generosity and selfless love, 03 Oct 2008
Shane Claiborne has found a different Jesus in the gospels than the mainstream church. He's found a Jesus who is homeless, a friend of the poor, who rails against authority and undermines the empire, who tells a rich man to sell everything he owns and give the money away. This is Claiborne's model, and he has done his best to find it, live it and prove such a life is possible.

The book follows his journey, from the disillusionment with the church of his youth, and the ambitious and wealthy `megachurches' where he trained. He talks about how he came to bond with the poor in Philadelphia, and then travelled to Calcutta to see if Mother Theresa offered a better demonstration of Christ than the ones around him. He visits Iraq in the middle of the war, testing Jesus' call to be a peacemaker. He helps stage a `re-distribution' on Wall Street and heckles George W Bush at the Republican conference. He is, in his own words, an `ordinary radical' - radically different, but rooted in real people and real situations.

Claiborne rejects the idea that Christianity has nothing more to offer than some distant and otherworldly heaven. It's a great reminder that the church is a missionary agency: we're meant to go to the poor and the hungry, not wait for them to come to us. There's loads of good stuff about power, simplicity, and community, that's worth coming back to. It's a call to reckless generosity and selfless love in a world of "big beasts and little prophets." It is hopeful, expectant, uncompromising.

'The Irresistable Revolution'is a provocative book, raising more issues than it answers. That's not an approach that everyone will appreciate, but for those ready to ask difficult questions of themselves and their faith, this is a challenge you'll want to take seriously.

An absolutely essential read, 17 Sep 2008
If Shane Claiborne keeps writing books like this he is going to get himself assasinated. I can think of no greater accolade then that.

refreshing, 07 Sep 2008
I found this book really encouraging. It gave me a lot to think about and reminded me of lots of things I believe are important in terms of the two principle commandments of the Bible "Love God with all your heart, mind and soul. Love your neighbour as yourself" 15 to 20 years ago I had read books by Jim Wallis, Ron Sider and Tony Campolo which seemed to call many Western Christians to thinking about justice and a simpler lifestyle.

Shane Claiborne starts to understand what God says about the poor and loving others almost by accident when he is studying theology at a US Bible school - one that I guess would be described as liberal rather than conservative in US terms. Some friends invite him to come and hang out with some of their friends who happen to be homeless.

The book is SC's story and the story of some of the people he meets along the way with whom he shares part of his life. It includes much of his struggles as he evaluates Scripture trying to see it afresh and not within all the confines of his background in church culture. He works a few months with Mother Theresa, was involved in living with the homeless, lives in a poor community in Philadelphia, went to Iraq with a group promoting peace and is astonished by the love and risks that Iraqi Christians would take to protect their American brothers.

It reminded me of the community that followers of Christ should be developing and not just with one another. It made me go back and read Matt 25 when Jesus talks about God's judgement involving the way we treat the poor, the sick, the foreigner, the criminal etc. It is uncomfortable.

I did not think SC was proposing everyone do what he does. He is not trying to recruit followers. He is prompting us to think about how we live as followers of Christ an to be more open to those marginalised in society, accepting people unlike us in our homes and lives.

There were parts of the book which annoyed me and I felt that he perhaps did some things just to provoke a reaction. I felt it possibly could have
been 100 pages shorter and still got the same message over. The style with frequent asides in parenthesis, which work if you are giving a speech, but are irritating when used over and over in a written work got a bit wearing. The style seemed written for students and early twenties, although the content should actually be for all ages.

However overall I found it deeply encouraging and challenging. I am reminded of how community with the poor is not just about justice or improving their situation, it is also about the rich getting the opportunity to know God more in profound ways through individuals who come into our lives. That seemed to be the way Mother Theresa saw it and I remember one incident in my own life of seeing God's image more clearly through a severly disabled, poor beggar who sat patiently waiting for gifts. He apalled me at first, until I saw the loving way some other interacted with him and despite the fact he could not speek his openess to others.

Community in the love of God is not a duty, it is a gift for all, but requires a lot of work.



Serious about being the change you want to see ? Read this., 08 Jul 2008
One of the most powerful and engaging autobiographical works from a `frontline' Christian activist I've read in a long time. It's impossible not to like Shane Claiborne, whose infectious love for Jesus and total commitment to bringing his love to all, whether North Philadelphia's poor or the bombed citizens of Iraq, is plain to see. Claiborne is someone all Christians (and others) could learn from for sheer breadth of sympathy across the Christian traditions, sense of vocation, and depth of theological understanding blended with sassy political commitment to bringing about change. A must-read.

Where is the gospel?, 23 Feb 2008
I should say at the outset, I think I'm out on a limb here. Everyone else seems to raving about this book. But I'm not so sure.

First, the good stuff. I think Shane Claiborne (SC) writes boldly and strikingly about various topics. Much of the book is a wake-up call for those who have got used to dull, timid, worldly, 'big', Christianity. He is immensely quotable: "Most of the time when I see Christian superstars like Jerry Falwell or Al Sharpton, I feel I'm watching professional wrestling. There's a lot of shouting and sweating, but the people seem too superhuman, and I'm not convinced all the moves are real." (p27)
He has some excellent material on the value of singleness. (p109-111) That's humbled me, and reminded me that I need to try to promote that in a Biblical way. Then there's some good stuff about the worthlessness of "cool": "...we must be either hot or cold, because if we are lukewarm (an old-school way of saying "cool"), we will be spit out of God's mouth"! (p230) There are lots of other helpful areas too, mostly only a few pages at a time.
He has lots of great stories, many of which would be excellent sermon-illustration material!

Now the bad stuff:
1) It's *very* Ameri-centric. Big chunks of the book are spent critiquing the Christian Right. Most of that didn't resonate with my experience of the Church in the UK. We don't do flags on the platform, singing anthems, rallying our troups into war or party politics. All that felt a bit meaningless to me as a Brit - who am I to criticise Christians living in another country and culture?

2) Because it's the experiences of a single guy, living in community, doing some wild and crazy things, I just don't see how much of what he says relates to me. I mean, I have a wife and 3 kids. I can't exactly move to Iraq for a while, or open up my house as a homeless shelter (not that I think there's nearly so much need here anyway - see point 1!). What he has effectively done is to abandon his entire culture. Now that's great for him, because he was in a position to do it. But the huge, vast, majority simply aren't. I'm not prepared to because I don't see that there's anything inherently wrong with having a house, or a car, or a job, or food. Parts of our culture are good (schools, hospitals, homes). If you want to live outside popular culture, fine. But I'd rather live out the Christ-life within it. Which is equally as difficult, and arguably more so. He's advocating a form of monastic asceticism that I'm not convinced is Biblical.

3) He redefines well-established theological terms. What he means by words like "evangelical", "conversion" and "gospel" are simply not the same as orthodox, Biblical, Christianity. For example: "Conversion is not an event but a process, a process of slowly tearing ourselves away from the clutches of the culture." No it isn't. Conversion has nothing to do with releasing oneself from the bonds of culture. It's the act of repentance and faith, when we repond to the gospel. Forgive me if I can't see the link between historic conversion and SC's. I suppose "sanctification" would be a more correct word for what he's talking about.

4) He caricatures the church.
"...if someone had a heart-attack on Sunday morning, the paramedics would have to take the pulse of half the congregation before they would find the dead person" (p43) OK, very funny. But certainly not my experience of good, Biblical, modern church. He gives the impression that churches are all navel-gazing, introverted, holy huddles with no interest or ability to communicate with the outside world. Well, again, there are loads of churches that care for the poor, the lonely, the disposessed. In Ipswich, UK, we have "Street Pastors" who are out in the clubs and pubs at the weekend, looking after the drunks and the dropouts; there is a pregnancy crisis centre, a drug rehab centre is soon to open. There's work amongst prostitutes and the homeless. We do care. Perhaps not enough, perhaps we could do with being better resourced. But we *are* trying to live out a life of faith in our culture, and it hurts a bit to be told we aren't.

5) He minimises the importance of theology:
"I learnt more about God from the tears of homeless mothers than a systematic theology ever taught me" (p51) Now, I know the guy is a firm post-modern and that post-moderns like stories more than facts etc etc. But, that kind of statement calls into question the whole value of theology. What did the tears of homeless mothers *actually* teach him? That sharing is good? That we should care for each other? Great - but not much about God. What can those things *possibly* teach us about God? We are made in his likeness, not he in ours. We don't learn about God by looking at fallen sinners (no matter how vulnerable or holy); we learn about God from the Word. SC has it the wrong way around.
Again, "When people ask me if I am Protestant or Catholic, I just answer 'yes.'. And when people ask me if we are evangelicals, I...say, 'Absolutely, we want to spread the kingdom of God like crazy.'" Well, I'm sorry, but the differences between Protestant and Catholic theology *are* important. They espouse completely different ideas about how to relate to God, the authority of the Bible, the meaning of salvation etc etc. They're not just minor tertiary issues, they affect the central tennets of the faith. Theology matters!

6) I'm not sure what his "gospel" is. Throughout the whole book, I could find barely a mention of sin, salvation, or the cross. What there was a lot of is loving our neighbours. Which of course, is good. But surely it's not the whole picture? He seems to see Jesus as an inspirational figure, who showed us how to live and love well. But that's not the gospel of Paul, or of evangelicalism. One story will serve to illustrate the point: It was the time when a bunch of his friends slept on Wall Street, New York, as an act of solidarity with the poor. (p118-119) Then at a certain time, they unfurled banners which read, "Stop terrorism", "Share", "Love", and a quote from Ghandi about greed. They drew pictures on the pavements and blew bubbles, and hugged and laughed. And SC describes it as "bringing God and Mammon together". Forgive me, but, if you look carefully, where is God in that? Where is the Biblical gospel in there? Sure, it's a worthwhile enterprise to stand in solidarity with the poor, and to stand up against corporate greed. But don't make out that this was some sort of outreach with the gospel.

If the church adopted SC's ideas, then we would probably be more happy, more loving, more radical, and probably bigger. We would be nicer people. But would those things lead to more being saved from an eternity without God? I somehow doubt it. What we really need is to be motivated by the truth of the Jesus-filled, Biblical gospel, and to reach out to people with the saving message of the cross.

Excellent history writing, 03 Oct 2008
Redworth is one of the most readable and interesting of early modern historians and has a remarkable affinity with Spanish culture. This is another success for him.

Brilliant evocation, 26 Sep 2008
This is an amazing evocation of the sights, smells, fears and politics of London in the early 17th century, seen through the eyes of one of its most peculiar inhabitants, as well as the story of her life before coming to London - a Roman Catholic ascetic at the heart of the Catholic paranoia that followed the Gunpowder Plot. It is very readable and throws unexpected light onto the present day.

Riveting autobiography & illuminating history, 20 Jun 2008
It's rare to find autobiography as absorbing as this. Not only because of the author's unusual path from the desert of Somalia to the USA via the Netherlands, but also on account of the absorbing writing style. Clear and descriptive, the narrative of her eventful life had a profound impact on this reader. Born and raised in Somalia, Ayaan spent part of her youth in neighboring countries like Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Kenya, recounting what it was like to live there through the eyes of a child.

She gives a lively account of the history of Somalia under the dictatorship of Siad Barre, explaining the clan system and comparing the relaxed Muslim practice in that country with the rigidy of Saudi Arabia and the hypocrisy and racism that go along with it. The short experience of Ethiopia and later the long stay in Kenya, both predominantly Christian countries, were different again and she really captivates with her descriptions of places and people. One of her most salient memories is the obsessive Antisemitism in Saudi Arabia. Where her family lived in the city of Riyadh, Jews were blamed for everything.

A sub-theme of the book is the increased radicalization of Muslims, partly because of the failures and the suffering brought about by Barre and the chaos of the civil war that unseated him. She noted this radicalization taking place amongst Somalis and others in Kenya where she spent most of her adolescence. This radical strain was brought to Africa by Arabs and Iranians, both Sunni and Shia, also reflecting the failure of secular ideologies and bad government in the dictatorships of the Muslim world.

There are sympathetic but honest portrayals of her family and friends: her mother who showed healthy signs of independence early in life but eventually lost hope and became embittered, her loving and tolerant but mostly absent father, her brother who stayed in Kenya and her sister who, when she couldn't cope in Holland, died tragically after returning to Kenya.

Far from stirring up feelings against Islam, this book makes one contemplate with empathy the location of each individual's birth, how little free choice there really is in a closed society, the powerful hold of your community's history and culture, the difficulty of resisting brainwashing and how grateful people in free societies ought to be for the blessings that a lot of us take for granted.

Infidel is also about a second journey: A journey of the mind from the strictures of stifling, oppressive faith to the liberation of enlightenment and the embrace of Western values like individual freedom, freedom of speech and the rule of law. The fact that the individual mattered and had a right to life, to choice and freedom, was a joyful discovery.

This theme interweaves with the history she so deftly chronicles: the collapse of Somalia, the slow decline in Kenya, Dutch politics in the face of dysfunctional multiculturalism that however well intended, harms individuals in the immigrant communities and society as a whole. More information of these developments in The Netherlands and Europe as a whole is available in While Europe Slept by Bruce Bawer and Menace in Europe by Claire Berlinski.

It is humbling to read of the author's wonderment and appreciation when she discovered Dutch society where even the police were friendly and helpful and where everything worked. Ayaan clearly loves The Netherlands; her words radiate with gratitude and appreciation of the culture and society. I especially enjoyed the account of her studies at the University of Leiden where she studied the great Western philosophers.

Sometimes harrowing, the story of Infidel includes innocent childhood memories, mutilation, war, deprivation, tragedy, adventure, drastic adaptation and inspiring achievements. It is clear that Ayaan Hirsi Ali is an unusually courageous, empathic and resourceful individual. There are 11 black & white plates of family and other people who played a part in her life. As far as the religious aspect is concerned, I recommend the following informative books by two equally courageous women: Because They Hate by Brigitte Gabriel and Now They Call Me Infidel by Nonie Darwish.


Infidel, 07 Jun 2008
This is a vivid, highly readable and fascinating memoir. It is a true page turner that jumps straight into the narrative and leads you along at pace, unlike any autobiography I have read in years. Her story and her intellectual transformation are an important perspective in our highly charged religious climate. This a fabulous piece of writing. Read this book.

She admited to be a liar!, 30 Apr 2008
This book has very little truth in it and her claims of being oppressed in her homeland was proven to be a fabrication she made up to immigrate to the Netherlands where she later was thrown out of! Now she's trying to make some money by publishing the same lie again! I mean seriously, how gullible do you have to be to fall into the exact same nonsense twice?

An extraordinary and inspiring life, 24 Mar 2008
Ms Ali achieves several things with this book:

She opens up the world of islamic culture, thought and behaviour.

She describes what it was like for a girl to grow up in that culture, and how different it was for her brother

She recounts an extraodinary escape story - for her physically and intellectually

She provides an inspiring tale of personal courage.

In the last year or two, this is the book I am most pleased to have read.

A magnificent testimony, 16 Mar 2008
Everyone today should read this book. It helps us understand the troubles we are faced with.
A lesson of courage, determination will power and great intelligence.
Once you start it, you cannot put it down .. and it is a TRUE story!

A good man to share a pnit with but not a good writer, 06 Oct 2008
I was really excited to get this book having read the reviews. However, although I found the concept amusing and genuinely laughed out loud at some observations, usually the relationship ones, Danny is not a good writer. The prose is overly wordy for my liking and simply not tight enough to the extent that I have added this book to my very small " will never finish" pile of books. I have no doubt that an evening down the pub with Danny would be very funny indeed, he loves people and shows genuine affection for them in this book which is endearing. However, if he does any more projects, I might just wait for the tv show to come out.....

funny, 15 Sep 2008
I think it's really funny, it seems just about all the other reviewers do as well. It probably won't take you long to read, the worst thing to happen if you do read it is you may lose bladder control while your laughing.
By the end you'll feel reassured in the goodness of people.

Be in The Collective, become a Joinee today!, 10 Dec 2007
Danny Wallace, until recently he was more famous as Dave Gorman's sidekick - but now he is a regular face on TV.

This book is in the same sort of genre as "Are You Dave Gorman" which Danny co-authored and tells the true story of how Danny Wallace starts a cult by asking people to join him....

...And people do! They have no reservations and hand over their faith to join a man in an unknown crusade. After having people join him, Danny decides what to do as the leader of a cult and comes up with the ultimate in humanistic altruism - they will all do a good deed per day for someone.

This is a very entertaining book which shows how a decent man can do good deeds and encourage others to do so to ensure the world is a more pleasant place. The same man also sees his love-life fall apart as a result.

This fails to live up to the same level of pathos of the Dave Gorman adventures, which is a shame as it has ample chance to do so given the subject matter. It doesn't ruin the book though, it still remains a very funny book and one which I strongly recommend. The tale is an interesting one, as a jape turns into a fairly large movement and gains press coverage.

Not all cults involve insane religious maniacs killing themselves to ride a comet to paradise - some are for honest people to join forces to make the world a better place. This book does that too by giving the reader a laugh and an invite to join Danny Wallace and become a member of his cult.


You Must Join Him, 05 Oct 2007
Danny Wallace a man with nothing better to do, decides one day to put an add in a local newspaper simply saying Join Me and had an address for people to send off to Join Him. Not expecting a response at all little would Danny know that, that one add would set off a chain reaction that would start a country wide cult that would eventually take the world.

If I went any further I would reveal the entire story but all I really need to tell you is that this is a fantastic read that entertains from front to back. Danny has an amazing talent to make people laugh out loud while reading his books. I can't tell you the number of times I have been sat in a quiet public place and just burst out laughing, only for it to be followed by a mountain of stares from the people around me.

Take it from me that this is a delightful read and a definite must, Danny is easily one of the best comedy writers in the UK of the last decade.

Will you Join Me?, 29 May 2007
This was the first Danny Wallace book i read, and my god, it's brilliant, i read it constantly for hours on end, laughing all the way through, if you like true funny stories, I highly recommend you read this.

If you dont enjoy it, I'll refund your money*





*not an actual offer, i dont earn enough, but trust me, its brilliant

a call to reckless generosity and selfless love, 03 Oct 2008
Shane Claiborne has found a different Jesus in the gospels than the mainstream church. He's found a Jesus who is homeless, a friend of the poor, who rails against authority and undermines the empire, who tells a rich man to sell everything he owns and give the money away. This is Claiborne's model, and he has done his best to find it, live it and prove such a life is possible.

The book follows his journey, from the disillusionment with the church of his youth, and the ambitious and wealthy `megachurches' where he trained. He talks about how he came to bond with the poor in Philadelphia, and then travelled to Calcutta to see if Mother Theresa offered a better demonstration of Christ than the ones around him. He visits Iraq in the middle of the war, testing Jesus' call to be a peacemaker. He helps stage a `re-distribution' on Wall Street and heckles George W Bush at the Republican conference. He is, in his own words, an `ordinary radical' - radically different, but rooted in real people and real situations.

Claiborne rejects the idea that Christianity has nothing more to offer than some distant and otherworldly heaven. It's a great reminder that the church is a missionary agency: we're meant to go to the poor and the hungry, not wait for them to come to us. There's loads of good stuff about power, simplicity, and community, that's worth coming back to. It's a call to reckless generosity and selfless love in a world of "big beasts and little prophets." It is hopeful, expectant, uncompromising.

'The Irresistable Revolution'is a provocative book, raising more issues than it answers. That's not an approach that everyone will appreciate, but for those ready to ask difficult questions of themselves and their faith, this is a challenge you'll want to take seriously.

An absolutely essential read, 17 Sep 2008
If Shane Claiborne keeps writing books like this he is going to get himself assasinated. I can think of no greater accolade then that.

refreshing, 07 Sep 2008
I found this book really encouraging. It gave me a lot to think about and reminded me of lots of things I believe are important in terms of the two principle commandments of the Bible "Love God with all your heart, mind and soul. Love your neighbour as yourself" 15 to 20 years ago I had read books by Jim Wallis, Ron Sider and Tony Campolo which seemed to call many Western Christians to thinking about justice and a simpler lifestyle.

Shane Claiborne starts to understand what God says about the poor and loving others almost by accident when he is studying theology at a US Bible school - one that I guess would be described as liberal rather than conservative in US terms. Some friends invite him to come and hang out with some of their friends who happen to be homeless.

The book is SC's story and the story of some of the people he meets along the way with whom he shares part of his life. It includes much of his struggles as he evaluates Scripture trying to see it afresh and not within all the confines of his background in church culture. He works a few months with Mother Theresa, was involved in living with the homeless, lives in a poor community in Philadelphia, went to Iraq with a group promoting peace and is astonished by the love and risks that Iraqi Christians would take to protect their American brothers.

It reminded me of the community that followers of Christ should be developing and not just with one another. It made me go back and read Matt 25 when Jesus talks about God's judgement involving the way we treat the poor, the sick, the foreigner, the criminal etc. It is uncomfortable.

I did not think SC was proposing everyone do what he does. He is not trying to recruit followers. He is prompting us to think about how we live as followers of Christ an to be more open to those marginalised in society, accepting people unlike us in our homes and lives.

There were parts of the book which annoyed me and I felt that he perhaps did some things just to provoke a reaction. I felt it possibly could have
been 100 pages shorter and still got the same message over. The style with frequent asides in parenthesis, which work if you are giving a speech, but are irritating when used over and over in a written work got a bit wearing. The style seemed written for students and early twenties, although the content should actually be for all ages.

However overall I found it deeply encouraging and challenging. I am reminded of how community with the poor is not just about justice or improving their situation, it is also about the rich getting the opportunity to know God more in profound ways through individuals who come into our lives. That seemed to be the way Mother Theresa saw it and I remember one incident in my own life of seeing God's image more clearly through a severly disabled, poor beggar who sat patiently waiting for gifts. He apalled me at first, until I saw the loving way some other interacted with him and despite the fact he could not speek his openess to others.

Community in the love of God is not a duty, it is a gift for all, but requires a lot of work.



Serious about being the change you want to see ? Read this., 08 Jul 2008
One of the most powerful and engaging autobiographical works from a `frontline' Christian activist I've read in a long time. It's impossible not to like Shane Claiborne, whose infectious love for Jesus and total commitment to bringing his love to all, whether North Philadelphia's poor or the bombed citizens of Iraq, is plain to see. Claiborne is someone all Christians (and others) could learn from for sheer breadth of sympathy across the Christian traditions, sense of vocation, and depth of theological understanding blended with sassy political commitment to bringing about change. A must-read.

Where is the gospel?, 23 Feb 2008
I should say at the outset, I think I'm out on a limb here. Everyone else seems to raving about this book. But I'm not so sure.

First, the good stuff. I think Shane Claiborne (SC) writes boldly and strikingly about various topics. Much of the book is a wake-up call for those who have got used to dull, timid, worldly, 'big', Christianity. He is immensely quotable: "Most of the time when I see Christian superstars like Jerry Falwell or Al Sharpton, I feel I'm watching professional wrestling. There's a lot of shouting and sweating, but the people seem too superhuman, and I'm not convinced all the moves are real." (p27)
He has some excellent material on the value of singleness. (p109-111) That's humbled me, and reminded me that I need to try to promote that in a Biblical way. Then there's some good stuff about the worthlessness of "cool": "...we must be either hot or cold, because if we are lukewarm (an old-school way of saying "cool"), we will be spit out of God's mouth"! (p230) There are lots of other helpful areas too, mostly only a few pages at a time.
He has lots of great stories, many of which would be excellent sermon-illustration material!

Now the bad stuff:
1) It's *very* Ameri-centric. Big chunks of the book are spent critiquing the Christian Right. Most of that didn't resonate with my experience of the Church in the UK. We don't do flags on the platform, singing anthems, rallying our troups into war or party politics. All that felt a bit meaningless to me as a Brit - who am I to criticise Christians living in another country and culture?

2) Because it's the experiences of a single guy, living in community, doing some wild and crazy things, I just don't see how much of what he says relates to me. I mean, I have a wife and 3 kids. I can't exactly move to Iraq for a while, or open up my house as a homeless shelter (not that I think there's nearly so much need here anyway - see point 1!). What he has effectively done is to abandon his entire culture. Now that's great for him, because he was in a position to do it. But the huge, vast, majority simply aren't. I'm not prepared to because I don't see that there's anything inherently wrong with having a house, or a car, or a job, or food. Parts of our culture are good (schools, hospitals, homes). If you want to live outside popular culture, fine. But I'd rather live out the Christ-life within it. Which is equally as difficult, and arguably more so. He's advocating a form of monastic asceticism that I'm not convinced is Biblical.

3) He redefines well-established theological terms. What he means by words like "evangelical", "conversion" and "gospel" are simply not the same as orthodox, Biblical, Christianity. For example: "Conversion is not an event but a process, a process of slowly tearing ourselves away from the clutches of the culture." No it isn't. Conversion has nothing to do with releasing oneself from the bonds of culture. It's the act of repentance and faith, when we repond to the gospel. Forgive me if I can't see the link between historic conversion and SC's. I suppose "sanctification" would be a more correct word for what he's talking about.

4) He caricatures the church.
"...if someone had a heart-attack on Sunday morning, the paramedics would have to take the pulse of half the congregation before they would find the dead person" (p43) OK, very funny. But certainly not my experience of good, Biblical, modern church. He gives the impression that churches are all navel-gazing, introverted, holy huddles with no interest or ability to communicate with the outside world. Well, again, there are loads of churches that care for the poor, the lonely, the disposessed. In Ipswich, UK, we have "Street Pastors" who are out in the clubs and pubs at the weekend, looking after the drunks and the dropouts; there is a pregnancy crisis centre, a drug rehab centre is soon to open. There's work amongst prostitutes and the homeless. We do care. Perhaps not enough, perhaps we could do with being better resourced. But we *are* trying to live out a life of faith in our culture, and it hurts a bit to be told we aren't.

5) He minimises the importance of theology:
"I learnt more about God from the tears of homeless mothers than a systematic theology ever taught me" (p51) Now, I know the guy is a firm post-modern and that post-moderns like stories more than facts etc etc. But, that kind of statement calls into question the whole value of theology. What did the tears of homeless mothers *actually* teach him? That sharing is good? That we should care for each other? Great - but not much about God. What can those things *possibly* teach us about God? We are made in his likeness, not he in ours. We don't learn about God by looking at fallen sinners (no matter how vulnerable or holy); we learn about God from the Word. SC has it the wrong way around.
Again, "When people ask me if I am Protestant or Catholic, I just answer 'yes.'. And when people ask me if we are evangelicals, I...say, 'Absolutely, we want to spread the kingdom of God like crazy.'" Well, I'm sorry, but the differences between Protestant and Catholic theology *are* important. They espouse completely different ideas about how to relate to God, the authority of the Bible, the meaning of salvation etc etc. They're not just minor tertiary issues, they affect the central tennets of the faith. Theology matters!

6) I'm not sure what his "gospel" is. Throughout the whole book, I could find barely a mention of sin, salvation, or the cross. What there was a lot of is loving our neighbours. Which of course, is good. But surely it's not the whole picture? He seems to see Jesus as an inspirational figure, who showed us how to live and love well. But that's not the gospel of Paul, or of evangelicalism. One story will serve to illustrate the point: It was the time when a bunch of his friends slept on Wall Street, New York, as an act of solidarity with the poor. (p118-119) Then at a certain time, they unfurled banners which read, "Stop terrorism", "Share", "Love", and a quote from Ghandi about greed. They drew pictures on the pavements and blew bubbles, and hugged and laughed. And SC describes it as "bringing God and Mammon together". Forgive me, but, if you look carefully, where is God in that? Where is the Biblical gospel in there? Sure, it's a worthwhile enterprise to stand in solidarity with the poor, and to stand up against corporate greed. But don't make out that this was some sort of outreach with the gospel.

If the church adopted SC's ideas, then we would probably be more happy, more loving, more radical, and probably bigger. We would be nicer people. But would those things lead to more being saved from an eternity without God? I somehow doubt it. What we really need is to be motivated by the truth of the Jesus-filled, Biblical gospel, and to reach out to people with the saving message of the cross.

Excellent history writing, 03 Oct 2008
Redworth is one of the most readable and interesting of early modern historians and has a remarkable affinity with Spanish culture. This is another success for him.

Brilliant evocation, 26 Sep 2008
This is an amazing evocation of the sights, smells, fears and politics of London in the early 17th century, seen through the eyes of one of its most peculiar inhabitants, as well as the story of her life before coming to London - a Roman Catholic ascetic at the heart of the Catholic paranoia that followed the Gunpowder Plot. It is very readable and throws unexpected light onto the present day.

Riveting autobiography & illuminating history, 20 Jun 2008
It's rare to find autobiography as absorbing as this. Not only because of the author's unusual path from the desert of Somalia to the USA via the Netherlands, but also on account of the absorbing writing style. Clear and descriptive, the narrative of her eventful life had a profound impact on this reader. Born and raised in Somalia, Ayaan spent part of her youth in neighboring countries like Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Kenya, recounting what it was like to live there through the eyes of a child.

She gives a lively account of the history of Somalia under the dictatorship of Siad Barre, explaining the clan system and comparing the relaxed Muslim practice in that country with the rigidy of Saudi Arabia and the hypocrisy and racism that go along with it. The short experience of Ethiopia and later the long stay in Kenya, both predominantly Christian countries, were different again and she really captivates with her descriptions of places and people. One of her most salient memories is the obsessive Antisemitism in Saudi Arabia. Where her family lived in the city of Riyadh, Jews were blamed for everything.

A sub-theme of the book is the increased radicalization of Muslims, partly because of the failures and the suffering brought about by Barre and the chaos of the civil war that unseated him. She noted this radicalization taking place amongst Somalis and others in Kenya where she spent most of her adolescence. This radical strain was brought to Africa by Arabs and Iranians, both Sunni and Shia, also reflecting the failure of secular ideologies and bad government in the dictatorships of the Muslim world.

There are sympathetic but honest portrayals of her family and friends: her mother who showed healthy signs of independence early in life but eventually lost hope and became embittered, her loving and tolerant but mostly absent father, her brother who stayed in Kenya and her sister who, when she couldn't cope in Holland, died tragically after returning to Kenya.

Far from stirring up feelings against Islam, this book makes one contemplate with empathy the location of each individual's birth, how little free choice there really is in a closed society, the powerful hold of your community's history and culture, the difficulty of resisting brainwashing and how grateful people in free societies ought to be for the blessings that a lot of us take for granted.

Infidel is also about a second journey: A journey of the mind from the strictures of stifling, oppressive faith to the liberation of enlightenment and the embrace of Western values like individual freedom, freedom of speech and the rule of law. The fact that the individual mattered and had a right to life, to choice and freedom, was a joyful discovery.

This theme interweaves with the history she so deftly chronicles: the collapse of Somalia, the slow decline in Kenya, Dutch politics in the face of dysfunctional multiculturalism that however well intended, harms individuals in the immigrant communities and society as a whole. More information of these developments in The Netherlands and Europe as a whole is available in While Europe Slept by Bruce Bawer and Menace in Europe by Claire Berlinski.

It is humbling to read of the author's wonderment and appreciation when she discovered Dutch society where even the police were friendly and helpful and where everything worked. Ayaan clearly loves The Netherlands; her words radiate with gratitude and appreciation of the culture and society. I especially enjoyed the account of her studies at the University of Leiden where she studied the great Western philosophers.

Sometimes harrowing, the story of Infidel includes innocent childhood memories, mutilation, war, deprivation, tragedy, adventure, drastic adaptation and inspiring achievements. It is clear that Ayaan Hirsi Ali is an unusually courageous, empathic and resourceful individual. There are 11 black & white plates of family and other people who played a part in her life. As far as the religious aspect is concerned, I recommend the following informative books by two equally courageous women: Because They Hate by Brigitte Gabriel and Now They Call Me Infidel by Nonie Darwish.


Infidel, 07 Jun 2008
This is a vivid, highly readable and fascinating memoir. It is a true page turner that jumps straight into the narrative and leads you along at pace, unlike any autobiography I have read in years. Her story and her intellectual transformation are an important perspective in our highly charged religious climate. This a fabulous piece of writing. Read this book.

She admited to be a liar!, 30 Apr 2008
This book has very little truth in it and her claims of being oppressed in her homeland was proven to be a fabrication she made up to immigrate to the Netherlands where she later was thrown out of! Now she's trying to make some money by publishing the same lie again! I mean seriously, how gullible do you have to be to fall into the exact same nonsense twice?

An extraordinary and inspiring life, 24 Mar 2008
Ms Ali achieves several things with this book:

She opens up the world of islamic culture, thought and behaviour.

She describes what it was like for a girl to grow up in that culture, and how different it was for her brother

She recounts an extraodinary escape story - for her physically and intellectually

She provides an inspiring tale of personal courage.

In the last year or two, this is the book I am most pleased to have read.

A magnificent testimony, 16 Mar 2008
Everyone today should read this book. It helps us understand the troubles we are faced with.
A lesson of courage, determination will power and great intelligence.
Once you start it, you cannot put it down .. and it is a TRUE story!

unbelievable strength, 27 Aug 2008
In a world filled with crime and death, war and poverty, many seek the salvation of religion to overcome.
We hear many stories about cults in America, stories of teenagers leaving then people they love to stay in communes where they are brainwashed, humiliated, abused and used.
This is the true accounts of three sisters who had no choice but to be born into one of these cults, the children of god.
From a very early age these poor children were systematically abused physically and mentally by the adult members of the group.
How these girls triumphed over these sick people astounds me and I congratulate them and hope that their lives are not tainted by these evil people.
This cult is still going and the story of these girls is a warning to us all. This is not easy reading but it is a book one must read.

Disturbing but Courageous, 26 Aug 2008
It is never pleasant to read some disturbing experiences that these young lady's have gone through. I kept questioning myself on why I was reading what I was. My wife, Mother in Law & sister in law all read this book & found it disturbing. The only reason I could find as to why I wanted to read such a book, was in the hope that the 3 lady's were now back together & leading 'normal' lives.

If you are planning to purchase this book, the details, I found, are very explicit. However, the truth has to be known & the truth definitely comes out in this book. Yes I feel extremely sorry for these young lady's knowing that while I was growing up, there were people suffering like they did. These young lady's are very brave. Brave to that fact of making it known the disgusting things these so-called 'adults' put them through & then these 'adults' trying to justify their crimes through the word of the lord.

I can only wish Kristina, Celeste & Juliana well, & congratulate them on their brave fight & wish them well in their continued fight to expose organisations such as the 'Children of God'.

This is a very good, well written, but painful book. The 3 lady's courage can be found to be inspirational & a lesson to us all.

disturbing, 27 Jun 2008
I didn't think I could finish this book. It really effected me that so much evil could still exist in the name of a God that despises child abuse.
The three sisters were very brave to allow this book to go to print and tell the truth. The sad thing is that I believe I met some of the group on a trip to Portugal many years ago, without realising the full extent of the cult's beliefs. I can still see the face of the small little girl who was performing for us...

absolutely fantastic, 27 May 2008
this was the most moving, upsetting, yet amusing at times, book i have read in a very long time. These women are a total inspiration to me and I thank them for sharing thier story with us. I am familiar with the CoG and was interested to read what it was really like from the inside. A gripping and compelling story that was uncomfortable at times but well worth reading.

Truly Wow, 07 May 2008
I chose this book for some reason, from the army of others like these which are on the shelves at them moment. Not knowing anything about the 'CoG' or 'The Family' as I lived in South Africa, and don't think they had much or any contact there. On reading these very well written, and compelling life stories by three amazing woman, I can not help but be thankful for the up bringing I had.
I am truly relieved that they have been able to survive their past, and help others and each other. You girls deserve all the happiness that life can bring.
Thank you for your inspiring lives, and sharing it with us!!!
To those in the Family who reject what these woman say, God will have the final say!

A good man to share a pnit with but not a good writer, 06 Oct 2008
I was really excited to get this book having read the reviews. However, although I found the concept amusing and genuinely laughed out loud at some observations, usually the relationship ones, Danny is not a good writer. The prose is overly wordy for my liking and simply not tight enough to the extent that I have added this book to my very small " will never finish" pile of books. I have no doubt that an evening down the pub with Danny would be very funny indeed, he loves people and shows genuine affection for them in this book which is endearing. However, if he does any more projects, I might just wait for the tv show to come out.....

funny, 15 Sep 2008
I think it's really funny, it seems just about all the other reviewers do as well. It probably won't take you long to read, the worst thing to happen if you do read it is you may lose bladder control while your laughing.
By the end you'll feel reassured in the goodness of people.

Be in The Collective, become a Joinee today!, 10 Dec 2007
Danny Wallace, until recently he was more famous as Dave Gorman's sidekick - but now he is a regular face on TV.

This book is in the same sort of genre as "Are You Dave Gorman" which Danny co-authored and tells the true story of how Danny Wallace starts a cult by asking people to join him....

...And people do! They have no reservations and hand over their faith to join a man in an unknown crusade. After having people join him, Danny decides what to do as the leader of a cult and comes up with the ultimate in humanistic altruism - they will all do a good deed per day for someone.

This is a very entertaining book which shows how a decent man can do good deeds and encourage others to do so to ensure the world is a more pleasant place. The same man also sees his love-life fall apart as a result.

This fails to live up to the same level of pathos of the Dave Gorman adventures, which is a shame as it has ample chance to do so given the subject matter. It doesn't ruin the book though, it still remains a very funny book and one which I strongly recommend. The tale is an interesting one, as a jape turns into a fairly large movement and gains press coverage.

Not all cults involve insane religious maniacs killing themselves to ride a comet to paradise - some are for honest people to join forces to make the world a better place. This book does that too by giving the reader a laugh and an invite to join Danny Wallace and become a member of his cult.


You Must Join Him, 05 Oct 2007
Danny Wallace a man with nothing better to do, decides one day to put an add in a local newspaper simply saying Join Me and had an address for people to send off to Join Him. Not expecting a response at all little would Danny know that, that one add would set off a chain reaction that would start a country wide cult that would eventually take the world.

If I went any further I would reveal the entire story but all I really need to tell you is that this is a fantastic read that entertains from front to back. Danny has an amazing talent to make people laugh out loud while reading his books. I can't tell you the number of times I have been sat in a quiet public place and just burst out laughing, only for it to be followed by a mountain of stares from the people around me.

Take it from me that this is a delightful read and a definite must, Danny is easily one of the best comedy writers in the UK of the last decade.

Will you Join Me?, 29 May 2007
This was the first Danny Wallace book i read, and my god, it's brilliant, i read it constantly for hours on end, laughing all the way through, if you like true funny stories, I highly recommend you read this.

If you dont enjoy it, I'll refund your money*





*not an actual offer, i dont earn enough, but trust me, its brilliant

a call to reckless generosity and selfless love, 03 Oct 2008
Shane Claiborne has found a different Jesus in the gospels than the mainstream church. He's found a Jesus who is homeless, a friend of the poor, who rails against authority and undermines the empire, who tells a rich man to sell everything he owns and give the money away. This is Claiborne's model, and he has done his best to find it, live it and prove such a life is possible.

The book follows his journey, from the disillusionment with the church of his youth, and the ambitious and wealthy `megachurches' where he trained. He talks about how he came to bond with the poor in Philadelphia, and then travelled to Calcutta to see if Mother Theresa offered a better demonstration of Christ than the ones around him. He visits Iraq in the middle of the war, testing Jesus' call to be a peacemaker. He helps stage a `re-distribution' on Wall Street and heckles George W Bush at the Republican conference. He is, in his own words, an `ordinary radical' - radically different, but rooted in real people and real situations.

Claiborne rejects the idea that Christianity has nothing more to offer than some distant and otherworldly heaven. It's a great reminder that the church is a missionary agency: we're meant to go to the poor and the hungry, not wait for them to come to us. There's loads of good stuff about power, simplicity, and community, that's worth coming back to. It's a call to reckless generosity and selfless love in a world of "big beasts and little prophets." It is hopeful, expectant, uncompromising.

'The Irresistable Revolution'is a provocative book, raising more issues than it answers. That's not an approach that everyone will appreciate, but for those ready to ask difficult questions of themselves and their faith, this is a challenge you'll want to take seriously.

An absolutely essential read, 17 Sep 2008
If Shane Claiborne keeps writing books like this he is going to get himself assasinated. I can think of no greater accolade then that.

refreshing, 07 Sep 2008
I found this book really encouraging. It gave me a lot to think about and reminded me of lots of things I believe are important in terms of the two principle commandments of the Bible "Love God with all your heart, mind and soul. Love your neighbour as yourself" 15 to 20 years ago I had read books by Jim Wallis, Ron Sider and Tony Campolo which seemed to call many Western Christians to thinking about justice and a simpler lifestyle.

Shane Claiborne starts to understand what God says about the poor and loving others almost by accident when he is studying theology at a US Bible school - one that I guess would be described as liberal rather than conservative in US terms. Some friends invite him to come and hang out with some of their friends who happen to be homeless.

The book is SC's story and the story of some of the people he meets along the way with whom he shares part of his life. It includes much of his struggles as he evaluates Scripture trying to see it afresh and not within all the confines of his background in church culture. He works a few months with Mother Theresa, was involved in living with the homeless, lives in a poor community in Philadelphia, went to Iraq with a group promoting peace and is astonished by the love and risks that Iraqi Christians would take to protect their American brothers.

It reminded me of the community that followers of Christ should be developing and not just with one another. It made me go back and read Matt 25 when Jesus talks abou