Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos came highly recommended by one of my staff teammates in the Triad. Mikalatos works with Campus Crusade for Christ in the Portland, Oregon area. As I was reading the book, I was somewhat surprised that the author does ministry in the northwest rather than in the "Bible belt" of the south. I've never personally visited the northwestern US, but I know it is home to the least-churched city in America (Seattle) and I'm pretty sure there isn't a huge Christian subculture there.
What does that have to do with the book? Well, Imaginary Jesus is all about how we (Christians) are prone to create a Jesus in our own minds whom we find comforting and who we are able to fit into our lives without too much inconvenience. There is Coffee Shop Jesus and 8-Ball Jesus and Legalistic Jesus and Hippie Jesus - yet none of them are the real Jesus of Scripture. As I was reading the fictional account of this very real phenomena, I kept thinking, 'This is so applicable here in the Bible belt. Everyone is submersed in Christian culture, often to the detriment of a true interaction with the Bible. But is the same true in the rest of the country/world?'
I found it an interesting and quick read, and it challenged some of my own ideas about who Jesus is. And here are a couple quotable quotes for you...
"If you never confront the imaginary Jesus, he'll keep popping up, perverting what you know about the real Jesus. You need to look him in the face, recognize that he's fake, and renounce him."
"You say you can't hear Jesus, but it's because you have earbuds in all the time"
4 comments:
Hey Michelle! Thanks for writing this review, I really appreciate it.
You're right about the northwest... we have several of the "top 5" least churched cities in the U.S. (Portland is also less than 5%) and also the "most churched" city in America (Salt Lake City).
One thing you learn, though, is that everyone has imaginary Jesuses, whether they're Christians or not! And though I've never lived in the Bible belt, I've spent plenty of time hanging out with Christians (and being a Christian).
Anyway, glad you enjoyed the book! And thanks again for sharing about it on your blog.
Matt
Michelle, I forgot to mention, you should check out the contest at http://myimaginaryjesus.com. You can send in your own imaginary Jesus and possibly win a trip to the northwest! Plus a kindle and a bunch of other swag.
I'll do anything for Target :)
Although I'm not 100% sure if this is correct, my Imaginary Jesus would have the be named The Secretary. He's very concerned with planning and always having a plan, never letting a moment be unplanned, and never taking a moment as just a beautiful moment in time. Even though I know the real Jesus has a plan far better than anything I could ever hope, He's more into "plans [that] give you a hope and future", versus having a plan just because it makes him crazy not to have one. I've learned a lot about myself lately... how I freak out when I'm without a plan/schedule/routine (one of the reasons I'm not the biggest fan of summer break). I'm learning that even though every single little moment happens for a reason, God, the guy who created time, sees the whole, giant picture. He's not caught up in the daily routines and schedules; He sees the big picture. :)
my imaginary Jesus is that He really doesn't mind when I don't spend time with Him. With the facebook, cell phone, voicemail world it is easy to pop in and out of people's lives and catch up real quick or even go weeks or months without catching up with a friend. I think i can easily ignore Him,and think oh we'll catch up another day. this must make Him terribly sad. I need to ask Him for the desire to live every moment with Him :)
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