Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #331264 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Synopsis
When the Jesus revolution exploded in the first century, its members were called People of The Way. The way of Jesus meant the way of love and peace and sharing your possessions and compassion and risk and forgiveness and harmony. Today, millions in our world continue to be fascinated with Jesus and his teachings, but are scared to death of his followers. If the Christian movement in Western culture does not rediscover its origins as a way of living and relating to the world, to God, and to our neighbours, it may likely die in the next few generations. This book is an exploration of what it looks like to actually try to live in The Way of Jesus again - in a world so dramatically different from the early years of Christianity. So what does the Christian faith look like in the new world we find ourselves in? Not theories, but stories. Not guesses about the direction it might take, but accounts about what directions it is taking. Even more, what does it look like for the ancient, orthodox message of Jesus to be communicated and lived in such a way that a highly wired and cynical culture might actually start listening again? This is a book for those who know there's a God.

For those who know that truth, beauty, design, and love come from somewhere, but they cannot stomach the current versions of God they find in local churches. For Christians who want a life of risk and movement and revolution, but are not finding it in the places they are looking. For those who want to listen, but don't speak the languages they are hearing.

Customer Reviews

Repainting the Christian Faith
In Velvet Elvis, Rob Bell frees us to consider God beyond the picture someone else painted for us in order to find an authentic understanding of the Christian faith. God doesn't have boundaries, and faith doesn't have to be limited to what someone else has told us. God is alive. Faith is alive. Velvet Elvis helps us to find (or re-find) our faith. It encourages us to keep looking and living and learning - to keep on repainting the Christian faith.

Rob Bell is the founding pastor of Mars Hill, which has been described as one of the fastest growing churches in American history. Despite that, I really like this book!

Velvet Elvis is a breath of fresh air. I would particularly recommend it to church leaders, and not just because it is a mine of good illustrations for your next sermons! This is the sort of book that reminds you why you ever started this journey of faith in the first place, and should inspire you to keep on journeying with the real Jesus in the real world.

Sense
I'm amazed (which is sad, I know), that i've just read this book, and its the first christian book I can remember ever reading, where i've agreed with 95% of what is written. If like me you've struggled for years with intrinsic problems with many christian doctrines and structures, then please read this book. Your questions and problems aren't wrong, and Rob Bell explains with insight what matters, what counts and what the central core is of what it is to be a christian.

God without church
If you want to know what God is all about but can't really believe that Sunday services a loan have the answer then this is the book for you.

Faith not region, hope not rules, it's got it!!