Interrupted: An Adventure in Relearning the Essentials of Faith Author: Visit Amazon's Jen Hatmaker Page | Language: English | ISBN:
1600062172 | Format: EPUB
Interrupted: An Adventure in Relearning the Essentials of Faith Description
From the Back Cover
Are you one of the millions who crave a new direction in the church? Have you had enough of religious games, empty promises, and “playing” church? It’s time to discover what happens when Jesus interrupts an average life.
Join author Jen Hatmaker in a transformation that begins with one dangerous prayer, “Raise up in me a passion,” and concludes with a life of service to the last, the least, the forgotten, and the forsaken.
It’s time for revolution in the church. Are you ready?
About the Author
Jen Hatmaker is the author of Ms. Understood and A Modern Girl's Bible Study series. With a heart for the women of her generation, she speaks at retreats and conferences around the country. Jen resides in Buda, Texas, with her husband, Brandon, and their three children. www.jenhatmaker.com
- Series: The Navigators Reference Library
- Paperback: 176 pages
- Publisher: NavPress (July 1, 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1600062172
- ISBN-13: 978-1600062179
- Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 0.5 inches
- Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
My favorite piece of summer reading so far has been Jen Hatmaker's latest book, "Interrupted." It's Jen's personal account of how God shook up her & her husband's faith and started steering them to interact with & befriend "the lost, the least, and the last" in this broken world.
They've been church-going people since they were kids & vocational ministers their entire adult careers... yet in 2007 they couldn't shake the lingering question inside their heads "God, isn't there more?" She prayed and asked "God, raise up in me a holy passion." And God responded.
"Interrupted" puts words to an inner angst that has gnawed at my insides for almost 2 years now. I have been a Christian just long enough to have gotten a good hold of the "routines" of American Christian life-- I go to church weekly, pray & read the Bible almost daily... I have attended plenty of "Bible Studies" and classes on what we think, I've studied theology, I've read a billion Christian books-- I have learned plenty (that is NOT to say I know it all, or even anywhere close to it). But at the end of the day, what was I doing with any of it? Mostly just talking to other church people about it.
I feel sometimes like we are all just "playing church", and that can be a suffocating place at times (just being honest) because... well, here's the way Jen put it: "Why did I spend all my time blessing blessed people who should be on the giving side of the equation by now?" (p. 21) Answer: because its safe and because its comfortable.
This book resonates because I am hungry. Hungry to serve outside the four walls of the church. In Austin. My city is full of poor people, hurting people, hungry people, beaten-down and broken people. Do I know any of them? Do I spend time with them? Do I know their stories?
In her book, Interrupted (An Adventure in Relearning the Essentials of Faith), author Jen Hatmaker tells the riveting story of the unexpected transformation that took place in her (and her husband, and their life and ministry) after she prayed a dangerous prayer: "Raise up in me a passion."
Early on, the book struck a strong chord with me as she described the tensions she felt as a pastor's kid, Christian college grad, pastor's wife, Christian author, and long-time Christian:
"I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but there was...something off for me. ...Brandon and I were far too consumed with worthless things. We spent an unhealthy amount of time dreaming about our next house, our next financial increase, our next level of living. Next. We were the opposite of counter-culture. We were a mirror image of culture, just a churched-up version. I was vaguely aware of this, but we had so few around us who questioned the American Dream, it was easily dismissed.
"And yet.
"There were other question marks. Like why wouldn't people commit to our church programs, despite the endless work poured into them? And why did 70 percent of the initial enthusiasts drop out by the end? Why did the same people end up doing everything? Why did so many leave claiming they needed more when we were all working eighty hours a week to meet their needs ? Why couldn't I recall the last person I led to Christ? Why did I spend all my time blessing people who should be on the giving side of the equation by now?
Wow. If that ain't hittin' the nail on the head, I don't know what is."
She goes on in the book to trace her spiritual journey from Churchianity (my word) to the revolutionary call of Jesus. She does so compellingly, yet without applying a guilt trip or formula.
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