BEAUTY AND MORE FOUND IN THIS BEAUTIFUL MESS

This is a book review that I completely dropped the ball on.  I am humbled that Waterbrook Multnomah rather than castigate and criticize me for failing on our agreement of receiving free books for reviews actually asked me to return.  So with that, I am finally sitting down to write a review of This Beautiful Mess.

In the first chapter of the book McKinley writes, “…messy.  Why would his kingdom be messy?”

“Christians don’t like mess much, not in our world and especially not in ourselves or our churches” (Pg. 4). 

I have the privilege of serving once a month at a place called Joseph's House in Washington, DC--a hospice home for homeless people dying of AIDS and Cancer.  Yesterday was that day and while serving there I was having a conversation with another person volunteering about how messy relationships are.  I have a comfortable, secure government job and trying to develop relationships across racial and economic barriers is a challenge and takes great intentionality.  I think McKinley is absolutely correct in his assessment that we Christians don’t like mess. We make the “…assumption that following Jesus and pursuing the American Dream are in complete harmony and will take is in pretty much the same direction.  They won’t.  The reality of the kingdom is dangerous and beautiful and life altering” (Pg. 29).

McKinley also points out that far too many of us live with a destination paradigm rather than a journey paradigm—we are biding our time here until the dessert finally arrives in heaven.  In McKinley’s words, “…I realized that most of Jesus’ followers lived pretty much like everyone else—except we hoped for heaven.  This is a sad depiction of much of Christianity today and it has little to nothing to do with what it means to be a disciple!” (Pg. 69).

Personally, for me, living in the West with all of the comforts and freedoms that I have, I find it incredibly difficult to grasp what it truly means to be a follower of Christ.  “When we read the stories of Acts of the first disciples, words like suffering, persecution, and martyrdom quickly come to mind…The American church doesn’t produce martyrs; we produce celebrities” (Pg. 131, 133).

There is much truth found in the second appendix to McKinley’s book, truth that I think the Church in the West would be wise to embrace and pursue, namely, “…we must choose to be proclaimers of God’s love over being protectors of morality…Our failure to love the world is our sin to own… Christ’s life is a physical proclamation of the love of God—full of risk, sacrifice and rejection” (Pg. 162, 164).

I remember my wife reading this book more than a year before me and sharing that I should read it as well.  I had forgotten about it until it should up as an available option for review with Waterbrook.   Am so glad it did.  McKinley has a relevant and needed message for the church today.  This is a book that I would recommend to anyone looking to serve and follow the Servant Savior Jesus of Nazareth!