cover image Adventures in Churchland: Finding Jesus in the Mess of Organized Religion

Adventures in Churchland: Finding Jesus in the Mess of Organized Religion

Dan Kimball. Zondervan, $16.99 trade paper (224p) ISBN 978-0-310-27556-5

Do we really need another memoir that points out the ways in which organized religion and the church obscure Jesus' true teachings and their deep and meaningful value for our lives? Former rockabilly drummer Kimball shares his journey from fear and misunderstanding regarding Christianity to growing tolerance, understanding, and acceptance of the messiness of the church and the grace of Jesus that allows broken people to serve him and represent him. Following the characteristic pattern of conversion stories, the pompadoured Kimball faces judgment from the churches into which he rolls on Sunday morning after a night of playing gigs in bars. On a trip to England, he meets an elderly man and a community of elderly women who welcome him to a Bible study, and he finds the real meaning of Christian community as he believes Jesus taught about it. As a result, of course, Kimball finds Jesus, learns the true meaning of Christianity, and comes to believe that the church is not an organized force that desires to control people but an organized community on a mission to serve people. None of this is fresh. (June)