Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile

by Rob Bell, Don Golden

book data

260 ratings, 4.02 average rating, 75 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		34%
4		38%
3		20%
2		6%
1		0%

edit

published

October 1st 2008 by Zondervan

binding

Hardcover, 208 pages

isbn

0310275024 (isbn13: 9780310275022)

description

There is a church not too far from us that recently added a $25 million addition to their building.

Our local newspaper ran a front-page s...more

find at: Amazon | Half.com | Barnes & Noble | compare prices ($8.44)…

new topic
discuss this book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

friend reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

lists with this book

This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists. Add this book to your favorite list »

other reviews (showing 1-20 of 595)

sort: default (?) | date
filters: all | text-only

11/01/08

Brad rated it:

(review of isbn 031028998X)

Read in September, 2008

Just minutes after the arrival of Thanksgiving Day 2008, this book serves as a reminder of one thing I’m especially thankful for this year.

Egypt.

My wife and I lived in an “Egypt” for a large portion of 2008.

I arrived in Egypt unexpectedly. I had no idea that I was headed there. Yet I am glad that I did not know. For had I known, I may have changed course, only to arrive there at a later date. Early on, I resisted Egypt, as if in denial of its exist...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

01/07/09

Lars rated it:

Read in November, 2008

If you are not inspired to live like Jesus over and above living like an American after reading this book, you either completely missed the point or have some serious issues with syncretism to work out.

That said, Rob Bell paints a beautiful, poetic manifesto (for all the reviewers complaining about how 'short' the book was, perhaps a healthy understanding of expectations coming in would have been worthwhile) that far surpasses even his brilliant 'Velvet Elvis'. Bell says so much in s...more

Like this review? yes

1 comment

12/29/08

Tyler rated it:

(review of isbn 031028998X)

Read in September, 2008

Too much to say about this one...You just have to read it for yourselves!

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

1 comment

11/29/08

Shaun rated it:

bookshelves: christian

This book presents a great challenge to the Christian church, particularly the Christians that live in America. The book has a great Biblical theme in discussing the history of God's people through the Exodus/Mt. Sinai, Jerusalem, and Babylon. The theme is a cycle of God's people who suffer oppression, are then delivered by a merciful God, then become arrogant and turn away from God, and then suffer oppression again as God brings judgment. The challenge today is which land are we living in? Sina...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

01/04/09

Trevor added it

bookshelves: audio, post-ministry

Read in January, 2009

This book takes a stab at showing how the Old Testament story of Israel mirrors (to some degree) our lives individually and collectively today.

The storyline is as follows:

The Egyptians oppressed the Isrealites as slaves and ruled over them ruthlessly in order to protect the empire. The Egyptians placed slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor. This is a key example in the Biblical story of sin manifesting itself in the form of empire. God heard the cry ...more This book takes a stab at showing how the Old Testament story of Israel mirrors (to some degree) our lives individually and collectively today.

The storyline is as follows:

The Egyptians oppressed the Isrealites as slaves and ruled over them ruthlessly in order to protect the empire. The Egyptians placed slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor. This is a key example in the Biblical story of sin manifesting itself in the form of empire. God heard the cry of the Israelites and liberated them from their oppressor. He took them out of Egypt and into the desert. This liberation from oppression under Egypt is a central, defining moment in history where God inaugurated his plan for restoring the world.

God brought the Israelites to Mt. Sinai out in the wilderness, where he spoke to them and came to dwell among them as a husband dwells with his new bride. God chose this group of people to become his flesh and blood, calling them to become a kingdom of priest and a holy nation where they would use their blessings to bless others. He did this so the whole world might come to know the one true living God.

The Jewish people reached Jerusalem, the land which God had promised them, and built a temple to honor God. For a while, God dwelt in the temple, they lived out their mission to bless others with their wealth and influence, and they upheld justice and righteousness. The Jewish people eventually misconstrued their blessing with favoritism. They misused their wealth to preserve their kingdom, allowed foreign gods into the land, overlooked the poor, and mistreated foreigners. God sent prophets to call the Jewish people to look at how they were treating the oppressed and marginalized as in indicator of how they were living out God's will while calling them to repentance for their sin of misusing their blessing. The Jewish people didn't listen.

Because of their sin, the Jewish people were attacked by foreign empires and were taken as exiles to Babylon. In Babylon, they were again oppressed by a foreign empire. While they were exiled in Babylon, the Jewish people started to imagine, "What would it be like if we could be given all our wealth and influence back? What if we actually used our priviledge to bless others as God intended? What if we could get it right?" They repented of their sin, and soon afterward they were given the chance to return to Israel. They returned to Israel and immediately went to work rebuilding the temple; however, they were still under the rule of foreign empires. During this time, their hopes began to center around a messiah who would lead a New Exodus, re-establishing their kindgom.

So the Old Testament comes to a sputtering stop with a group of people crying out for a messiah to come. But God didn't respond right away. He was silent. But that silence was filled with expectancy that God would send a messiah who would lead a New Exodus. That was what the Jewish people were expecting and hoping for during the time of Jesus. The New Testament then picks up with stories about the birth of Jesus. Then Jesus began his public ministry as a Jewish rabbi. And at the ouset of his ministry, Jesus' main message was that "the kingdom of God is here." This statement was obviously loaded for the Jewish people, and they heard him saying that he would liberate them from foreign rule, that he would lead a New Exodus. He promised that a New Jerusalem would someday come when God will wipe away every tear from our eyes and restore all of creation. There will be no more crying out from oppression.

Today, Egypt can be seen as a picture of what we're all born into. We're all born into oppression by sin. We're born with a sinful nature that pulls us, distorts things and takes us in directions that are destructive to us. Every single human being is born into bondage to sin. God wants to liberate us from sin, and he has a plan to do this. In the same way that the Jewish people were called by God to use their wealth and influence to bless those who need it most, so God has called the Church to do the same, to be his flesh and blood - his body - in the world, so the Church is called the Body of Christ. When we begin to use our resources, energy and power to preserve our own comfort and empire, we are sinning. Eventually, our sin will cause us to lose our power, wealth and influence. And God's plan for blessing the world will be lost for a time.

The reason we study the Exodus is because we want to understand who Jesus is and what he's doing. He wants to liberate the world from physical, spiritual and cultural bondage. Most of us have been given great wealth, talent and energy. And God wants us to share it with others who don't have enough. What if the Church began to understand that God wants to fix this entire planet?

(large portions taken from http://www.marshill.org/believe/newexodu...)

(less)

Like this review? yes

add a comment

02/19/09

Brandy rated it:

bookshelves: christian

If it wasn't for the last chapter of this book I would of given the author one star. I have read his two previous books and would recommend them. But I not only will NOT recommend this book, I am not sure if I will read any of his future books.

1)His message was the truth, but both Beth Moore and Max Lucado are delivering the a similar message and in my opinion get point across without a lot of lecturing or self-motivating ego boosts.

2)Many of my fellow American citizens...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

10/27/08

Adriana rated it:

Read in November, 2008

His best book yet. The whole thing blew my mind, page by page. Brilliant, Inspired, Mind-Blowing. Rob Bell asks the question others are afraid to. He really gets it.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

01/28/09

Tim rated it:

Read in February, 2009

I've enjoyed Rob Bell's previous books as well as what he does with Nooma, so it comes at no surprise that i enjoyed Jesus Wants To Save Christians.

Bell and co-author Don Golden paint a nice picture of the dysfunctional first family found in Genesis and about how God provided a 'better way'.

Compare that with the story of Exodus, the story of those opposed to Jesus and the story of today's 'church'; God has been, throughout the history of our existence, showing us a bett...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

07/04/09

Barry rated it:

Read in July, 2009

Mr. Bell continues to write books with a clear message that is easy to read and very thought provoking. This book deals with empires -- from physical/political ones to spiritual ones. He outlines the dangers of empires and the what happens when the oppressed forget what oppression is like and become the oppressors.

Mr Bell delivers a warning to Americans, specifically Christians in America. My only beef with this book is that while it outlines the attack on the empires in this country...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

04/08/09

Matt rated it:

Read in April, 2009

An excellent book. I can't compare his books to one another because each one is entirely different; however, Rob Bell has once again taken a thought you grow up with and then shows you what it really means. He finds a way to explain the Old Testament and its connection to Christ so well. He doesn't just stop there, but he will lead you to take action in your own life. He doesn't do this through a practical list you should follow. He takes you farther than that. He gives you the way to thin...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

02/12/09

Lauren rated it:

Read in May, 2009

This was my first foray into a Rob Bell book. I read it as part of a Book Study with some friends, and it sparked some very interesting discussion.

I can't say that I agreed with everything that the book presented - I questioned a lot of their interpretations of specific Bible passages, I was annoyed by the prose and cadence of the book, and the "hip, trendy" look of the book, with it's confrontational title just seemed to be over the top for me, and took away from their ...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

11/21/08

Dean Simmer rated it:

bookshelves: faith

Read in January, 2009

The foundation of this book is the theology of the New Exodus (Mars Hill, Bell's church, discusses the idea here). In short, the idea is that we are sinners and, like the Israelites, need to be "called out" of our bondage (in this case, our slavery to sin). Bell draws parallels between Old Testament Egypt, Babylon, Rome and America, arguing that a focus on empire in any case is a slavery and pulls us away from God.

I don't mean to belabor their empire point. They have a lot ...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

10/08/08

David rated it:

bookshelves: bible, christian-life-and-spirituality

Read in October, 2008

The newest book by Rob Bell, co-authored with Don Golden, is his best book so far. It is an engaging read covering the Bible story and challenging Christians to recognize the empire we live in and how to follow Jesus in this world. Gone are the real-life stories from his previous books; this book goes over the Biblical story and is filled with many statistics about the world.

While I think this is Bell's best book so far, it is not as good as Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

06/07/09

Kristy rated it:

Read in June, 2009

Interesting thoughts here about the state of exile, how the U.S. is on the "empire" track of many of the great nations in history and how it's not a great place to be. My favorite part was when he described the temple how the closer we get to the inner sanctum of the temple in the O.T., the closer to God people were, i.e. the court of the Gentiles, the Court of Israel and ultimately the Holy of Holies. He then talked about how when Christ died, the curtain between the Holy of Holies ...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

01/05/09

Adam rated it:

Read in January, 2009

I've never read a Rob Bell book before. I tried to read "Velvet Elvis" more than once but I couldn't get into it and his writing style is awkward. This book however, blew me away. I was finally told that Rob Bell writes exactly like he speaks so if you imagine him speaking the book to you, the writing style works. I fee like this book almost explains everything I believe. It's fantastic. I highly recommend this to all three of you who might occasionally check these updates.

Like this review? yes

add a comment

01/19/09

Katy rated it:

Read in September, 2008

First I have to say I love Rob Bell and I will read, listen or watch anything by him or with him in it. But when it comes to the issues I had with this book it always comes back to what one of my employees said about it, which was that I would have loved it if I had not first read "Jesus for President". I felt like as I was reading it he would start out on a topic and I could see where he was going and I think "yes finally he is going to say it", but he never really did. I ...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

12/22/08

Wes rated it:

bookshelves: practical-theology

Read in January, 2009

This was exactly what I expected it to be. When I first heard of the book about 8 months ago, I was blown away by the premise and the potential. It lived up to those expectations for me. Rob is intelligent, researched, and yet (more importantly, I think) a practitioner of what he writes. He doesn't write this book as abstract thoughts and concepts to be 'believed.' He writes with the intention of spreading a Gospel that is not like the church as it has come to be know, but rather a church that i...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

10/19/08

Brian rated it:

(review of other edition)

Read in December, 2008

Very, very easy read and a very, very good read!

Rob Bell also did a 7 week teaching series on this you can likely podcast
by searching Mars Hill Bible Church.

The basic premise of the book is that God freed us...from slavery, from oppression, and it doesn't take too long for us to 'do to others what was once done to us,' meaning that we become the oppressor and the 'slave owners' in our line of work, in our neighborhood, with those we consider our subordinates or tho...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

03/26/09

Big Mike rated it:

(review of isbn 031028998X)

How do you read a CD? It was okay. I think a majority of books from postmodern writers are starting to become a little accusatory in their presentation. Not all Christians are as bad as they are saying. Many Christians truly are trying to live like Jesus in this world. Just because they happen to be more conservative doesn't mean they are wrong or uncaring to the poor.

Like this review? yes

add a comment

02/14/09

Adam Allen rated it:

Read in November, 2008

One of the best books I've read. A quick, easy read where Bell paints a great picture of how similar we are to the Israelites of centuries ago and how we so easily become enslaved to things Christ came to set us free from. Incredibly poignant for today's materialistic American society and a wake up call to care about the things God cares about.

Like this review? yes

add a comment

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 29 30 next »

recent status updates | recommend it | blog it

combine
other editions (3)

quotes from this book

"Most of the Bible is a history told by people living in lands occupied by conquering superpowers. It is a book written from the underside of power. It’s an oppression narrative. The majority of the Bible was written by a minority people living under the rule and reign of massive, mighty empires, from the Egyptian Empire to the Babylonian Empire to the Persian Empire to the Assyrian Empire to the Roman Empire. This can make the Bible a very difficult book to understand if you are reading it as a citizen of the the most powerful empire the world has ever seen. Without careful study and reflection, and humility, it may even be possible to miss central themes of the Scriptures." More quotes...