Not a Fan

The 700 club made ABC news last week. Many were shocked to hear Pat Robertson saying that he thought Alzheimer's was a legitimate justification for divorce.

Dr. Amanda Smith, medical director at the University of South Florida Health Alzheimer's Center in Tampa said, "To condone abandoning one's spouse in the throes of this mind-robbing illness is absurd. . . . While Alzheimer's certainly affects the dynamic of relationships, marriage vows are taken in sickness and in health."

Kyle Idleman, author of Not a Fan, Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus would agree with Amanda.

This book is, in some extent, an extension of the old "Easy Believism" vs "Lordship Salvation" war within evangelicalism that has been going on for decades. The last time this subject really hit the fan Charles Ryrie and John MacArthur (The Gospel According to Jesus) slugged it one out back in the 70s. But Kyle is a different kind of fighter.

Kyle is funny.

And, unlike Ryrie and MacArthur, Idleman humbly puts himself in the discussion.  It's extremely convicting.

The combination of wit (DON'T skip the footnotes), humility, Biblical examples and personal stories make this book my favorite for 2011. A MUST READ.

A typical off-the-wall comes from page 48: "The warning may be unnecessary, but in middle school I was blindsided by the sex ed class. Seems like my mom and dad should have given me some kind of advance notice. Something like, 'Hey son, heads-up, today your creepy math teacher will scar you for life when he explains where babies come from.'"

If you are truly interested in being a Follower of Jesus – not just a Fan, this book is a great place to start.