RealLivePreacher.com

by Gordon Atkinson, Patrick Nielsen Hayden (Foreword)

In December of 2002, a pastor of a small Baptist church in South Texas began posting essays at a web log he called bReal Live Preacher.b From the beginning, the only claim he made was that he wanted to write as honestly as he could.Within a few months, thousands of people were coming to read his essays on life, faith, children, tamales, the stars, Jesus, and anything else that was on his mind. The readers of bReal Live Preacherb began leaving comments and have formed an online community where all questions may be asked and everyone is welcome. bReal Live Preacherb is currently listed in the top ten web logs at Salon.com and is one of the most read web logs in the world.

"RealLivePreacher.com" is a collection of the best of his writing from the web log and includes a number of essays that were never published online. You will meet Earl the gravedigger, the little blue shoes girl, Elliot, whose birth was called Advent, and George, a deacon whose legacy lives in a rock that is embedded in a wall of the church. They are all real people and make of the world of bReal Live Preacher.b

Genres: Nonfiction

165 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2004

Reviews

[Azra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised to find this book on the shelf at a local thrift store. I had been a somewhat regular reader of the RLP blog a long time ago. This book has some of the writings from that blog.

Gordon Atkinson doesn't always seem like the average preacher. He writes about tamales; dropping F bombs, the little voice in the back of his head, and discovering the moon does indeed carry a very old power. He writes about the moments when he's alone in the church, setting up for the Sunday service. He also writes about the Charismatic Christians who rent out space on Saturday nights and other people who weave in and out of his life.

That's what I like about RLP's writing. He writes about the small and everyday moments. He writes about bifocals. He writes about the kid eating M&Ms under his table. He writes about being disappointed with himself in a careless moment with his daughter. His writing is not sugarcoated like so many books on faith seem to be either. There's no "Give your heart to teh lawd and all your problems will be gone and there's nothing but smooth sailin' from now on!" here. There is heartache, pain, aggravation, friendship and joy. He also mentions more than once about his doubts and conflicts about being an unbeliever at heart yet still following this path of being a preacher.

While this book was written by a Baptist preacher and there are plenty of christian content in it, there is also plenty in which I found common ground.

[Giedra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of essays by Gordon Atkinson, author of the blog "Real Live Preacher." I have been reading his blog for several years, and purchased the book when he got a bunch of remaindered copies from his publisher and was trying to get rid of them to free up space in his living room. As a result, I have a lovely dried plumbago from his yard on p. 51.

Many of the essays also appeared on his blog, and I know a lot of his history by now, etc., so the book wasn't eye-opening or anything, but I really like the way he writes about life and his faith. His faith is very much like mine. Which is to say, real, and yet speckled with doubts and skepticism and colored by a deep love of science.

I will happily lend to any of my friends who want to borrow. But you must be careful of p. 51!!

[Tommy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any ordained minister who drops the "F" bomb and admits that, on many days, he's as much an atheist as he is a believer, is my kind of guy.

This book would be deemed heresy by a lot of church-goin' folk, which is precisely why I love it. I've always been a fan of seekers, not folks who think they have all the answers - and I prefer spiritual writers over 'religious' writers.

This book fits nicely betwixt the Dalai Lama's "The Art of Happiness" and some of Kurt Vonnegut's writing.

[Joy Laughridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not what you'd expect from a Baptist preacher in Texas beginning with the language! Great stories and insights. The kind of person who makes you feel better about your own messy spirituality.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Church might be more compelling if this guy was preaching.

[Michele McCawley · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite spiritual books, because it exposes human frailty and how hard it can be to maintain faith in an ugly world. Gives me hope.

[Georgette]

Texan church pastor Gordon Atkinson is an example of a blogger whose writing is so appealing that he was offered a book deal. Atkinson, more widely known to his online readership as The Preacher , discovered blogging as a relatively anonymous way of telling his stories and conveying his uncensored take on things. [return][return]Within months, his readership skyrocketed. People who found him can t help but tell their friends, regardless of religion, to come and read the blog of this preacher who can make us look again at simple things that we take for granted, or tickle us with tales of evicting a raccoon from his chimney. [return][return]Most of all, they can t help but share with others on how unpretentious this man of God is. Atkinson is frank with his own very human struggles with faith and God, and a lot of his reflections or observations have a tendency of punching readers in the gut when they recognize how they ve felt the same or it has happened to them before.[return][return]This book is a collection of his finest online essays as well as several more never published online. The good news is that you don t have to buy this book to sample his writing. Just look it up online.[return][return](2005)

[Vass · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantastic, except for the ooky gender issues. The 'young women's role is to be a flirting little tease' type. 'Little black book' made me *very* uncomfortable.

[Jeff Youngstrom]

my review