Rumors of God

"LORD, I have heard of your fame;

I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD.

Renew them in our day,

in our time make them know;

in wrath remember mercy."

Habakkuk 3:2

"I have heard...." 

According to the Free Merriam-Webster online dictionary, rumor is defined as the following:

1. talk or opinion widely disseminated with no discernible source 

     2.  a statement or report current without known authority for its truth 


So, is the God of the Bible really about giving His children abundant life?  Is He really a God of generosity, love, grace, freedom, commitment, community, justice and most important of all hope?


Yes, and according to Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson in their book Rumors of God:  Experience The Kind Of Faith You've Only Heard About God wants to use you and me, true believers in Him, His children to let a world lost without Him know that these "rumors" about Him are indeed true.  


Hear their heart from chapter three where they discuss how in America discontent is often cultivated:

"Living in a consumer culture reverses the biblical vision:  'To live is gain and to die is Christ'.  It is a quiet subversion of the meaning and purpose of our lives.  Accumulate as much as you can.  Build bigger barns, then take life easy - eat, drink, and be merry.  After enjoying the benefits of indulgent living, when you die you go to be with Christ.  The great tragedy of materialistic America is not financial abundance, but spiritual poverty."

I think these guys are on to something!  We in the United States are concerned about the wrong economy!

I was challenged and encouraged by Rumors of God.  However, there were a couple of things that I would constructively criticize about the book:

1. There is really nothing new said in the book that hasn't already been said in other books such as Radical by David Platt.  Don't misunderstand me.  Whitehead and Tyson bring up very good points of challenge, but many of the examples and quotes they use are ones I've read in other books along this same line of thinking.  There was really no new insight to grab onto.
2. There are no Scripture references used within the text of the book.  Plenty of Bible verses are used, but the references (chapter/verse) can only be found by going to the "notes" section at the end of the book.  This would make the reading of the book very cumbersome for a reader less familiar with the Scriptures.

A reading group guide is included in the back of the book, making it helpful for use with small group meetings.

Thomas Nelson sent me a complimentary copy of Rumors of God for the purpose of review.

You can order the book by following the link to Amazon.com below:














Blessings,
Jennifer