Donald Miller & Blue Like Jazz

Want to know more about Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz? There's a very interesting article here - not just about him, but also about the emergent church movement that seems to have latched on to the types of things he's saying.

The article's a bit old (Feb 2005), but if you are interested in these things, it's definitely worth reading (it's authored by a non-Christian who writes for his hometown newspaper, so you get a nice, real-world local perspective). You probably won't agree with everything Miller says (I don't), but before we criticize, we would do well to consider this closing snippet on the last page:

At Starbucks, after I close my notebook, Miller looks at me. "So you've been talking to people, working on your stories," he says. "Has anyone explained to you what the Gospel is?"

I say, no, not in so many words.

"I could give you the sales pitch," he says. "Because maybe, who knows, 10 years down the road…"

Then Miller proceeds, in the most low-key and friendly way, to explain that God loves me, wants to have a relationship with me-and, for that matter, everyone. The relationship was damaged in the Garden, but Christ came to earth to fix it. The invitation, Miller says, is always open.

"That's one of the hardest things to do, to share your faith," Miller says when he's done. "I mean, especially with a journalist, someone you know could just hang you out to dry.

"So that's it," he says. "Plus, you have to vote Republican. Did I mention that?"

That to me is very, very impressive. Miller sharing his faith with the reporter who is just there to get his story, and the reporter actually writing positively about it. How many non-Christians would say the same of us?