‘Blue Like Jazz’ author emphasizes relationship, not packaged programs_41805

Posted: 4/15/05

'Blue Like Jazz' author emphasizes
relationships, not packaged programs

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

If Christians are going to reach nonbelievers with the gospel, they are going to have to get involved in non-Christians' “messy lives,” author Donald Miller insists. And believers are going to have to let nonbelievers in their lives, which may not be so tidy either.

Miller, a Texas native and author of Blue Like Jazz–a popular book among innovative ministry leaders–and Searching for God Knows What, said the church will not reach many non-Christians with a simple “five-step” method or program.

The gospel, God and life are not that easy to figure out, he maintains.

“Christian spirituality,” a phrase he prefers to Christianity, is more mysterious than that, he said. Theological tenets such as the Trinity–the belief that the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit are three persons that comprise one God–cannot be understood with formulas. They are mystical and create awe. Not everything can be explained easily.

Jesus did not lay out short processes to solve all of life's troubles, Miller pointed out. Life is too complex to resolve issues so simply. This is one of the reasons people are buying Blue Like Jazz, Miller said. He did not find faith in churches but through the relationships he built outside them.

Each person takes a unique journey to faith where discoveries are made as a result of interaction with God, the world and other people, the writer continued. Epiphanies occur in bursts, sometimes with spiritual droughts between them.

“I think people come to faith relationally,” said Miller, a speaker at a recent Emerging Church Network event. The group is supported by the Baptist General Convention of Texas. “Our job as believers is to be as good a people as we can be.”

The author, a member of Imago Dei Community Church in Portland, Ore., encourages churches to build relationships within their respective communities.

Each culture has characteristics in common with the Christian faith.

If congregation leaders identify those qualities, they can use them as avenues to share their faith.

Social justice, beauty and grace are among the most common characteristics Miller sees Christians and non-Christians sharing.

Taking notice of those topics can create a relationship between churches and neighborhoods.

“I think the church should embrace the culture of the community,” he said.

Relationships do not mean immediate conversions, Miller noted. They mean give-and-take between two people, where each party learns from the other.

This is far different from contemporary Christianity, which he claims has been “hijacked” by self-help books.

“Whoever is buying the book (Blue Like Jazz) does not want to buy a packaged five-step process,” he said, adding the approach he presents is “more like reality.”