MIller Review Part 2

Submitted by MBK

I loved Blue Like Jazz. It was the first book that I read in which ‘Post Modern Christianity’ made any sense to me. I think that was because Donald Miller told stories. I started to understand a whole new view on how we ‘do’ church. If I had one criticism of Blue Like Jazz it was that there was a lot of discussion about social justice or social activism but Miller himself didn’t really seem to do a whole lot about the social causes he was highlighting. I know that he has done a lot to address that in the past 5 years.

When I read A Million Miles in A Thousand Years it was clear that Miller was back to the style of writing that made Blue Like Jazz popular. Although I am sure that a book with the subtitle ‘non religious thoughts on Christianity’ had a much broader appeal, I believe this book is well worth the read for those who want to mature in their faith. It is clear that Donald Miller moved past complaining about social issues to doing something about them. The book came at exactly the right time for me.

This fall I have seen so many changes in my life. The analogy of living a story was a very powerful one for me. I remember a day when I particularly wanted to give up. I remembered a chapter of the story that spoke about being in the middle. At the beginning of an adventure we are all excited and energized. Then at some point we realize that what we are doing will be really hard. We are tired and we want to give up. Miller told a story that beautifully illustrates how God meets us in those places. It came to mind and I held on. For me the book was worth reading just for that.

I was going to say that if you liked Blue Like Jazz you will like this book. However as I thought about it, I realized that isn’t entirely true. If you liked the anecdotal story telling in Blue Like Jazz but you are ready for a next step, you will like this book.