Ever been to a book reading?

Emerging CGGC

I saw Donald Miller last night, and he is not God (just in case some of you still thought he might be).He's much too young and his hair is too dark.

It was the first book reading I have ever attended. And it was GREAT. We were crammed into this little bookstore and there were more people standing than sitting - it was packed. And people sat and listened to someone read for an hour. It felt like biblical times - except no one fell out the window.

Miller is a very soft-spoken guy with absolutely no pretense about him. He read from his soon-to-be-released book "To Own A Dragon" (or something like that). It is about growing up without a father, but it will apply to anyone who is human.

He fielded some questions - some of which were a little questionable. He answered with incredible grace, and spoke for awhile about being real. That was worth the price of admission (well, it was free, actually). He talked about the fear those of us in the church have about being real and open and honest and vulnerable; and how so often, when he finds himself resistant to taking that "step" into realness... if he will just go ahead and take it... God releases "something" through it. It's not magic, but definately mystical. And if more of us would trust God and take that "step" and be real with one another... think what God could do.

There's a difference between being real and spilling our guts though. But I have to admit, a lot of my preaching is not real, or "from the heart." Too much of it is simply trying to get by for another week, and trying to offend as few people as possible (not always, but sometimes). Sometimes I try to be true to the text, but I'm not sure how true I'm being with the people I'm speaking to. Being real is hard stuff; it's living on the edge; it requires more of us than we can manage... on our own. And I guess that's the point.

Hmm.