Book Review - Theologizin' Bigger, Trey Ferguson Lake Drive Books

 

We are all familiar with the axiom, "walk a mile in their shoes". When we observe the cultural battles and conflicts, it seems that it is a principle that is well-known but practiced less and less. As far back as I can remember, God has put opportunities in my path that caused me to get out of my comfort zone. I believe my life is richer for it. 

As it relates to this book, I can remember hosting a prospective seminary student for a visit when I worked at my alma mater in the early 2010s. He was a former professional athlete, a fairly young African-American man who lived just close enough to consider studying at our school. When the topic of who and what our program studied, I remember him listing off a number of pastors and scholars he looked up to. And honestly I didn't recognize any of them. I had visited Black churches and was aware of the general diversity of the American Church. But it was then I realized there was a part of American Christian theology I was wholly unfamiliar with. And my life was poorer for it.

That awareness of my own gap in my theological foundation is part of what drew me to this book. I came across this author on Twitter last year after friends I follow retweeted some of his posts. I have found Trey's humor interesting and theological arguments compelling. 

I'm not always convinced to go as far as he does but I highly value the different perspective he gives. And he pulls no punches and avoids no sacred cows. Read this book or even just his social media posts and you will be challenged to look differently at faith, the Bible, and the world around us.

For me, the penultimate example of this is his chapter "The Church Gotta Pick One" in which he questions whether his readers are striving more after the American Dream or the Kingdom of God.

Two other big ideas resonate with me from this work. I'll summarize them in my own words and hopefully do them justice. 

1. One consistent theme he draws from is the opportunity we have to live in the freedom God provides in Christ. The ways he defines how we might actually "live" in that freedom will stretch us. We'll be uncomfortable and compelled to embrace a counter-cultural path that will force us to face just how ingrained our 'culture' is. 
2. Second, he encourages us to embrace our imaginations to live redemptively in the world we live in. If we do have the Spirit of God in us, our lives won't be cookie-cutter or formulaic. They can be spiritually creative and imaginative. It will also lead us to transforming practical action in our lives.

Those are a couple of my big takeaways but overall I found the book to be engagingly written, with intriguing illustrations that support his points (unsurprisingly, he is a pastor of course). His statement on pg. 157 may encapsulate the book while also serving as a goal to aspire to develop more and more in my own life:

"I am a Christian because the story of Jesus contains truths that have transformed the way I view the world."

Amen.