Do you ever feel like something in your faith is missing, that going to church, studying the Bible, and tithing just aren't enough? There has to be more, right? What would it look like to truly follow Christ and not just believe in him?
David Nowell asked the very same questions, and was led to minister to the "least of these," whom God loves deeply. In Dirty Faith, Nowell shares powerful stories of faith in action, and encourages us to move with him from the sidelines to the front line, to get our hands dirty helping the hopeless, the disenfranchised, and the poor.
Loving as God loves is central to the gospel, whether that means taking in foster children, ministering to inmates at the local jail, or something else God has in mind just for you. Let this inspiring book help you find what's been missing in your faith.
My review:
Too many Christians, myself included, just go to church and sit in a pew, then go about our lives. We don't evangelize, we don't go out of our way to help people, we never do anything to get our hands dirty. And yet, Jesus commanded us to visit people in prison, to go out and preach the Gospel to all parts of the earth.
The author of this book isn't your average Christian. As the title suggests, he gets his hands dirty. The book is subtitled "bringing the love of Christ to the least of these." He has been in the prisons, he has been to countries where children are discarded and killed without a thought. The book is filled with stories of kids caught up in trafficking and worse, and his and others' efforts to free them and bring Jesus to them and those in prison.
Books like these aren't light and easy reading. They stir up something in us that we would rather not think about. But we should. It is easy to read a book like this and realize how big the problem is and not do anything, but we all need to do more, do something. Hopefully this book will move all who read it to do more to reach others, even if it is people in our own towns and neighborhoods.
About the author:
David Z. Nowell is an author, speaker, and President of Hope Unlimited for Children, a Christian nonprofit that ministers to sex-trafficked children, street orphans, and child prisoners. Prior to joining Hope in 2007, he spent most of his career as a senior administrator at several Christian colleges. He is a graduate of Baylor University with a Ph.D. in historical theology. Nowell's blog, Pursuing Dirty Faith surrounds topics of faith, orphan care, and lifestyle stewardship. He and his wife, Susan, make their home in Jefferson City, TN. Learn more at www.davidznowell.com.
Dirty Faith is available from Bethany House Publishers, a division of the Baker Publishing Group.
Thanks to Bethany House for the review copy.
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