Rumors of God: Experience the Kind of Faith You´ve Only Heard About

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She came as a student, graduated from a respected design school, and secured a job with a major clothing brand in the fashion industry. Her dream was to keep progressing in her career and as her income increased so would her standard of living. Sometimes she would walk through the prestigious neighborhoods of the Upper East Side and imagine how it would feel to pull out her keys and enter her four-story brownstone. She watched people come and go from their multimillion-dollar hostages of the mind homes and tried to guess what they did for a living and how they became so successful.

Kelly had grown up attending a little church in Oklahoma but had not been in more than ten years. She was amazed that people in our community were so passionate about helping under resourced families in some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in New York. She had never seen anything like it—young, gifted, and driven professionals wanting to steward their privilege on behalf of the poor.

Kelly was drawn to this intriguing faith community. Over the next year Kelly never missed a Sunday night at church. She renewed her faith commitment to Jesus and started to take time regularly to ask God what he wanted for her life. She would sometimes say that she could feel the goals, desires, and hopes in her life start to fade and be replaced by infinitely greater dreams.

After eighteen months in our church, Kelly moved to a neighborhood in the South Bronx, widely recognized as one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the country. Kelly moved into an apartment building and started to befriend people in the community. The kids in this neighborhood had seen only one way of life—a life centered on gangs, drugs, violence, prostitution, and crime. So Kelly had an idea. She started spending time with the neighborhood kids and asking them: So they often took a few weeks to think about it.

But soon kids were saying they wanted to be musicians and doctors and firefighters and Wall Street bankers. Every time a child mentioned a new profession to Kelly, she contacted someone in our church who was already working in that particular industry and asked them to meet with these kids. An eleven-year-old boy whose dream was to be a musician now receives free bass lessons from one of the most respected bass players in Manhattan. And a twelve-year-old girl, who wants to be a graphic artist, meets weekly with a graphic designer who works for a national fashion magazine.

This is what God wants to do for us. Most of us are trapped in a cultural ghetto. The only things we can imagine are luxury, affluence, prestige, and success. Jesus entered the world to expand our horizon of possibility, to recover the forgotten passions of our heart, and to help leverage our gifts for his dream of restoration and hope. He wants to unleash our imaginations. Then, give us this day our daily bread. When I attended Sunday school as a kid, we memorized 1 Corinthians 2: But the very next verse was almost never mentioned: We dream from a place our culture cannot access.

God wants to reveal these dreams to us.

He wants to release our minds; he wants us to imagine a whole other way to live. The movement of Jesus is supposed to be defined by dreamers and visionaries. As Peter said on the day the church began in Jerusalem: Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.

This breathes new possibility into the church. Cynical and jaded young people will receive a vision for their future. Disappointed and disillusioned older people will recover their dreams. With the Spirit in our midst the church should literally be the most creative place on earth. These dreamers and visionaries who seek after God often become those who shape human history. You are invited to ask for the kingdom to come. There were several hundred people on this sales floor.

I was the only Christian in the office, and everyone knew it. I was happily attending my church when one day a pastor challenged me to start seeking God. During this time I lived with a couple of twenty-something guys, so I was often distracted in my prayer life. I started to set my alarm for 3: Then I went back to sleep. One morning as I was praying, I started to imagine people in my office having experiences of spiritual awakening. Not long after that during a workday I felt a strong prompting to pray.

So, as weird as this may sound, I got up from my desk and walked downstairs to the bathroom. May you do more than I could possibly think or imagine. May you show up in this place. I want to believe for what is actually possible. I was not required to write a positive review.

The opinions I have expressed are my own. Feb 27, Michael Boling rated it really liked it. Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson, two Aussie transplants to America, one to New York and one to the Chicago area, provide the reader with a challenging message on the need to refocus every aspect of our lives to how God would have us live. To a large extent Rumors of God is yet another effort to awaken the sleeping giant that is the church to actually live out the Christian walk and not succumb to the temptation to focus on matters of a temporary nature.

Such an approach places this book in the sa Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson, two Aussie transplants to America, one to New York and one to the Chicago area, provide the reader with a challenging message on the need to refocus every aspect of our lives to how God would have us live.

Such an approach places this book in the same vein as that of other recent books, most notably, David Platt's books Radical and Radical Together as well as classics such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Cost of Discipleship. Great emphasis is placed in this book on the need for the believer to give up control of every area of their life to the lordship of Christ. Their writing style is very easy to follow allowing the reader to not be lost in deep theological discourse.

The book is replete with applicable stories of individuals who have chosen to follow after God with everything they have in order to more effectively meet the needs of a lost and hurting world and by doing so, to spread the gospel message. This is truly the essence of what it means to follow Christ, more specifically; this is the definition of taking up our cross and following him.

I was highly impressed with the ability of the authors to passionately portray how this actually works out in the life of the believer.

See a Problem?

Merely quoting scripture and admonishing fellow believers to "get with the program" is only mildly effective. Thankfully, the authors chose a different tact, one of relevant examples to include those set forth in Scripture, in an effort to focus our every breath on things of eternal value. I was thoroughly challenged to evaluate my own priorities in light of what Scripture has to say instead of what the world deems as the definition of success.

This book is all about recognizing needs and doing something about those needs. The authors rightly admonish us to live our lives with a kingdom mindset. Let us take heed of that advice provided in the pages of this book and more importantly in the pages of Scripture. Furthermore, may we truly be a light to the world keeping ever in mind the words of Habakkuk 3: Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.

Rumors of God: Experience the Kind of Faith You've Only Heard About

Whitehead and Tyson rightfully challenge us to be about the Lord's business because the hour is short. Let us not delay! Aug 03, Pilar rated it it was amazing. There are no words to adequately describe how brilliant this book is, but I will try.

What initially piqued my interest was the description of the book Another dream--an unimagined future. Pastors Darren and Jon take you on a journey which will compel you to love and serve others. I loved every chapter of this book, but what especially stood out for me were the rumors of community and justice. The rumor of community was about loving beneath the surface. Pastor Jon states that one of the great challenges we face in moving into community is the incurable need for the approval of others.

This approval drives us to put on a mask or hide behind a profile, but doesn't give others the chance of loving us for our true selves.

In a true biblical community there needs to be intimacy and acceptance through transparency. He states that by learning to lower our masks, we begin to love one another for who we truly are. The rumor of justice was equally provoking. Pastor Darren states as Christians, we have an obligation and responsibility to answer the clarion call of injustice not just with our cash, but also with our very lives.

All Reviews

Oh my, this just went to the core of my heart. This chapter on justice brought it all home for me. I learned that while it is good to be compassionate, compassion without action is fruitless. What I also learned from this book is that our Christian walk has to mirror Jesus' walk.

Jesus came to love and serve others, we also need to love and serve others too. This is called love in action. I am thankful that I've experienced this rumor, and the rumor is true. I personally know missionaries serving in other countries, loving others unconditionally. I am grateful to have experienced that first hand. This verse came to mind while reading this chapter, "Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

This book will definitely change your life. In conclusion, I want to take this opportunity by thanking Thomas Nelson Publishers BookSneeze for sending me a free copy of this book to review. Sep 13, Dana Rongione rated it it was amazing. The God of the Bible seems to be nothing more than rumors or fairy tales. Even those who are strong in the faith find themselves looking toward the heavens and crying, "God, are you there? Don't you see what's going on down here?

We plead for God to make Himself known to us. Still, we're often left to wonder if the concepts in the Bible are little more than fanciful dreams. The goal of Rumors of God is to remind us that the Bible is true and that while we may not see God working, He is there fulfilling His master plan. Authors Whitehead and Tyson lead the reader on a journey to experience the kind of faith he's only heard about. With heartwarming stories and applicable Scriptures, the authors explore some of the most important facets in the Christian life.

Discussions on love, grace, compassion and hope abound throughout the pages of this well-written resource. From the very first page, I knew I was going to enjoy this book. By the end of the first chapter, I was inspired and compelled to have a stronger faith and to do more with that faith.

Page by page, I felt the Spirit nudging my heart. It wasn't as if I was necessarily learning anything new, but rather that old truths were being reinforced in my heart and mind. My favorite part was when one of the authors told the story of a visitor that had come to his church. The visitor had been quick to tell the author that he didn't enjoy the worship service because he didn't get anything out of it. The author's response was, "I'm sorry. It wasn't meant for you. His forthright attitude made me appreciate the book even more as I have grown weary of the watered-down theology being served in many pulpits today.

Rumors of God offers the truth, plain and simple. I received this book free from the publisher [ Mar 29, Lynn Davidson rated it really liked it Shelves: In this book, Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson share their vision in a clear and sincere, heartfelt manner. Rumors of Abundant Life Hostages of the Mind: Rumors of Love Getting the Gospel in Order: Rumors of Freedom The Radical Individual: Rumors of Commitment Loving Beneath the Surface: Rumors of Community The Greenroom: Rumors of Justice Our Burning Revolution: Rumors of Hope At the back of the book is a section with questions based on each chapter, good questions to make the reader think and soul search.

What could be a problem, though, is that the scriptural references they use throughout the book are mostly just noted in the back and not written out in full in the text of the book. This could prevent many from getting the full impact intended. A comment that I was surprised to read was one written in chapter 5 about when the woman who was caught in adultery was brought to Jesus. There are some other things to watch out for, but Whitehead and Tyson made some excellent points and provided interesting — and surprising — stories to express their enthusiasm. It is a good read. On the whole Rumors of God is a book of encouragement to those who seek to be inspired and motivated in their faith.

Jul 05, Brenna rated it it was amazing Shelves: This book is basically a call for revival in America and I think it's fair to extend this to the rest of the Western World as well, particularly Canada. And Whitehead and Tyson hit every nail in the head along the way. Some times it can be so easy to get bogged down in feelings of despair and hopelessness; where is God in all of this? Why is there such wickedness?

Why doesn't God do anything? Rumors of God raises a better question: Why do we sit passively by an This book is basically a call for revival in America and I think it's fair to extend this to the rest of the Western World as well, particularly Canada. Why do we sit passively by and watch these events unfold yet do nothing to combat it? Isn't that what we're here for? It's written to an individual, but can easily be applied to groups as well.

As individuals we are called to be a part of the body of Christ and to work together as a community. We can do this in so many different ways, and each chapter goes over the different ways whether its love, grace, faith, or justice. The authors use real life stories to bring their points home, but more importantly they do not found their ideas on these experiences.

Their beliefs are founded on Scripture, which is what keeps it solid throughout the book. They share changes they've seen in the lives of others and changes they've experienced personally. It's convicting to read, and it's inspiring. A new must-read for those hungering for change in our modern day churches and individual hearts. Aug 12, Raine rated it it was amazing. I found Rumors of God to be a refreshing read. It made me wish that I could go to a church that either Darren or Jon were working at just to see them in action. It would be great to have a intelligent conversation with either of them!

The statistics really were eye openers foe me. It makes it I found Rumors of God to be a refreshing read. It makes it very clear that we are a technology culture that is being told what to wear, think, need, want by whoever is selling that product. I knew America had more cars than other countries but I did not know the overall percentage was so low. We are sold the idea that everyone should have a car, if you have really made it your family may have multiple cars. Would our country be so dependant on others if we did not think we all had to drive our own car?? I found it refreshing that there are people thinking outside of the box.

People going to minister to those that need God- meeting them where they are living, working- not waiting for those people to show up in a church. Jesus did not wait for folks to come find him he was out in the world walking, meeting, greeting people. Shouldn't we be doing the same thing? I would highly suggest reading this book to everyone. We all have time, talent and money we can be sharing with others- we just need to figure out how to accomplish that. In the Bible Paul says " The life that is truely life is found in how we steward our resources, not in hoarding them.

Think how you can make changes in your own life and then go out and be a light unto the world. Sep 09, Kathy Robbins rated it really liked it.

Rumors of God opens with a story about a woman who ministered to strippers by going to where they were. She ministered to them by doing their makeup. One of the ladies started listening to them and got saved in the process. What a unusual, beautiful story. After I read this amazing story, I was hooked on this book.

The authors provide a mixture of current age stories with biblical history, scripture and commentary from prolific authors into an eas Rumors of God opens with a story about a woman who ministered to strippers by going to where they were. The authors provide a mixture of current age stories with biblical history, scripture and commentary from prolific authors into an easily read masterpiece of meaningful understanding of serving God in new ways. Many have the sense that the greatest days of the church are in the past.

This book is our small rebellion against that notion. I want to be part of the revolution that brings a living faith that passionately transforms lives to be like Christ. God is alive well and active. The heartbeat of hope beats strong in these pages. The invitation to experience an intimate faith calls forth a life transformed, a life well lived. Once again God shows he knows better. Filed under Leadership Book Reviews. Tagged as God , Transformation. Thanks for bringing the book to my attention. You are commenting using your WordPress.

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