Book Review: Churched

Recently I read Churched:  One Kid's Journey Toward God Despite a Holy Mess by Matthew Paul Turner.  My expectations and what I found in the work were vastly different.  Once I changed my mind set and began looking at the book for what it is, I found myself coming to enjoy this humorous work.

When I first read the title and the brief descriptions of Churched, I was quite interested in the book.  As a children's ministry leader, I am always on the lookout for works that provide some insight into children's perceptions of truth and spiritual truths that arise from them.  As I began reading Turner's memoir, I encountered a towel-wrapped man relaxing in the sauna of a Nashville gym.  In this condition, Turner describes his uncomfortable conversation with another towel-clad gentlemen sporting a "tattoo of Jesus breathing fire out of his mouth."  (Turner, p. 1)  How's that for an attention grabbing opening scene? 

The opening conversation serves as an introduction to Turner's reminiscence of his spiritual journey as a child growing up in a Fundamental Baptist church.  I found myself coming face to face with situations that led me to question exactly what the book's purpose was.  Most memorable for its humor and its shock value was the description of the pastor's piano-playing wife, Mrs. Laura Nolan.  Turner states, "I only knew her [Mrs. Nolan] as the woman in our church who made walking in high heels a reason for even the holiest of Baptists to stop reading their Bibles and stare.  My first thought upon seeing her hips shift gracefully back and forth as she moved from her chair to the piano bench was that she looked exactly like Farrah Fawcett."  (Turner, p. 34-35)  By this point in the book, I decided it was COMPLETELY necessary to remove any thought that this was going to be helpful in children's ministry, and simply read the book for what it was -- a personal memoir.

And that became the key to my enjoyment of this book!  Churched is filled with charming, humorous and heart-felt anecdotes that will resonate with many readers as Turner explores issues of sin, death, personal evangelism, and boring sermons.  Hidden among the funny and occasionally shocking comments -- the kind that make you ask yourself if he really just SAID that -- are some gems of spiritual truth that encourage and challenge. 

I think Turner himself gives the best advice to his readers on how to approach his book in the memoir's final chapter, "Benediction."  In an introductory conversation with Pete, the man who will become his current pastor, Turner describes himself as the author of "Christianish" books.  Churched is not intended to be a work that will spark great theological debate or provide new insights into Scripture.  Rather, it is the fun-filled and honest memoir of a man who has learned to laugh at his past and recognize that in spite of it all -- and because of God's grace -- he knows his Heavenly Father in an intimate, personal relationship.

Happy reading!
Kennith

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.