The good, the bad, the ugly, broken, struggling, raw, dirty erroneous, hypocritical Christians. In other words, us.


Ir-Rev-Rend: Christianity Without the Pretense. Faith Without the Facade
Greg Surratt
FaithWords
205 pp.

A memoir of sorts, Greg Surratt's Ir-Rev-Rend takes a slightly different route in looking at the stereotypical conventions of the church versus being real people: broken, struggling, raw, dirty, erroneous, hypocritical Christians. In other words: us.

Surratt doesn't shy away from his own personal shortcomings, describing several in uncompromising detail. The message here is plain: If God can use people like Peter, Paul, Noah, David, Job, and many other Biblical figures, despite the glaring flaws illustrated in Scripture, why can He not use me or you?

The acknowledgements of doubt, fear, discouragements...all followed by the experience of God's love, joy, and gaining a greater understanding of others – these are what Ir-Rev-Rend attempts to portray, often successfully. A few will be put off by Surratt's breezy humor, and consider him a bit less black and white than they would like, but for the most part, the book gets its point across quite well.