Not a Fan calls you to consider the demands and rewards of being a true disciple. With frankness sprinkled with humor, Idleman invites you to live the way Jesus lived, love the way he loved, pray the way he prayed, and never give up living for the One who gave his all for you.

I really enjoyed Idleman's writing style. He gives plenty of stories - and personal confessions - to help the material relate to the reader. This book would be more geared to a person that is already a believer in Christ.
This leads to a criticism I've read several make of the book, that Idleman is throwing grace and salvation to the wind. I think it could be addressed more, or more strongly, but it isn't at a level that it should be viewed critically because of it.
Another slight criticism I've seen is that Idleman's wit and humor obviously means this writing is geared more toward a younger audience. I don't see this at all. As we grow we are going to look back on our actions, thoughts, and decisions and to be able to move beyond them and forgive ourselves, we need a bit of humor. He just seem to naturally model this.
Highly recommended! ( )

Yet again, I'm really torn with how I felt about this book. There were times I thought it was fantastic and everybody should read it, and other times not.

Essentially, this book is for Christians challenging them to be actual followers, not just fans of God. The rest of the book is built around stores from the Bible and personal testimonies that help drive this point home.

As strange as this sounds, I feel like this book was missing something. I don't know what, but I just couldn't get over that feeling. The whole book felt like about 13 sermons (which isn't uncommon for Christian books), but several chapters started repeating themselves. That isn't a necessarily a criticism of the book (as repetition isn't necessarily a bad thing), but something about it just didn't feel quite right (the organization not he content).

With that being said, every Christian should read this book. Though I wish it were more challenging, it makes a few fantastic points that have me reconsidering certain aspects of my life. ( )

✥Series/Trilogy/Stand-Alone,etc:Stand Alone
✥Release Date: 5/6/11
✥Format: Paperback
✥Page Count: 215
✥Setting: N/A
✥Genre(s): Christian, Non-Fiction
✥Date(s)Read: 5/15-5/17
✥Rating: Book: 3/5 Audio: 5/5 Narrator: Kyle Idleman

My Thoughts:

Audio:

It was very easy to listen to Kyle narrate this book. He has that voice you like listening to. I don't know much about him beyond this book and definitely know nothing about his church, something I may look into soon.

Book:

(I get a bit long winded, so get you something to drink, a snack and read on)

When did I first learn of this book? Right around Oct/Nov 2011 at a church I was attending at the time and did the "Not a Fan" group. I did enjoy the group tremendously, it had me thinking and wanting to be closer to Jesus. Now, since then, I know I have fallen short quite a bit and my relationship with God & Jesus has dwindled but I can also say, it is still stronger than it had been in my teens and 20's. I still have a long way to go!

When I went to find the book at the library, I don't remember being able to find it. I do think I found the book else where but kept talking myself out of it because of the price and/or just wasn't feeling it at the time. Well, I guess I was meant to find it in a time of my life that I was meant to have it.

Now, I will be honest at this point, I tend to get a bit bored reading christian nonfiction, even fiction sometimes but I can find more fiction I can get through fairly easy over nonfiction. I am trying to get into them more because I know I need it for my spiritual life and to help me apply the scriptures better in my life in ways I may not always know the HOW of what to do. Some, may take issue with that statement because they are just so wonderful at doing it "on their own" but then there are the rest of us, they may need a little help along the way and that is why God put people in our path that can do that. Whether that be pastors/bishops, writers, friends, etc. I am one of the latter as I already stated. Maybe one day, I can "do it on my own" but sometimes, I feel like, I still need that encouragement from hearing someone speak and say something that I may be dealing with and that it's okay (I've had some have an issue with that too, but I guess that is where human difference comes in, some may be fine without it, while some of us sometimes need to hear encouragement in discouraging times, which is why gathering together at your place of worship and/or friends is a great thing).

Oh, the book....Ahem

What did I think?

Well, it had me wanting to go deeper into certain areas of the bible to make sure I am truly understanding some things. I understand the bible says things he spoke of but I know that what he is saying, can be taken out of context and people lose that balance. Interpretation can be a tricky thing for some people and that's when issues arise in churches (or any place of worship/belief systems) and/or families.

Overall?

It gave me a lot to think about. This will probably be a book I try to pass around and give to people I think might want to read it and/or maybe they know someone who needs it or has been wanting to read it. I know, for me, I need to learn to be more than just a fan and be a better follower. I don't know what that entails for me personally but hopefully I will begin to figure it along this journey called life.

More thoughts & semi disclaimer:

Those who may have come on here who aren't believers, angry with God, or whatever your case may be, we all have the free will to believe or not believe, all I can ask is that you at least make a good attempt to believe and see what happens. If you can believe in oxygen, something you can't see but know it's there because you're here reading this. Air that you can't see but sometimes feel when wind comes along. You can take a chance.

For those who think "If there was a God, why is he allowing so much evil?"

Well, my always answer to that is "The rule is, there is an opposite to everything (that I can think of anyway)" & that "He gives us all free will to choose"

(You don't want someone to force you to do something do you? So why would you expect God to do it with others? You are given at least two choices in situations, it is up to you which you choose)

Where there is an up, there has to be a down. Where there is black, you have white. Where there is anger, you have happiness. To have good, you must have evil, how else will you know there is one without the other? God has given us free will to choose so it is not up to me to force anything on anyone. It is just up to me to share what I personally know and believe and allow you to make your decision from there. For the respect I show others, I expect the same respect in return. Also, all of that being said, I am in no way perfect. I screw up daily and I do mean daily. I have a temper, sometimes use language I shouldn't, yell at my kids when normal voice will do. God isn't expecting perfection, what he want's is you! imperfections and all. The imperfections are what keep you closer to Him. He will change your life but life is a constant progress, working, changing, slips, fails, etc but that's okay, get up, dust off and try again. Day by day, moment by moment, etc. Things will not be easy with him because life isn't always easy but to me, life is definitely much harder without him and the holy spirit to guide you.

Now, I know this is supposed to be about this book but I can't discuss this book without going a bit deeper. If you need a start, this is a great place to start. Just go into it with balance, come out with balance and go with what you know God is calling you to do. Not someone else!

If you've read this far! Thank you for your patience! lol ( )

Rated: A
Great book for those committed to being, not just a fan of Jesus Christ, but a true all-in follower. I am not a fan.
• Fans often confuse their admiration for devotion. They mistake their knowledge of Jesus for intimacy with Jesus. Fans assume their intentions make up for their apathetic faith.
• Fans will try and make Jesus one of many. Some fans may even make Jesus the first of many. But when Jesus defines the relationship he make it clear; he wants to be your one and only. ( )