Showing posts with label Matt Mikalatos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matt Mikalatos. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Night of the Living Dead Christian

night of the living dead christianThe newest book from Matt Mikalatos, Night of the Living Dead Christian is a comedic journey to discover what it really means to be a Christian. Is it enough to just say you believe? Or must your life actually be transformed by that belief?

I’ve always felt that it couldn’t possibly be enough to just say the words. If I really believe that Jesus is God become man to save us from sin, if I really believe in the things that he taught, then the way I live my life should reflect this. Jesus calls us to live in a radical way – to put Him first, to love our neighbor, to reject the false promises of the world. My life should be transformed as I seek to pick up my own cross and follow Him, even if the best I can do isn’t perfect (and believe me, it isn’t), even if I have to turn to Him day after day after day for help and forgiveness.

Matt tackles these questions in a unique way - through the medium of monsters. Zombies, werewolves, vampires, you name it. The story follows the main character, Matt himself, as he investigates strange happenings in his neighborhood that turn out to be caused by a variety of horrors. It’s an effective way to describe different traps that a Christian might fall into – the mindless acceptance of a particular person’s brand of Christianity, letting emotions rule or not letting them show at all, or being the one who has to fix everything. And in the process Matt not only gets to know some of his monster neighbors, but finds out a bit about himself as well.

The result is a fun, easy read that entertains while making you think – a good combination of laughing and pondering. And in the back of the book, Matt provides a convenient self-diagnosing monster guide. Are you a monster?

Don’t forget to visit the rest of the tour:

Gillian Adams - Julie Bihn - Red Bissell - Thomas Clayton Booher - Thomas Fletcher Booher - Keanan Brand - Beckie Burnham - Morgan L. Busse - Theresa Dunlap - Amber French - Tori Greene - Nikole Hahn - Ryan Heart - Bruce Hennigan - Janeen Ippolito - Becky Jesse - Jason Joyner - Carol Keen - Leighton - Shannon McDermott - Rebecca LuElla Miller - Nissa - Joan Nienhuis - John W. Otte - Crista Richey - Sarah Sawyer - Chawna Schroeder - Rachel Starr Thomson - Steve Trower - Fred Warren - Shane Werlinger - Nicole White - Dave Wilson

Disclaimer: In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

CSFF Blog Tour, Imaginary Jesus, Day 3

Imaginary Jesus It’s the final day of the Imaginary Jesus blog tour, which is a little bittersweet because I’ve really enjoyed reading everyone’s posts about the book. There was so much that you could walk away with after reading Imaginary Jesus, it’s great to get different perspectives and see what other people were able to glean from this tall tale. Some of my favorites from the past few days:

What it means to be a disciple

Most pop culture references while still making a great point award goes to…

Who do people say the son of man is?

Jesus is not relative

Top 10 Imaginary Jesuses…in song

A great interview with Matt

An Imaginary Jesus Dream, even!

I also wanted to take the opportunity to mention a contest that Matt is having on the Imaginarylambert2 Jesus website. There are some great things to be won, but this in particular caught my eye: a $100 gift certificate to Powell’s bookstore!! If you haven’t been to Powell’s…you are missing out. It is a reader’s paradise. That is probably why the Powell’s scene from the book was one of my favorites. Imagine how many different Jesuses you could find in a bookstore! Matt has thought of them all, even Da Vinci Code Jesus, who doesn’t like Catholic Jesus much - that cracked me up. And Aslan the Jesus Lion. For some reason I keep hearing the theme from Disney’s “Lambert the Sheepish Lion” (3:25) when I read that…

It is impossible to highlight all the great posts on the tour, so check out the rest:

Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Valerie Comer
R. L. Copple
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Andrea Graham
Tori Greene
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Rebecca LuElla Miller
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson
KM Wilsher