The Year of Living Like Jesus

Ed Dobson
2009
Zondervan
Non-fiction/Religion/Christian Living

Reviewed by Cindy Loven

I must say here at the beginning that I probably didn't "get" the book in the way the author intended. He devoted a year of living how he thought Jesus would live. I on the other hand believe that is how all Christian's should live, just as Jesus would, to be Christlike, and while I am sure that is his idea too, his book was not exactly what I expected. Things that he did, or didn't do, are things I truly believe the grace of Jesus Christ has freed us from. For example, the not eating of the shrimp, well we know that we are not bound by dietary laws anymore, the entering of the bar and having a beer, yes Jesus fellowshipped with sinners, but I don't read of him partaking in things that appear evil. So much of what he (Pastor Ed) did was physical things, and Jesus walked in the Spirit of God and in love. Was this book life changing for me? No not necessarily, it was a realization process of the things we take for granted in our Christian walk, the freedom in Christ, the fellowship with Christ. Some of the things he thought of and tried or contemplate doing were good things, the crippled and lame party, that he ended up not having comes to mind, his giving of money to the less fortunate. All these things were interesting to read about. Written in diary form, it was a easy reading book. 290 pages $19.99 US 3 stars

Book summary and author bio:

Evangelical pastor Ed Dobson had a radical idea...

"Live one year as Jesus lived. Eat as Jesus ate. Pray as Jesus prayed. Observe the sabbath as Jesus observed. Attend the Jewish festivals as Jesus attended. Read the Gospels every week."

Dobson's transition from someone who follows Jesus to someone who lives like Jesus takes him into bars, inspires him to pick up hitchhikers, and deepens his understanding of suffering.

Living like Jesus is quite different from what we imagine.

"It may appear from the cover that this is a nice book about growing a beard because Jesus did but be warned- you will quickly discover that Ed's adventure takes him, and us, deep into the heart of grace, mercy and the endless discovery of just what the way of Jesus looks like - which, of course, has very little to do with having a beard."-Rob Bell, Jesus Wants To Save Christians


PUB DATE: October 2009

Ed Dobson, pastor emeritus of Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, serves as an advisory editor for Christianity Today and consulting editor for Leadership. He holds an earned doctorate from the University of Virginia, was named "Pastor of the Year" by Moody Bible Institute, and is author of numerous books, including Prayers and Promises When Facing a Life-Threatening Illness. He moved to the United States in 1964 from Northern Ireland and now lives with his family in Grand Rapids.

Learn more about Ed at http://www.livingjesusly.com/.

This book was provided by the publisher, for review purposes only, no payment of cash or any other kind was received for this review