True Religion: Taking Pieces of Heaven to Places of Hell on Earth

by Palmer Chinchen

Give your life away to change this world and God will change you … for the best. A rising voice in the missional movement, Palmer Chinchen challenges Christians to a new kind of spiritual formation—one focused on pouring out our life for others and radical dependence upon God. When we get out of our comfort zone, our souls are awakened—everything seems more alive and vibrant. So why don’t we live our faith that way? Why is it that our faith can easily become an old, tired routine instead of an exhilarating, God-honoring lifestyle?

Discover why true religion involves engaging the problems in our world as we go with the good news of the gospel. And in the process of pouring ourselves out for others, we’ll see God radically transform our own hearts as well.

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian, Christian Non Fiction, Christianity, Christian Living, Faith, College

211 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2010

Reviews

[Nancy DeValve · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked most of this book, but I felt like Dr. Chinchen's emphasis did not go far enough. He really did a great job on challenging young people to get involved in missions and to do what they can to bring "pieces of heaven to places of hell on earth". No believer should ignore the plight of others and Dr. Chinchen really challenges young people to get involved. I think the audience of the book is meant to be university age students and I love how he makes helping the poor and doing missions something that is in the realm of possibility for each person. However, the focus really seemed to be on short term missions and on short term solutions such as collecting shoes for people, which I'm not criticizing. But I do wish he had put more of an emphasis on committing to life-long missions. It's a lot different to take a day and wash dirty children than it is to have dirty children surrounding you year after year and realizing that whatever you can do is so small compared to what they really need. It's fine to go in and deliver hundreds of shoes, but it's a lot different to live year after year with people who, when those shoes are worn out, still won't have the means to purchase a pair of shoes for themselves. There have to be better ways of helping pull people out of poverty than "band-aid" solutions like passing out shoes and giving kids baths. Those things are great.....but I wish Dr. Chinchen had put more of an emphasis on getting in there for the long haul. As a personnel coordinator of a mission in one of the poorest countries in the world it is my job to place teams and individuals. I can tell you that teams are a lot of work for the missionaries on the ground and that the benefits are more for the team members (and often those benefits are worth the hard work of hosting teams!) than for the host culture. I also have mixed feelings about the phrase "hell on earth" because somehow it feels judgmental to me. There are places that truly are hell on earth; but I think it's a misconception that everybody living in poverty is miserable and unhappy. Some of the poorest people I know are happier than some of the richest people I know.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Recommended for anyone who wants to make a difference in the world and to grow in their faith. Great book.

[Andrew Robertson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately, the author believes that the social gospel (specifically, social justice) is more important than the true gospel. The author spends too much time on what humans can to do to make the world "a good place" (for lack of a better term) instead of focusing on the true source of the problem: a world broken by sin and in need of God's redemption and our role in sharing that message as the hands and feet of Jesus.

[Julie N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure if you can see it, but the book is subtitled "Taking pieces of heaven to places of hell on earth." This book was pretty appropriate for my reading this week, because we just sent my 18 year old brother and my dad off to Ecuador for a week and a half on a mission trip. The book isn't solely about missions, but they do play a large role in the book. The author, Palmer Chinchen grew up in Africa as the child of missionaries. His book is written to urge Christians to act out what he considers true religion - caring for the poor, the marginalized, and the oppressed. While he recognizes the needs of our own country, this book focuses on the needs of those in foreign countries, particularly Africa.

It would be hard to find a book related to Christianity that 100% agrees with everything the I believe (unless it's CS Lewis of course), but this book comes very close. I totally identify with the author's passion for the oppressed and marginalized. I also love his intensity about missions. I wish I could say I've been on tons of mission trips, but I haven't. I have, however, taken a 12 week in-depth seminary course called Perspectives on the Christian World Movement that changed my life. This book reflects a lot of what was taught at Perspectives and really challenges the status quo of Christian faith.

I think I'm most challenged by the author's encouragement to live a simpler life. He quotes statistics about the percentage of items in American homes that are not necessities - and I believe it was somewhere around 51%. It really got me thinking about the things I own and how so much more than 50% of our things are not necessities. He also refuses to play golf anywhere the charged more than $35 - because he learned in Africa that a home could be built there for $35. Knowing that you could house an entire family who is currently living on the streets, or build a well for people without drinking water, or buy shoes for an entire village makes it a little bit harder to spend $50 on a meal out with my husband.

Finally, I really appreciated that the author isn't just critiquing and aspect of Christian culture that he doesn't like, but he provides practical, realistic solutions for people to put into practice to move towards a global perspective and care for the needy. My personal favorite was Barefoot Sunday - he asked all the members of his church to come to church in their favorite shoes, then take them off at the end of the service and donate them to Africa. The people were challenged to spend the rest of the day barefoot as an exercise in experiencing what a large portion of Africans experience every day. I'm working on coming up with a similar project that our students could try out here at school.

Definitely check this one out. It's an easy read and fairly short (200 pages in paperback), but will really make you question what you believe about loving your neighbor.

[Sharon Cate · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Palmer Chinchen's passion and the challenge he gives us to live life large, but overall his message is too simplistic. At times he comes across as judgmental and condescending, especially when commenting on people who do not leave the United States for a mission adventure.

The danger of this book is that it romanticizes the mission field. It is great for people who want to get their "missionary fix" by spending a few weeks in a third world country; however, it does little to show the commitment and dedication required by people who live on the mission field for years instead of weeks.

[Jessica Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this book at a goodwill store for $0.50, and thought that it looked interesting. I absolutely loved it! It challenges Christians to really take God seriously and go and make the world a better place. It reminded me of when I was visiting the orphans of the poorest country in the world, and stirred my heart with a renewed desire for missions. God really spoke to me through this book, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who needs a spiritual wake up call. Thank you Palmer for writing this book =]

[Richard Monyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

We can create SHALOM here on earth if we stop harping on what is so wrong with this world and play our "heavenly harps" here and now on earth releasing a sound from heaven manifesting the glory of God across the face of this earth!!! God gave us all power, authority and dominion through His son Jesus Christ and the true believers of THIS kingdom is coming alive and coming into agreement with this finally!

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best parts of the book were the stories he tells. They are moving and humbling, he truly has a heart for Africa and mission work. He was much more moving than David Platt's Radical. Where Radical felt like it was rationalizing, True Religion calls our lifestyle out and shows us we can make a difference, not to make up for our lifestyle, but rather because we have the ability to do so. I would love to read more about his experiences, they alone are convincing.

[Kimberly Tafoya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book because a really good friend recomended it,so I down loaded it on my kindle. Well what can i say but it was a really good read and at the end of the book left me wanting to help in some way. Palmer Chinchen talks about true love and giving to others. I really think that everyone that reads this book is going to be touched and would like to do more..... I know i did.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, it made me bothered about the plight of the oppressed. I felt convicted about the material things and personal goals that I put before the idea of easing the world's troubles in the name of Jesus. Dr. Chinchen holds up a mirror for you to look in and the biblical truths are undeniable.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the concepts in the book about loving big outside of ourselves. The expatriate suggestions at the end of each chapter helped focus me on how to change rather than just being encouraged to change.

A couple references in the book were very "emergent church".

[Adrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is one to help refresh the inner missionary with wonderfully inspiring missional stories as well as Chinchen's "ideas for becoming the expatriate"-practical, and on occasion daring, suggestions for revitalizing the missional spirit.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a bit too didactic for pure pleasure reading. I enjoyed it more than I expected, and took the author's writing to heart. It started me on a search for how I can make a difference in the lives of those I encounter. This is something I need to teach my children, too.

[Bo White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Palmer is a pastor I greatly admire and heck, he put me in one of the chapters, so what's not to like?

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really appreciated this book. It made me look at missions in a new light, and made me want to serve the Lord more cross-culturally.

[Margaret Chind]

*Thanks to The B&B Media Group, Inc for providing a copy for review through FIRST Wild Card.*

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read, very challenging.

[Jt]

great challenges from this book