Beloved Chaos: moving from religion to Love in a red light district

by Jamie West Zumwalt, Kathy Escobar (Foreword)

What do you do when your faith no longer makes sense, when everything you thought you believed falls apart?After twenty years in ministry, Christianity suddenly was no longer working for Jamie Zumwalt. In the midst of this crisis, she opened Joe’s Addiction, a coffee shop, to conduct a Grand Is it possible to live what Jesus taught—giving to those who ask, caring for the poor, forgiving and loving your enemies? And if possible, can it transform not only individuals, but an entire community? Experience a red light district plagued by poverty and violence, as Jamie weaves her own story of overcoming sexual abuse, shyness, and judgmental religion with the stories of those living on the margins. From giant, tattooed gang enforcer, Forklift, to little Mary, the sex worker, we learn the patience necessary to fight despair and restore hope to men and women experiencing homelessness and addiction. Jamie challenges ideas about God and people and invites us to leave religion to follow the Way of Love, creating a Community of Hope that becomes a little taste of heaven, here on earth.

334 pages, Paperback

Published December 1, 2018

Reviews

[Nancy Hollingsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories will challenge all known thoughts on the most vulnerable.

[Steve Wecks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jamie's book of vignettes about life in inner city middle America had a powerful, almost overwhelming impact on me - I am still processing.

We all long for something real and authentic, something beyond the safe and secure yet self-centered worlds we try to create for ourselves. Something that gives meaning to the pain, tragedy and joy (chaos?) of not only our own lives but also to the lives of the MANY living in despair and hopelessness around us. The real that Jamie so vividly paints and demonstrates through her stories isn't credal, it is relational. It isn't a fix to the problems endemic to our shared humanity, it is a way that makes them endurable and even redeemable through participation in a "Beloved Chaos" - a loving, authentic community.

I have found that I simply cannot look at anyone the same again after reading this book, let alone "the least of these". It takes the ideals of love, compassion, and empathy out of the theoretical and incarnates them in a way that I can see and understand in the America I live in, with everyone I meet. Her stories show how it is possible for herself, her family, hookers, heroine addicts, the hungry, helpless, hopeless, healthless, and homeless to not just function but thrive together as participants in a community of hope and care.

Interwoven throughout her stories are the teachings of others who have led the way in bringing "the kingdom of God" to earth: Lao Tzu, MLK Jr, Gandhi, Dorothy Day, Richard Rohr, Rumi, Henri Nouwen, Thomas Merton, Mother Teresa, Brian McLaren, etc. Her unveiling by example of the revolutionary nature of Jesus' teachings, his "good news of the kingdom" - unfiltered by centuries of religious bastardization, is one of the most vibrant, personal, and powerful I have ever been exposed to. If not the most.

This book has the capacity to rock its readers to the core and Jamie does a good job of gently and wisely guiding readers in considering its implications for their own life.

I simply cannot recommend it highly enough!

[Judee Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hopefully, Beloved Chaos will challenge you as it did me! Can the Way of Love transform individuals plagued by poverty, violence, and mental illness? Jamie challenges us to live life with people living in the margins and maybe, just maybe, we will be the ones transformed. I can't recommend this book enough.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beloved Chaos lives up to it's name in the most beautiful way!

Jamie Zumwalt writes as if she's speaking to her reader over a hot cup of coffee, surrounded by the cast of characters her book so wonderfully portrays. The writing is honest, warm, and full of hope, but it doesn't skip over the messy parts of life, pain, and living in community.

"I realized I have simplified all of
my beliefs down to Love. I wonder if rather than God being
the source of Love, what if Love is the Source? Love is God.
I know the Bible says God is love, but what if the other way
around is also true? Rather than God being an “entity” that
exists 'out there' somewhere, maybe Love is the energy force
that holds everything together. Everywhere we encounter Love,
we are encountering God.
What if The Beatles were right?
Love is all you need."
-Jamie West Zumwalt, Beloved Chaos

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. It offers perspective on the struggles of a lot of different people who are generally judged by society as less worthy. I'm not a religious person, but this book didn't make me feel preached to at all. Instead it inspired me to be more open to religion and love. I really think there's something for everyone in this book!

[MIchelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

What do you do when your faith no longer makes sense, when everything you thought you believed falls apart?

In her book Beloved Chaos, Jamie tells of the unravelling of the beliefs she acquired through her family of origin. The stories she share emanate a Love so deep and so miraculous that one can't help but begin to look inward at what Love really means. A Love that is scandalous.

Jamie shares real life accounts as to how this Love revealed itself to not only her but her community at Joe's Addiction. Jamie reveals a Love so extravagant and it's transformative power in people who were marginalized but through them, people who thought they were above the marginalized were transformed as well. Jamie leaves the reader impacted and pondering what this Love is all about and how could one experience such a Love as this!

After reading this masterpiece the reader will be left pondering the idea of religion versus relationship with the one true Love. The reader's view of humanity will be challenged and a wrestling will begin deep within regarding what it means to Love "the least of these" up close and personally.

I was given an advanced reader copy by the author.

[Sally Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think i've gone thru about every emotion reading this book, tears shed at the brokenness, anger at injustice, joy for the impact this community is making. Oh and lots of laughter, Jamie is a really good story teller! She tells these stories of her experiences opening a coffee shop in a forgotten part of the Oklahoma City area, stories of a rag-tag community and how they are encountering God together in the midst of poverty, homelessness, mental illness, drug use and all the things in between. "Perhaps it is best to call the Kingdom of God a Beloved Chaos." This book will mess you up...in a good way!

[Hayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the first page I was drawn into this book. A raw honest account of this neighborhood/community.... This love that Jamie and her family are sharing and spreading in this coffee shop is gut wrenching at times. And necessary always. If I wouldn’t have read this book I wouldn’t have ever known this community existed much less the mission that the Zumwalts are sharing. The harsh reality that lies between these pages is not lost but immersed and mixed in the love and acceptance that is occurring each day their doors open.

[Sandi W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because her stories share both life events and her struggles, Jamie is able to guide the reader to the better Way without heaping loads of conviction on them. In a time when many are trying to reconcile God's teaching with religious teaching, Beloved Chaos shows how to love the way Jesus loves. Fair warning: this is not a book for the faint of heart. Jamie shares what it means to love your neighbor regardless of who that neighbor is or what they may have done.

[Cathy Dodd · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written story of Jamie’s journey from Evangelical Christianity to the Jesus Way—the way of Love. Through serving the most downtrodden and “the least of these”, she discovers her own spiritual truth and builds a community of love and support for the most needy and deserving that transforms the lives of those she serves, as well as herself and the larger community of residents. She becomes the Mother Teresa of Valley Brook, Oklahoma.

[Leia Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jamie is a friend and mentor of mine. I knew her book would be everything I needed at a moment in my life when my faith in both God and humanity are thin.

Th Way of love is not an easy road to travel, but I am not looking for easy. I am looking for good and right, and I am inspired.

I endorsed this book because I believe in it wholeheartedly. I will be purchasing this book for everyone I know.

[Sheri French · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always find it difficult to rate memoirs and while this is not strictly a memoir it is intensely personal. There is such courage and love in this book! I am sure some folks would be uncomfortable with acceptance the author shows to everyone she encounters. We need more of this! What I love is her complete honesty. At times her community reminds her what love would do.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up in a suburb where driving through Valley Brook was part of the journey to the 80s teen destination of choice…the mall, so I grew aware of the challenges of this community. I also remember remember when Joe’s Addiction opened up, a few years after I returned to the state. Jamie’s tale of her community is equal parts heartbreaking and uplifting,

[Kathy Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this. Sam loaned me his copy and I ordered one for myself not too far in so I could help share it. I feel a little dumb even trying to sum up my feelings about it. I feel honored to have had it placed in my hands.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of the kind of stories and Love the whole world needs to hear about.

[Nathan Ellzey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely fantastic book about Love in action... real love, that is. MUST READ!

[Claire Warming · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was restorative. I feel like my cup is full again.

[Amanda Kingston]

"One way we can know what it is we are to do in the world, is by paying attention to the things we just can’t stand."
•••
This spring, my peacemaking course was really lucky to talk with Jamie and her hear stories of her life and neighbors in Oklahoma City. When she mentioned her book, it felt like a no-brainer to pick it up in the spring and read-- it's full of really beautiful and really powerful stories of living in the mess of injustice and systemic oppression with other and choosing love over and over again. If you can, grab a copy and read!

[Tiffany Mathews · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love concept of the cafe and the love that exudes from the way Jamie lives her life. I love the humanity brought to people through the stories. The writing could have been more polished.