I'm OK - You're Not: The Message We're Sending Nonbelievers And Why We Should Stop

by John Shore

Immediately upon its publication "I'm OK--You're Not" proved so controversial that one month after its release its publisher (NavPress) recalled it from stores and wiped it from its web site. (It continued to sell in America and abroad, however, putting its publisher in the awkward position of fulfilling orders for a book of which it was ostensibly unaware.) The central premise of "I'm OK" is that in their zeal to fulfill the Great Commission ("Therefore go and make disciples of all ... ") Christians too often--and necessarily--violate Jesus' Great Commandment ("Love your neighbor as you love yourself"). John Shore's argument for this case--as engagingly and humorously as he makes it--is simply too powerful to ignore. And Shore doesn't make it alone. One of the most impactful aspects of this book are the statements that conclude each of its chapters, wherein non-Christians share what it's like for them to be the object of evangelizing Christians. Garnered from ads Shore ran on Craigslists across the country (and in the book presented under the subtitle of "Ouch") these deeply affecting testimonies launched the trend in Christian publishing of books based on the value of Christians actually listening to what non-Christians have to say about Christians and Christianity.

"I'm OK--You're Not" is about nothing less than the totality of the relationship between Christians and non-Christians. Shore knows what it's like to live on both sides of the Christian until his sudden conversion to the faith at thirty-eight years old he could not, in his own words, "have been less of a Christian if I'd had two horns sprouting from the top of my head and carried about a trident." "I'm OK--You're Not" is Mr. Shore's splendid bridge across the deep waters that too often divide Christian and non-Christian.

Genres: Christian, Religion, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Evangelism, Christianity

169 pages, Paperback

First published January 22, 2007

Reviews

[Kythera Anevern · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is hard to read as an outsider (as a member of the LGBT and non-Christian subgroups, I am most definitely an outsider and NOT the target audience for this book; however, I read it from a desire to see what "the other side" is up to). It's difficult to read about being downplayed and pandered about for the sake of the target audience, which is decidedly being pandered to--and the target audience is definitely one which often needs to be coddled with kid gloves, lest their minds snap shut like a steel trap.

That said, however, I found Shore's writing relatively humorous, and definitely recognize the need for a book that addresses the target audience in the way that it does. While it didn't leave the best taste in my mouth for personal reasons, it's a book I've recommended to family who are grappling with reconciling their modern mainstream Christian beliefs with having non-Christian and gay relatives.

[A.C. Bauch · Rating 1 out of 5]

i wanted to like this book so much more than i did. first, the author's constant joke-making got old really fast. the book could have cut all of that out, but then the book would have been less than half its current length. it got to the point where i didn't even read the last question of the "talk amongst yourself" sections, because i knew they would be "funny ha-has" (with the exception of one chapter that lacked the funny question). and second, i found his overuse of capitalization distracting. how can readers know where to focus their attention when so much of the content is capitalized?

theologically, i found some of the content questionable (e.g., as Christians, we should be okay with people spending eternity in hell? what about Jesus weeping over jerusalem? we have all the time in the world to establish relationships with people? what about Jesus' many parables that demonstrate the need to be constantly alert and prepared for His return?) and the author's scant use of Scripture to support his ideas should have been a tip-off to me, because i usually avoid Christian books that don't evidence ample use of Bible quotations.

if you really want to know the best way to interact with nonbelievers, just read the Gospels and follow Jesus' lead.

eta: after further consideration, i've changed my rating to 1 star. can't condone such a book in any way. i think i must have been in a more forgiving mood when i initially finished it.

[Brent · Rating 1 out of 5]

While at a Christian bookstore that was closing out and clearance priced on everything in the store, I grabbed this book for what was probably only a couple bucks, if I remember correctly. With that being said, this book probably should have paid me to read it, rather than me paying for the book. I childish piece of sophomoric nonsense, this book contributes nothing to the realm of Christian thought, personal holiness, or biblical encouragement.

Shore's main premise is that we as Christians have missed the mark when it comes to evangelizing the unconverted. The problem with the book, besides making gross theological errors, is that it assumes some sort of libertarian free-will choice by human beings unto their own salvation. No wonder Shore is trying to make Jesus so "attractive" to non-Christians. Shore does make one contribution, however - he contributes just one more book to the collection of books that should have never been written!

Brent M. McCulley (10/17/13)

[Aneel Trivedi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love John Shore's blog, so I thought I'd give one of his books a shot. He's funny, and his critiques of Christianity in America today are spot on.

I'd like to give a copy to... well, lots of Christians.

[Chris Hyde · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book that every Christian should read. Whether you like his writing style or not, the content of this book is incredible!

[Megan Mosley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I rarely quit reading books but I quit with this one. The message is good. That is its one redeeming star. The writing style really detracted from it for me. It was trying so hard to be funny. Also I didn’t really come across any revolutionary insights. I’ll sum it up. If you’re a Christian, you are commanded to love each other. You are also commissioned to spread the Gospel. In western culture today, everyone has heard about the gospel, so our job is just to love them because obnoxiously throwing the Bible in their face isn’t helping anyone. I don’t feel like I had that problem, but maybe if you do this book could be helpful? I still think, for me at least, the attempt at humor made it difficult to read. Just not my style.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

You could pick at the theology of this book, and many have, but then you'd miss the very good points the author makes. Worth reading just for the collection of comments Shore collected from "real people" who have had bad experiences with Christians who only care about pushing a message, not expressing real love. I think this is a very good and valuable book.

[Robin Friesen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. An important message delivered in a humours way. I loved the insights from the normies.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, so here it goes.

I came into this book as an outsider, a "normie" as Shore refers to us nonbelievers. I wasn't expecting the great peacemaking tome to stop attempted conversion of nonbelievers. I was expecting a mediocre attempt at convincing people to stop trying. But I'm not even sure Shore managed that.

The first major problem is his attempts at humor. They're literally every other sentence. And, while there were some good jokes now and then, the vast majority of the jokes were corny and trite. Kinda the jokes I expect a pastor to say in a service actually.

The other problem was the utter simplicity/ridiculousness of some of it. Shore portrays "normies" as these childish things who stand in awe of Christians and what they have. He acts as though we are terrified to let our selves be known lest we be condemned. I'm not actually sure that Shore believes this. I hope that there aren't Christians who actually believe this. If there are, it truly is an indictment of the stupidity that exists in this country.

Honestly, the only good part of the book, other than the general message, was the "Ouch!" sections where he has reproduced the responses he got to his Craigslist postings. An entire book of those quotes would have said more than what he wrote.

[Cheryl Gatling]

When Christians try to convert everyone they meet it is annoying, offensive, effectively drives a wedge between Christian and non-Christian, shuts down whatever relationship might have formed there, and it doesn't work anyway. Christians should just be loving toward everyone, be good examples, and shut up. Thank you, thank you, Mr. Shore for saying so. So why aren't more people shutting up? I loved the premise. I thought he mostly stated it in the first chapter, and this would have been more effective as an article than a book. Also, I agree with the other reviewer that the super-snarky writing style is annoying. But I loved the premise. And I, for one, am shutting up.

[Ben Kohns · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to write this review carefully. First, there is some GOLD in here that all who claim Christ should read. I had many “aha” moments and read sections aloud to my wife (always a good sign). That being said, it’s not very well written and reads like a stream-of-consciousness blog entry, including typos, awkwardly constructed sentences that often required re-reading to understand, and run on sentences to end all run ons. Unfortunately, that leaves me unable to recommend this to many people. I will pull excerpts out and share things that really struck me, but my grammar/writing snobbery really holds me up from being wholeheartedly positive with this review.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book delivers a great message that a lot of Christians could benefit from. But the guy made his point in the introduction and the other 100 pages or so was what sounded like forced-funny. I like the message, I agree with the message, I just think the delivery could've been better. I read the last 8 chapters in one night because I couldn't spend any more days with this author. HOWEVER, the redemptive elements of this book are the inclusion of uncensored non-Christian views about Christians. Shore also includes discussion questions at the end of each chapter. This part was very well done.

[Aaron Lord]

Catchy title, but comes up short. The writing is a bit juvenile, and it reads like a word-for-word transcription of a youth-group sermon.

[Jonathan Larssen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book would have been better as an article. That said the commentary from non-believers to believers was excellent and the author's personal testimony in chapter four was great.