Following Jesus Through the Eye of the Needle: Living Fully, Loving Dangerously

by Kent Annan

In 2003 Kent Annan left behind his prosperous, comfortable upbringing to face the world beyond its gates, where people wear his cast-off clothing and seek comfort from the heat in the long shadow of his homeland. Haiti, apparently, was where God wanted him. Of course, just because God wants you somewhere doesn't mean it's going to be easy. Little did he know how important his work would be. Now, in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, Annan's experience living and working in Haiti has become a powerful resource for those looking to learn more about this amazing country and find out how they can help Haiti rebuild and thrive. In this book you'll enter into Annan's experience traveling and working in Haiti, and ultimately you'll be challenged to follow God into uncharted territory on a path that may lead to your local soup kitchen--or to a Haitian relief settlement. Either way, you'll learn what it means to become vulnerable in order to help others and share the embodied love of Christ. Read Following Jesus Through the Eye of the Needle for a vivid picture of the Haiti Annan knows, the good work happening there through organizations like Haiti Partners, and the ways you can get involved. Whether you go or stay, you'll get a fresh sense of what it means to love God and love our neighbor when love is uncomfortable, even dangerous; to see what happens when God stretches you beyond your borders into his kingdom.

Genres: Christian, Faith, Nonfiction, Poverty, Biography, Christianity

208 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 2009

About the author

Kent Annan is author of "You Welcomed Me," "Slow Kingdom Coming," "After Shock," and "Following Jesus through the Eye of the Needle." He is director of humanitarian and disaster leadership at Wheaton College, where he provides leadership to the M.A. program within the Humanitarian Disaster Institute. He is cofounder of Haiti Partners, a senior consultant for DAI, and a board member of the philanthropic foundation Equitas Group. He teaches adult education in his local church and speaks regularly to groups around the country. Kent is a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary (M.Div.). He and his wife have two children.

Reviews

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure how to rate this book, actually. It is more like a chat or chats (albeit one-sided) over coffee than an autobiographical book.

It does give insight into the North American tendency to tell people in other countries how to improve their lives without consulting with them first.

It also shows the short-comings of short-term missions (pun intended) and reveals more about the resilient country of Haiti.

[Kevin Leong · Rating 3 out of 5]

A journey, and authentic read. I enjoyed soaking in the powerful and descriptive language, as well as peer into the heart and mind of a missionary in Haiti. The author clearly has a high value for transparency, and details the many abounding thoughts, temptations, struggles, and judgments he's faced as an American being sent abroad.

Overall, I felt the book struggled to be distinctly Christian, and failed to redeem these struggles through the lens of faith and Scripture. Many chapters would span without much mention of faith, and there hardly was an attention to the spiritual condition of those that he served. With the subtraction of a few passages, this could be taken as a secular and philanthropic mission.

Throughout the book, I consistently had the thought of how excellent an adult non-fiction writer Kent would be!

I also loved the constant threads of Haitian words and details of life in and around Port-au-Prince. He clearly has a love for the people and culture, and displays an immense amount of sacrificial love to dwell with them in all seasons; high or low. In sum, I am glad I read this book and have no regrets - but I do believe there are better recommendations for the aspiring missionary, or the one seeking to grow their heart for missions.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read this year. Incredibly inspiring, compelling, and real.

[Mike Wenzel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a pretty interesting book.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an honest, terrifying and inspiring book, a spiritual journey through doubt and fear, joy and courage, a journey that hasn’t ended. It describes the adventures of Kent Annan and his wife in Haiti and how they grew in love and grace through their efforts to live according the Beatitudes (that’s my interpretation, I don’t think the author makes that statement). The title is from the Gospel of St. Mark, when Christ encounters a wealthy man who wants to know how to gain eternal life only to walk away when he is told to “sell everything you have and give it to the poor...Then come, follow me.” It is easier, it turns out, for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get to heaven.

Rich and poor are comparative states. While Warren Buffet may have a few million times more wealth than, for example, me, it is still a measurable if ridiculous number. But I am infinitely better off than the citizens of Haiti described by Kent Annan. As a matter of course I have access to clean water, comfortable shelter, a variety of nutritious food, decent medical care and much else that is part of being a white middle class citizen of the United States. It is just as ordinary for a Haitian to have none of those things: children spend their time fetching clean water; houses are tiny, unfinished and almost always overcrowded; a doctor is always a long walk and rickety cab ride away and he might not be there when you arrive. This was pre-earthquake Haiti.

Kent and Shelley Annan went to Haiti a couple of years after they were married. It was a natural move for Kent much less so for Shelley. While this is Kent’s story (or at least told in his voice) Shelley’s charity and dignity shine through many of its pages. She seems to be more than a companion, certainly not a “plus one”, but a person who made a commitment to the poorest people in the western hemisphere as well as to her husband and who carried it out. Shelley comes across as a delightful individual.

Those who have wanted to act beyond themselves, to help people they don’t know and to do so only because they need help; to do more than write a check but to actually go somewhere and do something might feel uncomfortable reading “Following Jesus through the Eye of the Needle” since Kent is someone who actually gave up his comfortable life. He did (and continues to do) what many of us think we should do or have thought we should do in the past. He is humble but never obsequious, expresses anger and frustration and sometimes feels inadequate but seems always to gain strength from his faith and his interactions with his adopted multi-generation family on a hillside above Port au Prince.

This is a superb book. Buy it. Read it. Try to live it.

[Dan King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read my full review here:
https://bibledude.life/book-review-fo...

What does it mean to follow Jesus? I mean, He was clear about what it meant to follow Him, right? Sure, He promised great reward, but He never said it would be easy. I’ve recently finished reading a great book that’s challenged me like few others. It’s called Following Jesus Through the Eye of the Needle: Living Fully, Loving Dangerously by Kent Annan (InterVarsity Press).

When Jesus talked about how difficult it is for the rich man to get into heaven, He pointed out that it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle. Umm… regardless of how you interpret that, it’s obvious that it isn’t a simple feat. In this book Kent talks about how easy it is here in the United States to look around and find someone who has more money than us. That means we can point our fingers at someone else and say, “he’s the rich man that Jesus was talking about.” But as soon as we look outside of the gates of our comfy little world we’ve created, one starts to realize that we are that rich man… no matter how much or little we have.

[Beth Peninger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kent Annan gives a personal account of his journey to living in Haiti and what he and his wife experienced as they attempted to follow Jesus through the eye of the needle. (Mark 10:17-27) It is a very personal and real account of the victories, the challenges, and the doubts about living in the midst of their neighbors. I loved his willingness to get real and put out there some of the challenges he faced. He provided some valuable insight into the government instability of the nation which in turn has led to the domestic instability. He introduces us to his friends and his adopted family in Haiti and shows us the value of life there through them. It was a great, insightful book and he shared some profound thoughts on following Jesus through the eye of the needle. Gave me some things to think through and reminds the reader all the way through about God's grace in the process of squeezing through the eye of the needle.

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

Annan and his wife moved to Haiti to serve with a Christian ministry, and this book recounts large parts of their lives there around 2004. Part confessional, the author is honest and self-effacing in interesting ways. I picked up the book to hear more about the people of Haiti, but most of the book focused on the problems the Annans faced in building a humble house there. The book is helpful in forcing one to think about more effective ways to serve in such dire situations. Trying to do this and care for a wife sounds especially difficult, and it perhaps highlights why the NT sends out men in pairs. At the same time, the ministry's approach seems a bit individualistic, i.e., not focused on close communal living with a group of mature servants, a move that would seem essential in these circumstances. Nonetheless, it was a provocative read.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I needed to read this book. I can't even explain it. It's an incredible challenge to live fully, etc. But the author's story has been healing! He uses his experiences during the approximate 2 years that he and his wife lived and worked in Haiti earlier this decade. It's kind of like walking and talking with a friend as they ask some pretty honest and sometimes brutal questions--some rhetorical and others not. I lived in one of the other poorest-countries-in-the-world, yet in a different living environment (neighborhood), for a much shorter time than they did. He asked (aloud) some questions that I battled with but never wanted to admit that I struggled with those things. It's really tough bridging cultures--especially with the differences the author lives between. I think I'll be reading this book a few more times. WOW!!

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author and his wife were missionaries in Haiti before the earthquake, and this book chronicles his life there as they try to assimilate into the culture that they are trying to aid. I like that he isn't taking his American lifestyle to Haiti and trying to help them as he sees fit, but rather is trying to learn their culture and see how he can help within that framework. It made me think about how fortunate we are, even the poorest among us, and how I do not step outside my comfort zone enough to help and serve. It is not a "preachy" book, but simply the observations of a man trying daily to do the right thing with all the temptations we all have to choose comfort and security over taking risks. I look forward to reading the sequel where he returns to Haiti after the earthquake to revisit his friends there.

[Carl Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Of all the things attributed to Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone—Francis of Assisi—one of my favorites is “Preach the Gospel every day. If necessary use words.” This memoir describes Annan’s journey, along with his wife, to live among and work with the people of Haiti outside the usual evangelical pattern of soul-saving. Admirable.

Ultimately, though it was published only seven years ago, and as real as his struggle was, and as willing as he was to be realistic and not gloss over the hard spots, this felt somewhat dated. Worth reading, though, if you’re looking for someone “walking the walk” without all the bluster, jargon and self-serving postulating that has come to be connected with Christianity.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a pleasure to read. The author chronicles his journey from "not sure/yes God" to going to Haiti. The writing is humorous as Kent Annan tells about his adventures adjusting to the culture so foreign to his own. It's also interesting to see how the relationship between the author and his wife is impacted in a rather tumultuous first few years of marriage. You can feel the struggle on all fronts through the writing. I came away wanting more and feeling privileged to share in this couple's life.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this account of his experiences in Haiti. Very honest about his fears and questions and doubts as he shares his stories. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't read a review on the back that lumped him with Don Miller, so I dove into the book expecting that he would be like him. I don't think its fair to compare them, they write differently and are talented and honest in their own ways.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring. Annan is codirector of Haiti Partners, a nonprofit focused on education in Haiti. He's worked in Haiti since 2003, living there some of the time and now traveling there regularly from Florida, where he lives with his wife and two children. We were hosted by John Engle, a codirector, in his home and from there visited several school projects and camps. I plan to reread this book after our visit and hope to invite Kent to speak in Eau Claire.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful story of living and working in Haiti. Kent has a compassionate heart, a keen intellect, and a profound use of words to describe his sincere effort to live a faithful life in a culture so different from his own.

But this book is not just about living and working in Haiti. It is also about the challenge of living as one committed to following the example of Jesus.

I highly recommend it.

[Adrianna Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kent Annan honestly and winsomely reveals the complexity of living faithfully as a nonprofit worker in Haiti. He wrestles with hard questions, observes stunning acts of generosity, and finds that the way of following Jesus is not easy but deeply rewarding. I was challenged, convicted and inspired by this book.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like how he didn't try to give pat answers or codify everything in his experience - yet he & his wife DID stuff! (and are presumably still doing it). I appreciate his struggles because I think they're things we should all struggle with - much as we'd like to be able to do our part, pat it on the head, and send it away... it's just not that simple. And that doesn't mean we should do nothing!

[Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good personal biography of his journey in Haiti - the author uses extremely descriptive imagery and paints a vivid and honest picture of life in ministry among the poor. Felt challenged to go and do the same.

Also, great title =).

[Ryan Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good insight on trying to become part of a different culture, especially a very poor one. Spoke to some of my experiences in Guatemala trying to fit in. Pretty quick read and Annan isn't a bad writer. I really appreciated his honesty and bluntness throughout the book.

[Bailey Olfert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Annan faces a lot of difficult truths and challenges involved with the disparity in the way we value life in developed versus developing areas. He doesn't shy away from asking the tough questions, even if he has no pat answers.

[Elizabeth Raum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written memoir of the author's time in Haiti. Challenges any Christian to consider what it means to follow the teachings of Jesus in today's world. This is not an easy book, but it's an important one.

[Angelina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kent showed me how realistic Christian life is...how human we are even though we are following the divine.

[Danny Delgiorno · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully written, challenging, spiritual memoir of the author's three years of service in Haiti.

[Coby Palivathukal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good message-the impossibility of being perfect in the eyes of God, but the necessity to try anyways.

[Max Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a school book it was pretty good. It kept me interested and showed some things about humanity some people try to hide.

[Paige Billman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spiritually challenging book. Very personal but universally applicable. Creatively written. Will be thinking about this book for awhile to come.

[Kimberly Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read - great insights into savings and house building.

[Jt]

wow, tough read...dealing with issues across our broken world.

[John Bechtold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kent gave a clear and authentic perspective of folllowing the call of God to a different culture where poverty is the norm. It was a book that was hard to put down. I really enjoyed the book.