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How to Be Perfect: One Church's Audacious Experiment In Living the Old Testament Book of Leviticus
Influenced by A. J. Jacobs's The Year of Living Biblically, Harrell managed to recruit 20 members of his Boston congregation to join him in a month-long effort at living Levitically. Holiness was the ultimate goal, but so was learning.
People who take the Bible seriously never know what to do with the book of Leviticus. And yet Leviticus is historically considered by Jews, and thus by Jesus, as the pivotal book of the Hebrew Bible. It's impossible to fully comprehend such key New Testament terms as sacrifice , atonement, or blood without some understanding of Leviticus. The "second greatest commandment," which Jesus said was "Love your neighbor as yourself," comes from Leviticus (19:18).
As a longtime minister and preacher who had successfully skirted Leviticus for most of his life, author Daniel Harrell wanted to come to grips with all that Leviticus teaches--not just loving neighbors, but the parts about animal sacrifice, Sabbath-keeping, skin diseases, homosexuality, and stoning sinners, too. Yet rather than approaching Leviticus with a view toward mitigating its commands, he decided to simply obey them.
The surprising lessons they learned impressed on Harrell both the power of obedience and the necessity of grace. This book traces the adventures of a group of people eager to understand the Bible by living it.
People who take the Bible seriously never know what to do with the book of Leviticus. And yet Leviticus is historically considered by Jews, and thus by Jesus, as the pivotal book of the Hebrew Bible. It's impossible to fully comprehend such key New Testament terms as sacrifice , atonement, or blood without some understanding of Leviticus. The "second greatest commandment," which Jesus said was "Love your neighbor as yourself," comes from Leviticus (19:18).
As a longtime minister and preacher who had successfully skirted Leviticus for most of his life, author Daniel Harrell wanted to come to grips with all that Leviticus teaches--not just loving neighbors, but the parts about animal sacrifice, Sabbath-keeping, skin diseases, homosexuality, and stoning sinners, too. Yet rather than approaching Leviticus with a view toward mitigating its commands, he decided to simply obey them.
The surprising lessons they learned impressed on Harrell both the power of obedience and the necessity of grace. This book traces the adventures of a group of people eager to understand the Bible by living it.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 5, 2011
2 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
Daniel M. Harrell
4 books3 followersDaniel M. Harrell is senior minister of Colonial Church in Edina, Minnesota. For 23 years he served as a minister at Park Street Church in downtown Boston. He is the author of Nature's Witness: How Evolution Can Inspire Faith as well as numerous articles that have appeared in Leadership Journal, Christianity Today, The Christian Century, and Regeneration Quarterly. He holds a PhD in developmental psychology from Boston College and has lectured at Fuller Seminary, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Gordon College, and Boston University. He lives somewhat obediently by grace in Minneapolis with his wife and daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 18, 2011
I was fortunate enough to receive this book as a Goodreads winner. The book outlines how the author, Daniel Harrell, and 19 members of his church decided to try to live according to the Book of Leviticus for a month.
Harrell is an engaging writer who writes with humour and honesty about the difficulties encountered with trying to live by a set of rules from the Old Testament. This experiment and the challenges encountered by these 20 people made for an interesting read. I found it interesting that they opened their experiment up to commentary/cricism on Facebook. It was compelling to read about their attempts to live according to the rules in Leviticus, while making them meaningful in their modern lives.
The insights that Harrell and his fellow Levites share were interesting. I was most fascinated by what they would learn by going through this unusual month and was pleasantly surprised that most discovered a deeper connection to God and realized that He does care about what we eat, wear, think and do in even the most mundane and miniscule tasks of daily existence.
I don't think that I would have the fortitude to endure this month long experiment, but was pleased to have been given the opportunity to read about this experiment. This is a book that I will gladly share with Christian friends, or anyone else who may have questions about some of the "thou shalts" in the Bible. A very approachable writing style, with a lot of deep thinking behind it!
Harrell is an engaging writer who writes with humour and honesty about the difficulties encountered with trying to live by a set of rules from the Old Testament. This experiment and the challenges encountered by these 20 people made for an interesting read. I found it interesting that they opened their experiment up to commentary/cricism on Facebook. It was compelling to read about their attempts to live according to the rules in Leviticus, while making them meaningful in their modern lives.
The insights that Harrell and his fellow Levites share were interesting. I was most fascinated by what they would learn by going through this unusual month and was pleasantly surprised that most discovered a deeper connection to God and realized that He does care about what we eat, wear, think and do in even the most mundane and miniscule tasks of daily existence.
I don't think that I would have the fortitude to endure this month long experiment, but was pleased to have been given the opportunity to read about this experiment. This is a book that I will gladly share with Christian friends, or anyone else who may have questions about some of the "thou shalts" in the Bible. A very approachable writing style, with a lot of deep thinking behind it!
May 28, 2011
It is entirely possible to be a church-going Christian for 40 years and never hear a sermon preached solely from the Book of Leviticus.
Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew scriptures (i.e. the "Old Testament") that contains the laws, large and in minutiae, that God gave to the Israelites. Most people might be familiar with its odd edicts against, for instance, eating lobster or shaving your sideburns, and laws ordering menstruating women to sit in a tent apart from the rest of the community for the duration of Aunt Flo's visit.
When viewed through the lens of modernity, Leviticus seems to be an arcane, strange and wholly irrelevant book.
Take, for example, what it has to say about zits.
"Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, `Unclean! Unclean!"' Leviticus 13:45 proclaims. "As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp."
As an acne-battling teenager, had my pastor highlighted that particular verse from the pulpit, I would have lost faith in the God of love.
Why would God care about the condition of our skin? Or what kind of meat we eat? Or whether we wear a cotton-polyester blend T-shirt? Or ask us to sacrifice pigeons to atone for our sins? Or need to remind us not to have sex with our stepmothers, nephews or pets?
It's no wonder, then, that many pastors, preoccupied with attracting -- not repelling -- people choose to ignore Leviticus altogether.
Daniel Harrell is not your average pastor. Call him an ecclesial Captain Courageous or a foolhardy glutton for punishment, but a few years ago, while he was a minister at Boston's congregational Park Street Church, Harrell launched a preaching series on Leviticus. More than a few folks thought he was crazy.
"Leviticus is that graveyard where read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year plans go to die," Harrell says. "They looked at me as if I were attempting sermon suicide -- or worse, homiletical homicide (Leviticus would kill our congregation.) Who'd get up on a Sunday
to hear a homily on mildew?"
(Leviticus not only mentions that God is concerned about mildew, but actual types of mildew: "He is to examine the mold on the walls and if it has greenish or reddish depressions that appear to be deeper than the surface of the wall, the priest shall go out the doorway of the house and close it up for seven days.")
Throwing caution (and mold) to the wind, Harrell did more than just preach about Leviticus. He convinced 19 of his congregants to join him for a month-long experiment in "living Levitically" -- trying to obey all of the laws (in spirit if not in substance as most municipalities, including Boston, frown on animal sacrifice, even for religious purposes) put forth in Leviticus.
Harrell has chronicled the adventures of his would-be Levites in the hilarious and thought-provoking new book How to Be Perfect: One Church's Audacious Experiment in Living the Old Testament Book of Leviticus.
While the book is peppered with laugh-out-loud anecdotes, Harrell's aim was quite serious. Many Christians simply dismiss Leviticus and its odd edicts as the "old law" -- one that Jesus fulfilled, replaced with grace and is no longer applicable to believers.
But if Christians really believe that God gave all of the Bible to humankind to show us how to live, then what does Leviticus mean to faithful living?
Inspired by A.J. Jacobs' book, The Year of Living Biblically, in which the author, a journalist and agnostic Jew, attempted to adhere to the biblical laws for 12 months, Harrell decided the best way to answer lingering questions about the laws of Leviticus was to attempt to follow them in real life.
Following Leviticus' laws -- keeping kosher, not cutting their beards, keeping their bodies and their homes as meticulously clean as possible, and strict adherence to Sabbath-keeping -- was as difficult as Harrell and his flock had anticipated, but even more rewarding than they could have hoped. The stories of their Levitical adventure are also far more entertaining and enlightening than most readers will expect.
Rather than affirm the idea that you can either embrace grace or the law, Harrell found that a faithful life involves both. No one can be perfect by following Leviticus' laws. They're impossible. And realizing that leads, necessarily, to the understanding that no one can be perfect apart from God's grace.
Still, Leviticus illustrates that there is nothing too small for God to care about (even mildew and zits), and nothing too big. Grace might cover all, but knowing and trying to follow God's law -- the greatest of which Jesus said was to love our neighbors as ourselves and to love God with all our hearts, minds and spirits -- can be transformational as well.
"The thing that struck us in doing the Levitical month was the simple power of obedience," Harrell said in a recent interview. "The discipline that comes with trusting God, or a tradition of faith or a community, and how that discipline can truly shape your life toward good things (be they grace, commitment, devotion, etc).
"Because we're so used to the disconnect between our beliefs and our behavior, integrity has become something of a quaint notion consigned to the past. But I'd like to think that it still matters and that somehow it's still worth pursuing," he said. "Otherwise, why bother believing?"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cathlee...
Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew scriptures (i.e. the "Old Testament") that contains the laws, large and in minutiae, that God gave to the Israelites. Most people might be familiar with its odd edicts against, for instance, eating lobster or shaving your sideburns, and laws ordering menstruating women to sit in a tent apart from the rest of the community for the duration of Aunt Flo's visit.
When viewed through the lens of modernity, Leviticus seems to be an arcane, strange and wholly irrelevant book.
Take, for example, what it has to say about zits.
"Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, `Unclean! Unclean!"' Leviticus 13:45 proclaims. "As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp."
As an acne-battling teenager, had my pastor highlighted that particular verse from the pulpit, I would have lost faith in the God of love.
Why would God care about the condition of our skin? Or what kind of meat we eat? Or whether we wear a cotton-polyester blend T-shirt? Or ask us to sacrifice pigeons to atone for our sins? Or need to remind us not to have sex with our stepmothers, nephews or pets?
It's no wonder, then, that many pastors, preoccupied with attracting -- not repelling -- people choose to ignore Leviticus altogether.
Daniel Harrell is not your average pastor. Call him an ecclesial Captain Courageous or a foolhardy glutton for punishment, but a few years ago, while he was a minister at Boston's congregational Park Street Church, Harrell launched a preaching series on Leviticus. More than a few folks thought he was crazy.
"Leviticus is that graveyard where read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year plans go to die," Harrell says. "They looked at me as if I were attempting sermon suicide -- or worse, homiletical homicide (Leviticus would kill our congregation.) Who'd get up on a Sunday
to hear a homily on mildew?"
(Leviticus not only mentions that God is concerned about mildew, but actual types of mildew: "He is to examine the mold on the walls and if it has greenish or reddish depressions that appear to be deeper than the surface of the wall, the priest shall go out the doorway of the house and close it up for seven days.")
Throwing caution (and mold) to the wind, Harrell did more than just preach about Leviticus. He convinced 19 of his congregants to join him for a month-long experiment in "living Levitically" -- trying to obey all of the laws (in spirit if not in substance as most municipalities, including Boston, frown on animal sacrifice, even for religious purposes) put forth in Leviticus.
Harrell has chronicled the adventures of his would-be Levites in the hilarious and thought-provoking new book How to Be Perfect: One Church's Audacious Experiment in Living the Old Testament Book of Leviticus.
While the book is peppered with laugh-out-loud anecdotes, Harrell's aim was quite serious. Many Christians simply dismiss Leviticus and its odd edicts as the "old law" -- one that Jesus fulfilled, replaced with grace and is no longer applicable to believers.
But if Christians really believe that God gave all of the Bible to humankind to show us how to live, then what does Leviticus mean to faithful living?
Inspired by A.J. Jacobs' book, The Year of Living Biblically, in which the author, a journalist and agnostic Jew, attempted to adhere to the biblical laws for 12 months, Harrell decided the best way to answer lingering questions about the laws of Leviticus was to attempt to follow them in real life.
Following Leviticus' laws -- keeping kosher, not cutting their beards, keeping their bodies and their homes as meticulously clean as possible, and strict adherence to Sabbath-keeping -- was as difficult as Harrell and his flock had anticipated, but even more rewarding than they could have hoped. The stories of their Levitical adventure are also far more entertaining and enlightening than most readers will expect.
Rather than affirm the idea that you can either embrace grace or the law, Harrell found that a faithful life involves both. No one can be perfect by following Leviticus' laws. They're impossible. And realizing that leads, necessarily, to the understanding that no one can be perfect apart from God's grace.
Still, Leviticus illustrates that there is nothing too small for God to care about (even mildew and zits), and nothing too big. Grace might cover all, but knowing and trying to follow God's law -- the greatest of which Jesus said was to love our neighbors as ourselves and to love God with all our hearts, minds and spirits -- can be transformational as well.
"The thing that struck us in doing the Levitical month was the simple power of obedience," Harrell said in a recent interview. "The discipline that comes with trusting God, or a tradition of faith or a community, and how that discipline can truly shape your life toward good things (be they grace, commitment, devotion, etc).
"Because we're so used to the disconnect between our beliefs and our behavior, integrity has become something of a quaint notion consigned to the past. But I'd like to think that it still matters and that somehow it's still worth pursuing," he said. "Otherwise, why bother believing?"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cathlee...
December 21, 2021
A book about a church group's experiment to understand Leviticus by living it out as best they can. I liked it, it has some interesting thoughts, although it has no clear answers to the more thornier issues with the book, which is I think intentional.
March 20, 2011
In How to be Perfect by Daniel Harrell, I opened myself to read a book about Leviticus. Ever since I glimpsed the book of Leviticus in the Holy Bible I have felt afraid to go near that book in God's Holy Word. To me Leviticus seemed more than difficult to read and drier than hay on a farm floor. In church I would cringe if we had to turn to that book in the Bible. Thank goodness Daniel Harrell owns a good sense of humor. It made his book so easy to read. Secondly, he had nineteen church members along with him who were willing to talk about their anxieties and questions about Leviticus. They were willing to become risk takers in a new Biblical experiment.
He and the brave nineteen people chose to seriously put their hearts and bodies to the effort of putting Leviticus in to practice for a whole month. I thought one lady had a very good idea. She immediately bought a child's version of the Bible. That way Leviticus would become much easier to read. Each person in a unique way did their very best to keep the laws given in this book with all of their might. They in no way took their duties lightly. In my book Daniel M. Harrell and his flock seem like the best Leviticus keepers since the Israelites. I truly think that God must have smiled at their desire to love Him fully by striving to become more Holy. Why did they choose to have a Levitical month?
"Our celebration was about discovering that obedience could indeed be a joy--a discovery we hoped would not end with the experiment itself."
As for me I discovered a God who takes mercy seriously and ONE who takes obedience just as seriously. There is so much in this book of the Bible that I have not begun to put in my life. In the movie Love Story, there is a famous quote. "Love means not having to say your sorry." I now know this is true. Love means more than having to say your sorry, it means apologizing while at the same time making amends for what you have done wrongfully to the person. I had no idea. I excitedly read to my husband the anecdote about Mr. Harrell and all his ministers happening to be busy on the very day of a particular funeral. How they chose who would preach the funeral and what mishap took place during this time is one of the many wonderful, inspiring and delightful personal experiences in the book.
I would like to end this book review by fondly remembering the lady who tried to build a tabernacle in her home, by remembering the man in Ireland who tried to catch a bull and by most of all remembering the Lord Eternal who acts only in Love for each of us.daniel Harrell
He and the brave nineteen people chose to seriously put their hearts and bodies to the effort of putting Leviticus in to practice for a whole month. I thought one lady had a very good idea. She immediately bought a child's version of the Bible. That way Leviticus would become much easier to read. Each person in a unique way did their very best to keep the laws given in this book with all of their might. They in no way took their duties lightly. In my book Daniel M. Harrell and his flock seem like the best Leviticus keepers since the Israelites. I truly think that God must have smiled at their desire to love Him fully by striving to become more Holy. Why did they choose to have a Levitical month?
"Our celebration was about discovering that obedience could indeed be a joy--a discovery we hoped would not end with the experiment itself."
As for me I discovered a God who takes mercy seriously and ONE who takes obedience just as seriously. There is so much in this book of the Bible that I have not begun to put in my life. In the movie Love Story, there is a famous quote. "Love means not having to say your sorry." I now know this is true. Love means more than having to say your sorry, it means apologizing while at the same time making amends for what you have done wrongfully to the person. I had no idea. I excitedly read to my husband the anecdote about Mr. Harrell and all his ministers happening to be busy on the very day of a particular funeral. How they chose who would preach the funeral and what mishap took place during this time is one of the many wonderful, inspiring and delightful personal experiences in the book.
I would like to end this book review by fondly remembering the lady who tried to build a tabernacle in her home, by remembering the man in Ireland who tried to catch a bull and by most of all remembering the Lord Eternal who acts only in Love for each of us.daniel Harrell
May 21, 2015
I like this book; because it directly addressed the question; "What do we do with Leviticus?". Daniel Harrell answers this question with this quote: "Sarcasm aside, these sorts of question did get to the core of the Levitical dilemma. How do you apply the law to real life? We believers can be expert compartmentalist - adeptly managing to cordon off our "real lives" from our "Spiritual Lives". The sense of faith is either irrelevant to most of what we do or makes us feel awkward outside of Sundays. But if Leviticus does anything, it breaks down this compartmentalization by infusing faith into everything-our food, our clothes, our bodies, our relationships, our work and our play. Leviticus illustrates what it looks like to love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, and Strength. (Debut 6:5), Which Jesus labeled the greatest commandment. (Mark 12:30).
The last line in the book makes clear the authors message; "By His grace we are saved. By His grace we obey. It's the only way to be perfect.
The last line in the book makes clear the authors message; "By His grace we are saved. By His grace we obey. It's the only way to be perfect.
May 6, 2011
I won this book through the Goodreads Giveaway Contest. Although I am not intimately familiar with the bible, specifically Leviticus, I was drawn to the the idea of living it literally. This book is written and narrated by Daniel Harrell a Senior Minister, who challenged his congregation to take up this challenge.
I could totally sympathize with the challenges encountered and was surprised by the immense guilt felt when those who took up the challenge sometimes found themselves unable to follow through to the letter.
The laws of Leviticus are extremely strict, especially those concerning women and cleanliness. There were times I was almost offended, yet wondered how I would have fared during this month. Because I am not a strict Christian, I applaud those who were able to complete this challenge.
I could totally sympathize with the challenges encountered and was surprised by the immense guilt felt when those who took up the challenge sometimes found themselves unable to follow through to the letter.
The laws of Leviticus are extremely strict, especially those concerning women and cleanliness. There were times I was almost offended, yet wondered how I would have fared during this month. Because I am not a strict Christian, I applaud those who were able to complete this challenge.
April 10, 2011
I can definitely appreciate the quest taken by this parish in attempting to live in a higher awareness. But the method taken and following Leviticus to such a high level is rather strange choice for me.
As for the book, i'm not a fan of the voice of the author, its kink of cheesy, but not just cheesy, old man cheesy. It really kept me from appreciating the full challenge undertaken.
Its like saying lets be structured and disciplined, but when we talk about it we will be laid back and humorous. It just doesnt go over well with me. If your going on an exploration of holiness dont exploit the experience with the captivation of booking the experience.
As for the book, i'm not a fan of the voice of the author, its kink of cheesy, but not just cheesy, old man cheesy. It really kept me from appreciating the full challenge undertaken.
Its like saying lets be structured and disciplined, but when we talk about it we will be laid back and humorous. It just doesnt go over well with me. If your going on an exploration of holiness dont exploit the experience with the captivation of booking the experience.
August 24, 2012
This book was okay. I like the premise and the experimental mindset of the author and his co-"Levites." There are some interesting anecdotes and a few insightful nuggets to be found throughout the book. That said, it is not a great book. The writing is a bit dull, and it sometimes seems that the writer is trying a bit too hard to be clever with puns and quirky asides.
I am glad that I read this book, because I think it's important for us to explore the more difficult passages of Scripture, and what's more difficult than Leviticus? I think there is enough here to give this book a shot.
I am glad that I read this book, because I think it's important for us to explore the more difficult passages of Scripture, and what's more difficult than Leviticus? I think there is enough here to give this book a shot.
September 30, 2014
I was expecting to enjoy this book more than I did. The author writes in a way which would make an interesting sermon but lots of the book didn't generate much of an interest in me to keep going. I got bored with it pretty quickly and forced myself to finish. I do have quite a bit of familiarity with Leviticus already so maybe that contributed to my disinterest. He does make excellent points on why strict adherence to the law is not necessary for Christians and how it's been replaced with something so much better and more possible.
February 23, 2011
This is a very thought provoking book. How many of us would even try to obey God's commands in Leviticus for a month? As the author says, some of the instructions seem pointless other than God said so. Two lessons which really come through--the need for grace (as none of us can achieve holiness through our own efforts) and the importance of community in obedience. Most of us don't really want be a "peculiar" people and need the support of other Christians to really want to obey.
July 23, 2011
I was drawn by the title. How To Be Perfect. I should have taken a closer look before I brought it home. It's about this evangelical church that decideds to try to live the biblical book of Leviticus. Leviticus is the book that preaches against homosexuality and has a list of dos and don'ts specific to the Jewish community of biblical times. I believe that Leviticus doesn't apply to me as a Gentile or as somebody living in the 21st century. How To Be Perfect was an epic fail.
February 3, 2011
How to Be Perfect definitely has some interesting views on us as humans and the lives we lead. While I don't agree with every single word he says, I did find answers to some of my questions. I did enjoy this book and all of the information it contains. If you're a christian looking for some answers, this book might be the answer you're looking for.
March 13, 2012
Huge disappointment! I read this after reading The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs, and all I can say is that I want my money back. The book was ripe with potential but consistently failed to measure up to expectation. Harrell actually manages to write a book more boring and strange than Leviticus itself! I'm very sad this book wasn't better.
June 22, 2011
This title is driving me crazy, I need to get past it to be able to enjoy the book.
I admit, the title prompted me to pick up the book at the library, but that is not what I ought to do or trying to be... more later
Perhaps this is a justification of why I am reading the book right now
I admit, the title prompted me to pick up the book at the library, but that is not what I ought to do or trying to be... more later
Perhaps this is a justification of why I am reading the book right now
August 19, 2011
I probably shouldn't have even tried to read this book. I gave up after about 60 pages. I just don't care about the group or their "audacious experiment in living the old testament Book of Leviticus."
February 6, 2015
I appreciated the fact that the author did not suggest that he knew the answers to all of the issues raised by a modern adult reading Leviticus. He exposed the necessary issues, as well as both sides.
May 7, 2011
Meh..... I think they pretty much miss a lot of the point....
June 6, 2016
I very much enjoyed reading this book. It is both thought-provoking and easy to read.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews