Girlfriend goes after Joel Osteen. I like her! Hatmaker is a gifted, shall I say by God?, writer. I especially enjoyed her list of Heavy Influences at the end of each Phase (or collection of chapters). A little Scripture-y at times, but hey, what should I have expected. She is a leader of a church."There is a marked difference between criticizing consumerism and actually resisting consumerism." So the irony is that I read Interrupted while my husband read O'Reilly's Killing Reagan in an another

I'll bump this up to 5 stars if it proves to be transformational. (Well, that's in regard to the long-term effects on my life - not the book itself. If the book itself starts transforming into something else, I think we're in for it...)Liz suggested this to me. Maybe I should be worried about reading a Jen Hatmaker book. I mean, next thing you know I'll have a Pinterest account, and be one of the thousands to "like" her facebook post within the first 45 seconds of her posting it. It probably als...

I like Jen Hatmaker. She is a thinker, a ponderer, a dig into the Bible gal.She puts action to what she is learning, and I love that about her!This woman makes me think. She is the type of person who I would want to be my friend. She would push me outside of my comfort zone and closer to Christ as the goal.I wrote a huge review of my thoughts yesterday on this book, only to be completely distressed this morning when I saw that they didn't post and I don't have a back up copy.After reflecting if

"When Jesus' followers asked what to do about the weeds in the harvest field, He said to treat them the same as the wheat, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them' (Matthew 13:29). There was one Judas, but eleven disciples who were forever transformed by Jesus' broken body. The risk of encountering a few weeds is not sufficient reason to avoid the whole field of human suffering, because I assure you, identifying with the wheat but not the weeds is a gross ove...

This book is Jen Hatmaker's journey from 'normal' Christianity to Christianity that emulates Christ and serves the poor (marginalized). She describes the journey in 5 phases:Phase 1: Breaking Down- Value: Growing in understanding of God's Word- Key Scripture: John 21:15-23Phase 2: The Horror of Actually Changing- Value: The greatest command is to love God and love others.- Key Scripture: Luke 22:14-27Phase 3: Getting Out There- Value: Serving others selflessly and sacrificially- Key Scripture: M...

I'm waffling between giving this book three stars and four stars. The good: I loved reading the story of how she "woke up" from same kind of Evangelicalism in which I was raised and from which I, too, have woken up. There were a few chapters that were so dead on for where I am in my own spiritual journey that I wanted to cheer. I love her vision of what the church could/should be, and her enthusiasm for that vision. I enjoyed the interaction between what was going on in her life, and the occasio...

A wonderful read that not only shows behind the curtain to the birth of Austin New Church (Brandon Hatmaker | Barefoot Church) from Jen's perspective, Interrupted is a spirit stirring read that hooks you at the start and doesn't let go. One moment you're laughing uncontrollably, the next you're weeping with challenge and conviction. Interrupted is a highly recommended read, but be warned, you won't be the same by the end of the book. Jen will challenge not only your thinking, but your entire way...

Christian Living. I read one other book by this author and loved it. So I picked up another one. I like her use of scripture in presenting her message. This one annoyed me a little, but I can still give it 4 stars because of the overall message. She made many generalizations here and she assumed her reader had the exact same thought as she had. Some readers might, but I'm not one of those. This one felt more geared to those seeking religion and doing charitable acts of kindness....maybe less so

I really enjoyed her conversational tone and sarcasm/wit, though I imagine it would be distracting for some. I'm pretty sure Jen Hatmaker and I would be good friends. :) The whole book was challenging and refreshing. I was blessed with a mentor (my pastor) who lived his faith out like the Hatmaker's are attempting, and his love (and others') is what drew me into faith. Jen gives plenty of practical examples of how they have handled their calling, while making sure to emphasize seeking where God

This prequel to 7 (which I loved) had some interesting insights, but it doesn't have the zing of her latest. I think Interrupted was a victim of my high expectations.

Jen’s writing is mostly light and entertaining and engaging. I would not recommend listening to this book because I think the way the narrator reads it takes away from the fun flippancy of her style. I suspect I would have enjoyed it more in actual book form. I’m looking forward to reading “7” because I think I was hoping for something in this book that wasn’t there. This book is really about the theological process of Brandon and Jen letting go of their understanding of church. Reading this mad...

Having loved 7 so much I bought and placed it into the hands of dear friends and family, I can not express how disappointed I was by Interrupted. Jen is one of my favorite authors. She makes me laugh and cry, convicts and comforts. But there are serious flaws in this book. The premise is excellent, and the story of their church development interesting, but her tone throughout this work came across far more sermonic and condescending than 7. Not to mention her interpretation of some key scripture...

I finished this one a week ago and still am having trouble formulating my thoughts. It's one that makes a person think, for sure! It doesn't help that I read it right after reading The Prodigal God and in conjunction with watching A Path Appears (about sex trafficking). I'm filled with this urge to DO something, but I don't know what TO do!I don't agree 100% with Jen's thoughts, but there is still a lot worth pondering--and really, even pondering whether I agree with each idea and WHY (or why no...

The modern church goer certainly needs to read this! We have diluted ourselves with our grandparents' religious practices. While there are Christian principles & devotion to God's Word we must continue, I find a true meshing of "true religion", from James 2, and Christ's true gospel message seriously lacking in "church". I found some of Mrs. Hatmaker's statements almost like an 'Eureka!' moment, because she verbalized certain truths that I've never quite found words for. For instance, why do we

Not that impressed. The last chapter was the best (although it got a little repetitive) - I absolutely agree that Christians must learn to reach their particular culture and become all things to all people. I also agree that American Christians (including myself) are way too consumeristic and really not that different from anyone else. We all need to cut back and truly start serving others. But not to the exclusion of the gospel. I don't think the author was necessarily advocating this, she ju

A feeling of irritation over potential inconveniences to my American Christian middle-class life was present as I read this book. On one hand I was excited to be stretched and on the other I was mad that I needed to change...now that I had been faced with some inconvenient truths."Transformation began with humility, even humiliation. It started with conviction and discipline. It increased through loss, not gain. It grew through global exposure and uncomfortable questions. It was born out of reje...

I didn't know what to expect when I began reading Interrupted. I was hoping it would be a call to Christians to care for the poor and that the call would be grounded in the gospel and the Word of God. Unfortunately, the gospel is almost entirely absent from this volume, and the authority and necessity of Scripture is downplayed throughout. While the book is very readable and insightful at times, it suffers from being extremely imbalanced in its presentation of the church’s mission, placing nearl...

This was a great book! Although the content was heavy and intense, her casual writing style and humor had me laughing at different moments and made for an easy read. I love their church model, their passion for serving from a gospel mentality, and how missional they are including their small group model. This is the first book I have read by her, but I think her authenticity is so refreshing. Her husband writes some chapters in between from his perspective, and I loved seeing how God worked out

By far one of the best books I've read! "This is my high calling: to live on mission as an adopted daughter of Jesus. If people around me aren’t moved by my Christ or my church, then I must be doing a miserable job of representing them both."

This is such an interesting book. It feels very much like the awakening that all Christians must go through if they truly are to grasp what following Christ is all about. This book didn’t feel preachy, it felt real, honest and like a good, hard look at what happens when we turn our hearts over to Jesus Christ.