There are many ways to love your neighbor into change and spiritual growth, and Joel Kilpatrick does it best with satire. I thought Californians were supposed to be mellow and laid back but Joel has the proverbial elbow in your ribs the whole way through this book, A Field Guide to Evangelicals and Their Habitat
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I was exposed to Joel's work via his LarkNews web site, a work of satirical artistry, par excellance. I wanted more of his work, but being poor and cheap I looked for and found this book in my local library (yay for libraries). It was shelved right next to the work of a kindred spirit, Cousin Minnie Pearl.
There's an old saying about the preacher who has "stopped preachin' and gone to meddlin"; Joel Kilpatrick is that kind of preacher. He meddles with denominational division, doctrinal hobbies, Christian cultural product, traditional icons, and of course, money matters. He was a little hard on the missionaries, especially the short-termers. Ouch! I am too poor and too shy about asking for OPM (other peoples' money) to go on a short-term trip, so I am not "ouching" for myself but for some of my earnest mission-tripping neighbors. Not that I don't have some of the same thoughts Joel has—I just bite my tongue. 'Nuff said.
To tell you the truth, there are lots of possible ouches in this book, depending on your sensitivities, but surprisingly I didn't "ouch" for myself very much at all. I guess that's because I don't really live in the iconic middle of Evangelical Land—haven't for a few years now, if I ever did. I'm not even sure whether that morality-facilitated Place really does exist, or whether it's a straw man that everyone sets up, each in his or her own way. Joel seems to think it is pretty flimsy too. He didn't come right out and say it, but I think he meant it, that we who are disciples of Jesus Christ the Son of God would do well, infinitely better even, if we tried to build works of gold, silver and precious stone, rather than the ever-present christian-cultural stubble that Joel Kilpatrick sets the match to in this book.
Look up Joel. You never know—he could be your long-lost son, or brother, or father. I'm glad I found him.
