Blue Like Jazz By Donald Miller If you knew my political and religious predisposition, you would say, “What was this book reviewer thinking in reading Blue Like Jazz?” Good question. I plan to answer it for you. I am a little shocked myself to realize how intrigued I was with the writings of a young Democrat. Nothing against Democrats, it is just that I do not normally find their thinking intriguing. I have to give it to author Donald Miller. In reading Blue Like Jazz, Miller caused much unsettling and self-examination within me. Miller asks, “Do I have to be a Republican if I choose to follow God?” He pokes holes in a good amount of Evangelical/Pentecostal tradition and practice. He hits way too many nerves as he seeks to offend the sensibilities we have defined. A friend of mine, in observing Donald Miller as a guest of his church, noted that pushing buttons and begging for a reaction is a trademark of Miller’s. In Blue Like Jazz he is the master at just that. The problem for me is that on more than a few occasions he is right. My bias has the left-of-center folks seldom right. Chapter titles like “Faith: Penguin Sex”, “Church: How I Go Without Getting Angry,” and “Jesus: The Lines On His Face” make you wonder. What is this guy, Donald Miller, thinking? He is thinking about ways to point people to a real and vital relationship with Jesus. Miller records a friend’s conversation with a guy named Bill Bright and how, when Bright was asked what Jesus meant to him, Bright just began to weep. Miller desired to know Jesus the way this Bright guy did. Miller challenges me to know Jesus the way this Bright guy did. Don’t get me wrong. Blue Like Jazz has its share of smoke and mirrors. Miller loves shock value. At the same time, for some who have viewed the answers to life’s problem as residing in the platform planks of one political party or in the dogma of one denomination over another, there is refreshment in this book. With sarcasm and in expressing sometimes real and sometimes contrived transparency, Donald Miller does the job of unsettling the usually settled reader. I recommend you pick up the book and enjoy getting unsettled and allowing yourself to take a look at your assumptions of life, faith, and the world around you. You’ll enjoy the journey!