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Sunday, December 20, 2015

Book Review: God For The Rest Of Us by Vince Antonucci

I just finished reading a great book called God For The Rest Of Us by Vince Antonucci.  Vince pastors a church called Verve in Las Vegas; a place where sin runs rampant and people are thought of as unchangeable.  Vince has set out to prove that people in Las Vegas CAN be reached for Christ and their lives CAN be turned around. 

I will be honest and say that I was not super excited about reviewing this book.  I'm not really sure why, although I think it was due to it sounding so basic.  Like just another book on evangelism.  I was wrong.  Don't tell my husband.  This book is really good.  And when I say really, I mean REALLY.  As in I didn't want to put it down.  Throughout this book, Vince tells stories of people he has come in contact with in Las Vegas who live sinful lives.  And how Christ changes them forever.  In Las Vegas there are many different types of people: pimps, addicts, prostitutes, shame-filled, homeless, and many others.  Vince has met them all and has seen God's transforming power in their lives.  In his book each chapter is dedicated to those different types of people.  He tells about his experience with them, and then he uses stories of how Jesus interacted with those same type of people.  Some Christians would says that God doesn't love pimps, prostitutes, or addicts, but Jesus does.  And Vince has seen Jesus's love at work first-hand.  Vince's sense of humor is also evident throughout the book.  He uses various footnotes to make funny comments and give deeper insight to his stories.  I'm a quirky person and love quirky books, so I really enjoyed his footnotes!

This book really changed my thinking.  I knew God loves everyone, but I think I did look at some certain groups of people as unloved by God or unreachable.  God For The Rest Of Us showed me that EVERYONE needs a savior and deep-down desires one whether they realize it or not.  And just because someone lives a certain life does not mean that we should just give up on them and not tell them the life-changing message of Jesus. 

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for this review.