CONTEST CLOSED: Winners have been contacted. Thanks!
If you’ve followed me for any amount of time on Twitter, you’re likely already familiar with Bob Goff because I pretty much retweet him daily. So there’s that, straight up front.
I “met” Bob Goff in Donald Miller’s most recent book, “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years” (my response here). And since then, the legend of Mr. Goff continues to grow – my parents went to Catalyst and came home, wanting to tell me all about this guy. But first, I’ll be honest: I was interested to read his eagerly anticipated book “Love Does“, but I was also wary, and a little prone to being turned off. The last thing I need at this point in my life is one more book about how we should DO BIG THINGS for God. Remember my Evangelical Hero Complex? Still trying to starve that thing off, and I was worried that this book would only feed The Complex, make me feel guilty for my life and choices because they aren’t “radical” enough. But it didn’t.
Bob Goff comes across as Every Man, he’s just a guy that keeps saying “Sure, why not?” And when I finished the book, I got the point. The point is not that he has these incredible fantastical stories, the point isn’t the crazy adventures, the point isn’t the sailboat race or the UN diplomats or the Ugandan Restore project or capers or whimsy. The point is that Love does – and therefore, we do, too. Love has legs, Love has arms, Love has a voice, Love has a heart, Love has imagination. Love does.
“Love Does” as a book or a collection of stories is engaging, sure. I mean, who doesn’t find Bob utterly fascinating? But I find I’m more fascinated by the fact that this guy is just living his life, like this, without fanfare or blog, without expectation or reimbursement, without a stage or a strategy, without a mission statement or a master plan. He calls it being “secretly incredible” and I know a hundred people like this, in my own life, the ones that won’t get book deals or stage time, but are committed to the wild and wonderful ways of Jesus, into the darkest corners and the mundane daily work of showing up with Love. I’m more fascinated by the fact that the stories span the breadth of a life lived in the ways of Jesus, with fun – remember that concept? FUN! – and passion and a wicked case of stubbornness.
It’s amazing to me how approachable and normal a life like this seems, when Bob is the one telling the stories. He’s self-deprecating, a bit goofy, quirky, and when he tells you the stories that defy imagination, it seems like, maybe, this is the kind of life that awaits all of us when we simply stop being typical and start living like we’re loved, like we’re meant to love.
GIVEAWAY!
Speaking of being secretly incredible, someone has approached me anonymously to donate five copies of this book to my readers. No strings attached, they simply want to get Bob’s message into more hands. Isn’t that cool?
