Someone to Blame by C. S. Lakin

Guest Review: Michelle Sutton

My review of Someone to Blame by C. S. Lakin.

4 Votes

5+ of 5 stars and 4 out of 4 hearts for healing and spiritual impact!
   

Michelle Sutton

About the book:
When tragedy sweeps through the lives of the Moore family, each member looks for some way to cope, some means of escape, someone to blame. Desperately seeking solace, they move to a small town and are soon caught up in a string of events that forces each to face some uncomfortable truths before finding unexpected grace and healing.
My review:
Rarely do I find novels that make me want to stay up all night reading. Well, I didn’t stay up all night with this book, but I did start early in the morning and read the novel through to the end. Yeah, without stopping. I couldn’t put the story down, it was that good. Not just because the prose was amazing, or because the story flowed so well, but because the story had heart. That’s something I miss seeing in a lot of books. It seems like a lot of authors would rather be safe and keep the message lighthearted and fun. That’s no doubt a reflection of the current economy. People want an escape when times are tough like they have been lately. But not me. I like stories that make me think. Make me feel. Make me care. I love stories like this one. Ironically, the cover was a total turnoff for me, and my husband saw the book and said, “What a nice cover.” So you never know. A lot of things are a matter of taste, I guess.
Anyway, I’d much rather read a meaningful “high concept” type of story likeSomeone to Blame. It carried so much impact as it hit my heart dead center. This story will knock you off your feet, especially if you think you stand. Think about pride coming before a fall. The message in Someone to Blame could knock the most sure footed (self-righteous) person off center. But that’s a good thing when it makes you examine your own heart. I can totally see this book as a movie. One that would make it to the Academy Awards even. It had so much depth. I loved the fact that the story contained a number of points of view. It was so much more effective because of that perspective. Like God, you could see inside everyone’s heart and mind. Unlike in other books I’ve read, this approach with multiple viewpoints didn’t confuse me at all. It was clear whose head you were in with each chapter. That was so well done. I could literally hear the characters talking in my head.
As far as the story goes, it’s difficult for me to tell the things that really touched my heart and made me think without giving away the story (I hate reviews that are spoilers.) So this is my pitiful attempt to reveal without revealing… Things aren’t usually what they seem. It’s easy to react on emotion and cause irreparable damage as a result. Don’t let your heart get so hard that you stop caring about others. Reach out to those in need and don’t worry about what it will cost you. That’s it. So what do you think of that, eh?
Someone to Blame was published by Zondervan and released in September 2010

The Best News You Will Ever Hear by Thomas Jay Oord & Robert Luhn

The Best News You Will Ever Hear. Thomas Jay Oord and Robert Luhn (Boise, ID: Russell Media, 2011). 70 pp. $9.99 (paper).

The Best News You Will Ever Hear is Thomas Oord's vehicle to demonstrate the practical power of an applied Theology of Love which dominates much of his writing and philosophy. A simple approach to an evangelistic message Oord is clearly building a front porch to faith that invites one into an understanding of divine grace and salvation compatible with Theology of Love thinking.  This work provides the Wesleyan Christian with a resource for presenting the gospel in contemporary language that is written for the standard reading level with the widest appeal for a North American audience.  Its easy reading quality is teasingly deceptive because the work reflects a well formulated depth of Christian theory and thinking.

Wesleyans will especially appreciate the obvious and intentional presentation of God's motive in saving humanity as a refreshing contrast from the "God of wrath" thinking that dominates much of Christian theology.  The simple statement "God is not mad at us" creates a venue of divine introduction for a decidedly disenfranchised mass who suffer from too little self having grown up in a society characterized by dysfunction, addiction and abuse.

The book does well to pave a path avoiding other polemics that are irrelevant to core Wesleyan teaching.  A fine segment addresses the correlation of creation to science and science to creation. Oord and Luhn provide a simple detour that avoids a traffic jam common to Fundamentalist thinking and argument that is distracting and unhelpful to Wesleyan conclusions. Deftly they bring the seeker back on track to the core problem represented by the Eden narrative: a failure to love perfectly.

The appeal is Christo-centric.  Especially helpful for the Wesleyan believer is the authors' introduction of Christ as integrated into living not serving solely as propitiation for the benefit of personal eternal life.  Putting it another way, playing on the vernacular of the original language, one might say this presentation of the gospel leads one to epic living as well as epoch living.  Equally appealing is a portrait of Christ who suffers with us and not just for us.  In a litigious, theodicy-ridden culture God is continually put on trial for crimes against humanity.  In simple language, the authors produce an image of a God whose love is so relentless that even the most effective prosecution must concede that if God is to blame for human suffering what more could be done than has been done?  The suffering, sorrowing, self-sentencing God has been punished, endured death and conquered Death which should satisfy the angry human heart bent on recompense.

The work goes beyond a simple presentation of the gospel to become a simple presentation of the gospel life. This book will be of interest to congregational clergy, pastoral counselors, Christian chaplains, spiritual directors, deacons, and other lay leaders who work primarily with evangelism and discipleship.  It is an ideal resource for training Wesleyans to communicate grace and atonement.  The natural flow of the text directs the seeker toward a discipled life.  The beauty of this book is that it does not suffer from over-simplification.  These are no ABC's for self-written spiritual coupons for grace.  This book simplifies the truth that grace has much more to say than "welcome aboard." It invites dialogue.  The grace of God found in this book says: "Welcome home. Now that you are part of the family..."

The vibrant Wesleyan thinking church will suffer for not having this book in large quantities to distribute through sports ministries, children's events, bus ministries, primers for evangelism, and any opportunity a congregation makes to communicate its benefit and relevance to the larger community. The great tragedy will be if this book becomes the "best kept secret" of the church library.