Julie and I had the pleasure one morning to meet for breakfast with Karen Spears Zacharias. She was in Grand Rapids, MI, visiting Zondervan to create an audio edition of her book Where’s Your Jesus Now? Examining How Fear Erodes Faith.

Julie and I became “blog friends” with Karen, finding her humor and honesty, her skill (as a writer) and her interest in down-to-earth people attractive qualities. Plus, another mutual friend, Scot McKnight, often links to Karen’s posts and/or articles over at Jesus Creed.

I am a pastor and I was taken by Karen’s story in Hero Mama: A Daughter Remembers the Father She Lost in Vietnam–and the Mother Who Held Her Family Together.  Could it be because we both have southern roots and can enjoy a cold RC Cola and a Moon Pie? Or, pile the collard greens next to the pinto beans and cornbread and enjoy them all with a tall mason jar of iced-cold sweet tea?

As a pastor I am blown away by Where’s Your Jesus Now?  A lot of pastors are trained to do theology like scientists test theories…in a pristine, antiseptic, white lab-coat environment. We pastors want to be tidy, neat, clean and “biblically sound.” Don’t let messy people and chaotic life mess with our theology. Our theology must be unsullied by the vast unwashed (theologically-speaking) masses. Perhaps that is why the Church is hemmorhaging the younger generations by the thousands in USAmerica. They aren’t drinking the kool-aid of tidy, ivory-tower generated, pew-shaped, clean spirituality.

Enter Karen. Her latest book Where’s Your Jesus Now? starts where God starts and the prophets start and Jesus starts and the Apostle Paul starts: with messy, uncategorizable people and their more than messy lives. With incredibly observant eyes, sensitive listening, surprising wit, side-splitting humor, and artist’s skill to turn a phrase, Karen brings us to a theology in overalls; biblical truth for the mean streets; kingdom values hammered out of the terrors and triumphs of those who don’t live in the ghetto of our tidy churches.

Stories. Karen is a master of peoples’ stories. As I recall, there was a young carpenter from Nazareth that could spin out some zingers, too. Eric Shannon shows up early in her latest book, and Penny (and Karen), Pastor Phelps, Eddy, Charles Roberts IV, Brad Pitt (did you know he had Southern Baptist roots), Ann Coulter and many more. Because of her skill, I stayed with Karen as she told these stories because I knew each was headed to a place where my faith, our faith would be laid open like a catfish readied for the frying pan. Karen is one funny, courageous lady and she writes from who she is and what she believes in.

I know she is working on even as I type this another book that is sure to be profound. Like I said, Julie and I are glad to have Karen as a friend.

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