Stumbling Souls: Is Love Enough?

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to lose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? ~ Isaiah NIV

What does it look like when believers dare to radically love those who are the hardest to love but most desperate to be loved?

In Stumbling Souls, former Army captain and recent seminary graduate, Chris Plekenpol tells the compelling story of his interactions with a homosexual, HIV-positive, homeless man, James. Chris asks James to move in with him, and then Chris and his friends try to help James get back on his feet. In reality, James helps Chris get back on his feet by finding out what happens when believers risk living out their faith in a tangible way. (excerpt back cover).

This was a great true story accounting what all of us at one time or another have thought about doing but don't do. Take in a homeless person. Why? Because it's what we are called to do throughout the Bible, but too often we would rather hand out a few spare dollars and feel better as if we have dramatically changed someone's circumstances.

This is just what Christ and his Bible Study decided to do upon inviting James to their church. It's to show one man that he isn't going to be judged but the love of Jesus within them all. It's not just about a free meal or a few dollars, but when Chris offers a place for James to stay, he has to wrestle with the decision if he has truly done the right thing.

I love how this book turns out in a series of twists and turns, judgments and accusations with James and Chris and without spoiling it, have to say get the book. It will really make you truly wonder if the church we are a part of is truly doing what it preaches!

I was offered this book compliments of B & B Media Group in exchange for my honest and humble review. For more information about this book, the author or where to pick up a copy for a church Bible study, click on the link below:

http://www.stumblingsouls.com

Gripped by Fear or Compelled by Love?

Author Chris Plekenpol shows how living Christ’s love isn’t always clean, neat, or safe.

Dallas/Fort Worth, TX—Imagine inviting a homeless, jobless, HIV positive stranger off the street into your inner circle of friends, your closest community, your home? For most, if not for all of us, that would be way outside of our comfort zone, and yet that is exactly what former Army captain and seminary student Chris Plekenpol did. In Stumbling Souls: Is Love Enough? (Authentic, May 2010), Plekenpol shares his unexpected journey from “learning Christ to living Christ” as he reaches out to a homeless man who happened on a newcomers’ meeting at the author’s home church.

What follows his introduction to James is an adventure of twists and turns as Plekenpol tries to minister and change this man’s life, only to find that, through it all, he too is changed. With authenticity Plekenpol tells of his inner struggle over whether to invite this man to live with him, learning to serve with no thanks, discovering what it means to really help another person and how to give a hand up to those who need it, and, above all, the scary messiness of living by faith.

“I went from a Christian ideologue to a person who has an understanding of life on the streets and an understanding of how Christ makes believers righteous on the basis of grace, by means of faith,” writes Plekenpol. “I have a deeper love for the lost. I have a better grasp at how rotten I can be in my own sufficiency. There wasn’t just one stumbling soul in this book; my sins were pretty apparent, and God is still working on my selfishness and pride. I know that with God all things are possible.”

From a surprise trip to a theme park and timely help from a stranger to a late night search when James goes missing, the adventure is a roller coaster ride with an unexpected twist. In the end, Plekenpol challenges readers and leaves them with practical ideas that everyone can use to begin to live by faith in service to others.

Plekenpol is a 1999 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. After completing seven years with the U.S. Army, he attended Dallas Theological Seminary, where he graduated in 2010 with a Th.M. with an emphasis in media. An irresistible communicator, Plekenpol has a dynamic speaking ministry. After his experience retold in Stumbling Souls: Is Love Enough?, the author was led to join the movement and ministry I Am Second, where he serves as the conference director and community organizer. He intends to use the rest of his days on earth to reach as many people as possible with the gospel of Christ, hopefully by pastoring a dynamic, culturally engaged church.

Stumbling Souls: Is Love Enough? by Chris Plekenpol

Biblica, May 2010

ISBN: 978-1-93406-821-2/240 pages/softcover/$14.99

www.stumblingsouls.com

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