The new book by Jonathan Acuff will have you both laughing and thinking more deeply.
“If I had a dollar for every time someone told me, 'My favorite thing about Christians is that they’re so funny,' I would have to dance in the street for nickels to pay my bills.”
And so blogger-turned-author Jonathan Acuff quickly disarms his readers in the introduction to his hilarious laceration of all things holy, Stuff Christians Like. It’s smart, really, to start by asking his audience to lighten up and give themselves some freedom to laugh. Anyone who has spent more than 30 minutes in a church will need to let down their defenses before opening up Acuff’s snarky commentary, because they’re about to be called out. Gently, humbly, and hysterically called out.
Those familiar with Acuff know that his blog (also called Stuff Christians Like) has been generating buzz since 2008 by pointing out the behaviors of this peculiar breed known as believers. The former pastor’s kid has seen everything the modern church has to offer: the good, the bad and the ironically amusing. The successful advertising copywriter eventually fashioned an Internet pulpit to dish out his observations in a witty and refreshing honesty rarely seen among Christians. And it works. Because he’s spot-on.
Throughout the book, Acuff alternates between playing “the sweaty heathen,” the humble spectator and the holier-than-thou disciple burdened by a heavily bejeweled crown. He leaves no pulpit or pew scenario undiscussed. That awkward moment when the minister asks that you hold hands for prayer? The need for a soft piano accompaniment during the closing prayer? “Falling in love” on short-term missions trips? Timid witnessing tactics? It’s all here, as Acuff exposes the insider secrets of Christian America and answers life’s biggest questions (yes, you should pray for people who are having plastic surgery).
Stuff Christians Like is an easy read, an ideal coffee table companion complete with checklists, short chapters and the occasional cartoon. More than once, one of the bite-size entries would leave me stifling laughter and thinking, “It’s so true!” Other times, I felt half-ashamed. How did a complete stranger know that I, too, am fearful that God will someday decide to call me to Africa? But Acuff’s undeniable comedic skills distract readers from nursing their wounded pride, and he is ever ready to jab at his own self-righteousness. Take a bit entitled “Judging People Who Use the Table of Contents In Their Bible,” where Acuff prods: “Do you know what I did with my table of contents? I ripped it out and rolled it into a homemade shofar horn that I blow when it’s time for my family to come down and read our nightly Bible studies.”
What is most appealing about Acuff’s roast of modern Christianity is that it favors nobody, and therefore welcomes everyone. Perhaps one of my favorite entries was “Judging Fundamentalists For Being Judgmental,” an over-the top rant from a supposedly enlightened Christ-follower ridiculing the close-mindedness of the traditional believer. In a “jokes on you!” twist, the speaker successfully and negatively pigeonholes his subject as an anti-dancing, anti-drinking, fire and brimstone Texan, while also admitting he has no fundamentalist friends, nor attended their churches ... It’s painfully familiar. Later, Acuff mocks our dueling tendencies of “Feeling Sad For Churches That Aren’t Mega” and “Hating On Megachurches.” Yeah, don’t even try to hide, folks. Nobody is safe.
Perhaps the funniest thing about Stuff Christians Like is that it is surprisingly insightful and convicting. Certainly, Acuff is poking fun at the Church. He may even have a few bones to pick. But often, his satirical tone goes soft, marveling over a God who loves us in spite of our silliness, and quietly pleading with the faith community to realign their habits with their hearts. The key to the success of Stuff Christians Like is that it never becomes so cynical or condescending as to lose the respect of readers, but instead brings them to a place of equal footing. Acuff isn’t objectively scolding the Church, but including himself in a well-intentioned and diverse community that admittedly has a long way to go. His analysis is effective because it doesn’t guilt Christians into being harder on themselves. Instead, all of the inside jokes and coined phrases add up to a message for the Church to give themselves some slack, because we worship a God who “came for us, the broken, the beaten, the severely messed up.”
Stuff Christians Like reminds us that at the heart of all of our catchy slogans, Halloween tracts, metrosexual worship leaders and religious posturing is a long-standing faith that is founded in grace, no matter how it may get manipulated by time and the hands of humanity. Perhaps, we’ll be remembered not only for the goofy things we like, but for the people we love. As Acuff challenges: “Let’s quit trying to be enough or make things work. Let’s stop trying so hard. Let’s be sick. Let’s be loved.” And maybe, just maybe, let’s laugh at ourselves along the way.
