Mix together personal stories, scripture from The Message
version of the Bible, online conversations and short interviews and you'll have this eclectic take on the Beatitudes. He believes we've lost the magic in our faith (thus the reference to the "folded dollar bill" trick in the title), so he focuses on what this magic might look like in people's lives. Those who evince this magic see Christianity as a journey, rather than a destination, and unstintingly offer undeserved grace, unconditional love and mercy to others. Turner, a contributor to Relevant
magazine and author of several books (Provocative Faith
; The Christian Culture Survival Guide
), cites his sometimes difficult years in a fundamentalist church with maturity and a lack of bitterness. Rather than spending time regretting the legalism, he focuses on the people who showed him the love of Jesus through the way they lived. He's not afraid to expose his own shortcomings; he refers to his own past struggles with porn and recounts being fired from the Christian music magazine CCM
. His breezy, warm, conversational style should especially endear him to those under 35. Turner is one of Christianity's fresh voices in the tradition of Rob Bell, Brian McLaren and Donald Miller. (Oct.)
