The Day Metallica Came to Church: Searching for the Everywhere God in Everything

Quite a read. Very Provocative. Highly Recommended.

The Day Metallica Came To Church John Van Sloten Square Inch, Faith Alive Christian Resouces What do the music of Metallica and Bach, the film Crash, and stories about Batman have in common? According to author and pastor John Van Sloten, God can speak through all of them -- if we're listening. Out of his own startling and sometimes wrenching journey of discovery, Van Sloten shows how God can speak to us through anything and everything -- Heavy metal music, R-rated films, sports, and even the latest fashions. If you're listening, this book might change the way you hear God's voice -- and how you live in today's world. I was intrigued by the premise of Metallica visiting a church where the pastor was planning on preaching using the lyrics and music of Metallica to bring out the truth of God. I had an opportunity to read the first chapter online before getting this book, and the actual story of Metallica (or their representatives, as the band was in another city) visiting the church piqued my interest. The online version of the story ended with the first chapter of the book and I was excited to find out more to the story. Unfortunately, that first chapter encompassed the entirety of Metallica's visit to church that one day. I read on, hoping that Van Sloten would come back to it and give more detail about the sermon, or the reaction by the congregation, of the community reaction of a pastor blasting Metallica through the church speakers. Sadly, that never happened. However, I was introduced to a concept I had never considered before: The concept that there are two different texts of scripture -- The Holy Bible, and the world itself. Anyone who has ever watched the sun rise over a lake, hidden from the rest of the world, or watched the sun set behind the mountains deep in the desert, or witnessed the awe-inspiring beauty of a rainbow after a storm can tell you that nature itself shouts of a Creator. No Christian can argue that the perfect balance of our solar system, or the exact perfection of our atmosphere, or the delicate nature of an egg is proof of God at work in our lives. But we tend to ignore the most obvious, tell-tale sign of God: the nature of man. God made us in His image, and through this image replication we are a reflection of God. Every one of us. Our actions may not belie Christ, but some of our characteristics certainly do. For instance, God created man and He saw that it was good. God takes pride in His workmanship. We are his workmanship and He saw that we were good. This is why every man on earth takes pride in creating something with his own two hands. We are wired to do that! God is exemplifying His nature in us by our innate desire to create. I won't go through the rest of the book, as this is just meant to be a review, but suffice it to say that this work is a true journey of discovery for anyone open to a revelation from God. I disagree with some of his theology, but the truth that Van Sloten brings forth in this small book are well worth the read. If you are ready to be challenged to see a different side of God that you probably never even gave a thought to, you definitely need to find this book. You cannot walk away from this book without being changed. I was not required to write a favorable review of this book. All of the opinions in this review are mine and do not reflect the opinions of the author.