I was asked to review the book Not the Religious Type: Confessions of a Turncoat Atheist by Dave Schmelzer.  Dave is the pastor of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Greater Boston. He and his wife, Grace, have five children. Before participating in the founding of the Greater Boston Vineyard, Dave worked as a playwright and saw two of his plays professionally produced on the west coast. 

Dave was an Atheist through college (or at least an agnostic).  The book is written in a similar manner to Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller.  I’m not saying it is like BLJ but it has that same feel to me.  But Dave wasn’t searching for God by any means.  This book details his decision to follow Jesus after years of being a skeptic.  He thought he was a good person so he didn’t really need God. Then as he says he discovered he really was a “jerk.”  

After finding the love of his life, God called him to start a church in of all places Harvard.  He had inherrited some money so he and his wife asked a man to invest it in the riskiest stock possible.  Either they were going to make a lot of money to start a church near Harvard or they would lose it all.  God blessed and they started reaching professors and skeptics at Harvard and surrounding areas.  Their church started growing so much that the local media started taking notice.

He writes often about prayer, faith and how Baywatch caused 9/11. (you’ll have to read to understand) His daughter almost died and God answered their prayers and she made it through.  He is very transparent and vulnerable as he discusses his life of faith.  It is 179 pages long and it is available tomorrow.

I highly recommend this book and give it 4.5 hockey sticks out of 5.