more bloggers talking about 'churched'

• My friend Matthew Mewhorter
• The Christian Endeavor-MidAtlantic
• Author and Speaker Kathy Pride

To everyone who is helping me spread the word about churched, thank you so much. Your investment means so much.

new pictures of elias

If you visit Jessica's blog, you've already seen these pics. Over the weekend Jessica took Elias outside and snapped I believe 200 pictures. Thank God she doesn't get all of them developed. Though I'm also thankful that Elias is seemingly much more photogenic than his daddy! :)

another 'churched' review!

David Zimmerman is an editor for Likewise Books at InterVarsity Press and also one of my Facebook friends. We became Facebook friends because both of us wrote books for the same publisher--David C. Cook.

David was kind enough to read churched and write down his opinions about it on his blog. While I am very happy with his thoughts on my book, that's not the best part of the review for me. What I love about this review is David's writing. As only a mediocre reviewer myself, I'm always impressed (and slightly envious) when I read a review written by somebody who really seems to capture the essence of what making critical opinions/observations about popular art (movies, books, music, etc.) is all about. And David does this with ease, professionalism, and intelligence--true skill.

So here's a five-star reviewer's thoughts about churched. Read it, and then leave David a comment!

kirk flashback!

it's kirk cameron weekend...

In honor of his new movie Fireproof, his new book Still Growing, and THIS story from San Francisco Gate, it's Kirk Cameron weekend at my blog!

Exciting stuff, huh?

home with elias (this was filmed yesterday)

a few things on my mind (right now)

• Today is Thursday which means I get the honor of spending the entire day with Elias. My little boy amazes me every single day. I learn something about him. I learn something about myself. Feel very blessed that I get to spend so much quality time with him.
  

• The new season of Grey's Anatomy begins tonight. I'm a huge fan of this show. Last season was a little disappointing, but Entertainment Weekly promises it's better this go around! Honestly, it really doesn't matter, I love the characters so much I would watch anyway.
  

• I leave for St. Louis on Saturday morning. I'm joining up with the Afters and Matt Maher for a gig at Missouri Baptist University. I've been to MBU once before and had such a nice time. One of my good friends from college is the campus pastor there, so it will be nice to see him and his family again.
  

• It's beginning to feel just a little bit like fall here in Nashville. It's still quite warm at 3 in the afternoon, but the mornings and evenings are wonderful, like being splashed in the face with cool water. Refreshing. I love autumn. Too many reasons to count.
  

• Right now I'm venturing through a season where I'm learning to be content in God's hope. I must admit this is a strange reality for me to experience (mostly because contentment sometimes seems like a pretty word for laziness or apathy to me). I know it's not, but it does feel that way from time to time. But for right now I'm enjoying this path. But don't hold me to it tomorrow. All hell might break loose, which could potentially cause my thoughts to start racing like hummingbirds around in my head, making it impossible for me to "land" or concentrate on anything but the racing, buzzing, and more racing. Then I might be anxious. Then I might want to consider moving to some island off the coast of New Zealand. Then I might want to drop my life as a writer and become a weatherman or one of the chefs at Panera Bread Company. Who knows what could happen? :) But for now, at 11:09 on Thursday morning, while I watch my little boy sleeping in his swing and I listen to the buzz of grass being cut outside and I read updates about the economy going to hell in a hand basket, I feel at peace and confident in God. For now.
  

a book by a true hero

Last week I failed to blog about the book The Road of Lost Innocence. I just couldn't get it read in time. So I'm blogging about how much I love this book today. It's a memoir by Somaly Mam, a Cambodian woman who fights for justice for young children who have been sold into sexual slavery.

Mam's book is powerful. Lost Innocence details the tragic yet intimate memories of Mam as she recalls her own story of being sold into sexual slavery as a child. Miraculously, with the help of an aid worker, she survived and now she works to save others who are enduring the awful reality of childhood sex slavery.

Mam's prose is full of conviction with descriptions that are often heartwrenching. But her words never get in the way of her passion, which is raw and authentic and bears the scars of a woman who, because of the pain she endured, is living out a mission of mercy. Be aware that the narrative is sometimes harsh and painful to read, but there's victories and miracles along the way that keep the story uplifting and hopeful.

I believe this is an important story that all of us should read, if only to be informed about the travesties of human trafficking and the heroes who are attempting to bring redemption to the pains that the victims of trafficking endure.

I highly recommend this book.

Visit www.Somaly.org

Watch these videos for more information on human trafficking:

be a teacher...

There's an expletive at the end of this video clip, but I think you should watch it anyway. It's an older video, but I had never seen it before.

i love brotally!

I promise it's not t-shirt week here at my blog. It just seems that way.

I just received a message from the "Brotally!" facebook group. Nothing too important. They were just informing their fans that a new brotally! video had been posted. Here it is.



The brotally! t-shirt brand was dreamed up by my friends Alex Beh (great actor, one of the funniest and nicest guys I know) and Matt Wertz (well-known musician, new album just released on iTunes).

New Brotally! t-shirts are coming soon. For now, check out the website!

babies, guns, and jesus (oh my!)

**Author's note**

The following post is about a t-shirt. Nothing more. In discovering the information below, I simply thought that the details involved showcased a slice of our current American culture. Thank you.

Do you enjoy wearing your faith and your politics on your sleeve? Well, then, this might be the t-shirt for you.

Normally Kelly Moore works as a photographer. But now, this young and talented entrepreneur is using her blog to help get out the vote in this November's election.

She was listening to her favorite talk radio show when an idea popped into Kelly's head.

"I heard [the radio host] use the phrase, 'Babies, Guns & Jesus,'" says Kelly, a resident of the great state of Louisiana. "[And] I couldn’t get it out of my head! It was too perfect!"

She continues: "I know there are so many issues out there to be discussed, but [Babies, Guns, and Jesus] are a few things I believe in. I know there are people out there who want to take these things away."

Hence, her awesome idea! Help save Jesus. So, in effort to keep Jesus from suffering the same fate as Christmas in Whoville, Kelly did something truly original. She decided to turn that talk show host's little slogan into t-shirt.

Kelly enlisted the help of a friend to douse most of the t-shirt's design with flowers, plants, swirls, and one good-sized bird, which I can only assume was because she didn't want anybody to notice that beneath all that "design," she printed the words, "Babies, Guns, and Jesus." Which seems to be her idea of funfetti. However, in order appear nonpartisan, Kelly's friend drew a wavy banner coming out of the bird's mouth with the words "Vote '08" printed across the front.

"If you are out there," says Kelly, "and you happen to want to show others how you feel too, please purchase a t-shirt. All proceeds will go to support the campaign of the [presidential] candidate who would wear this t-shirt."

She stopped short of telling us which of the two candidates she believed would be caught dead donning the blue flowered swirly t-shirt. She simply ends the sentence with an innocent little smiley face, one that is giving us the wink wink, as if we're supposed to automatically know if it's McCain or Obama who digs the kind of design that looks like a Smirf took a poo on blue cotton.

Anyway, if you're interested, Kelly's t-shirts are only $25! Which certainly seems like an affordable price to pay to ensure that Jesus doesn't get taken from us.

a little of my baggage

Pete is preaching a sermon series called baggage. As soon as I heard about it, I must be honest--I thought about coming up with a few excuses to miss church for month of September. But for some reason, I haven't missed a Sunday. Stupid, huh? But I trust Pete. And that's saying a lot, since he's a pastor. But I trust him. I don't put my trust in him, but he's shown himself to be vulnerable and honest and a true friend to me, so I trust him to use wisdom and grace when talking about my issues from stage. Okay, so I realize he's not actually talking about me from stage, but this series is one of those kind that make me feel like he is.

To be completely blunt, for the last two weeks his sermons have kicked me in the ass. The week before last Pete spoke about forgiveness. All week long, I felt the need to blog about my thoughts and feelings regarding his words. But I couldn't. I was still very much trying to process what he said, and more importantly, how his words were supposed to change me. One of the things that he said went something like this: "Forgiveness is when you get to a place where you stop trying to get even." Wow. I can't tell you how many times I've believed that I had forgiven somebody, but then find myself doing something to "even" the score, proving only that I was nowhere close to having a heart of forgiveness. I sat in my pew and began to cry when he spoke to those of us who are in situations where we are the ones seeking forgiveness from somebody else. I wish I had the energy to explain how much that part of sermon affected me, but I just can't right now. I will say this: sometimes forgiveness is so difficult to offer somebody who has hurt you, but sometimes it's just as hard to accept.

Yesterday, Pete spoke about "trust." Again, he spoke right to me. I have a problem with trusting people. A long time ago (at least it feels that way), I was one of those people who trusted everybody. To a fault. I was the gullible one who believed everything that came out of people's mouths. Because I had no reason not to. Oh, what age and experience and reality can do to somebody's ability to trust.

I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

Once again, I've been reminded that I allow my past experiences with people who have hurt me to dictate how or to what extent I'm able to trust people now. And that kind of existence comes with a price. I know that. I've learned the consequences over and over again. Those consequences aren't always seen by other people, but they are felt deeply in my heart and soul. Because of my lack of trust, sometimes I am paranoid, anxious, depressed, manipulative, and I could go on and on.

This morning I spent a few quiet moments reflecting on life. I sat in lotus position and breathed like Jane Fonda and quietly whispered to God the words and thoughts that came into my head. Some of these words were requests. Some of them were confessions. Some of them didn't make much sense at all, at least to me.

And for the moment, I feel lighter and less consumed with "me." In my own life, I feel like that's what my lack of trust boils down to--selfishness. Don't get me wrong; I believe I have every reason to fear trusting other people. Like so many of us, I've been hurt deeply by people and I have consumed myself with those hurts and have then hurt other people deeply because of them. Selfish, huh? When I allow those hurts to affect my ability to trust and love and live in the present, I am doing a disservice to the people around me. By living in fear and not in hope, I'm keeping my guard up and living life in protection of "me." And I realize once again, that's not living.

So I just want to say thank you to Pete for the gentle and gracious reminder. My heart beats a little freer this morning because of your words.

paste magazine

The October issue of Paste is the "violence" issue and features an article by Bart Blasengame (one of my favorite pop-culture reporters!) about the curious similarities between the lyrics of hymns that are sung in churches and the songs of 80s metal band Slayer. Well, I was interviewed for the article. Unfortunately, it's not available online just yet. While it's not that long of a feature, I must say it's very cool being included in a magazine that I love and respect so much.

name in lights

This was a first for me.

borderline adventures on the road

When you're on the road, things happen. Some of these things are just normal everyday things. (Like walking into the dirtiest bathroom I've seen in a long time and thinking one of the gas stations we stopped at was haunted.) But because you're on the road, they seem more exciting--if not exclusive--happenings that only you and the people with you are going through. (It makes it feel like an adventure, you know?) That might not make any sense--it's been a long couple of days. I haven't gotten much sleep the last couple of days, and my sinuses are killing me this morning. So forgive the random nature of this blog.

On Wednesday night, the tour--which included myself along with the Afters and Matt Maher--played at the Jasper Arts Center in Jasper, Indiana. The event was sponsored by a local monastery's youth program. All of the monks were so kind and helpful--as you would probably expect monks to be--each of them were men who had obviously took their roles as servants of God very seriously. I was quite humbled by their generosity.

Unfortunately, about 30 minutes before I went on stage, I was told that the audience would consist of mostly teenagers. I have nothing against teenagers. Honestly, I don't. I like teenagers. But I don't like speaking in front of them. Hate it actually. My stories in churched aren't necessarily for teenagers. They are. But not young teenagers. However, I did my thing, and the 600 Catholic adolescents--mostly 9th and 10th graders--responded better than I expected to my readings. (I was really surprised actually.) That is, except for the one row of male 8th-grade hecklers who were sitting on the front row. You gotta love 8th graders. Ugh. (I'm smiling when I say that!)

That night, those of us on the tour stayed in the monastery with the monks. At first, when all of us looked around at the grandiose buildings--they were old and beautiful and it was 11:00 at night, which meant we were a little punch drunk--we were a little freaked out. I kept looking around and expecting Tom Hanks to come prancing out from behind one of the statues wearing a long black robe and claiming to have found a new secret that would destroy Christianity.

First, we hung out with the monks at the monastery's pub--yes, the monastery has a pub--and we ate pizza and listened to them tell stories. Quite fascinating.

And then, at 2:00 in the morning, when most of my tour mates were asleep, Brother Anthony--the coolest monk I have ever met (not that I have met too many monks)--asked the five of us who were still awake if we wanted to take a tour of the monastery. And so that's what we did. Don't worry; I took pictures. I wish I had time to explain how cool and interesting and again humbling it was to tour the beautiful buildings at the monastery. (I saw the bones of a dead saint, climbed to the top of a bell tower through a hole that was about the size of a large microwave oven, and sat in the room where all of the monks--one of them is 107 years old!!!!--confessed their sins publicly to one another!) But it's almost time to check out of my hotel. I know, I know--you were so excited, right? But here are a few of the pictures that I took. Maybe I'll get a chance to explain them later. Tonight, we're in Cincinnati at a club called The Underground.

Oh, and pray for Elias--he's got a cold--and Jessica hates using the snot plunger on him. That's my job usually! And I must say, I've gotten pretty good at it.

Much love and blessings to each of you this day. (Do I sound monkish? Oh, I do. You know I do.)

PS: And I was allowed to ask Brother Anthony any question I wanted to. And I did. And he answered all of them. I know far too much information about Jasper, Indiana's monkdom. And I think I'm better for it. Have a great day!

hitting the road!

Stay tuned for updates from Jasper, Indiana...

Pray for me. Pray for Jessica. Pray for Elias.

Peace

another good review (five stars)

This one comes from On Course magazine. Honestly, I've never heard of it, but that's probably because I don't have too much experience with the Assembly of God denomination. I think it's a magazine specifically for their members. Nevertheless, I'm thankful they liked the book. Check out what they wrote...

Churched, by Matthew Paul Turner is hilarious.

Of course, there’s plenty more to say about it than that, but right off the bat, that’s what you need to know. If you want nothing more from a book then to laugh out loud, Churched is a book for you.

What’s really great about Churched, though, is that it’s so much more than just a good laugh. Through light-hearted humor, Turner explores the many follies and foibles so many American churches face.

The book details Turner’s childhood and adolescence in an extremely legalistic, Baptist church in the late seventies and eighties. More than just requiring thrice weekly church visits, this church is obsessed with hell – so much so that the pastor has a yearly boxing match with the devil.

Turner’s writing style has the ability to keep you entertained and make you fall in love with the people that characterized his somewhat bizarre childhood. Of course, at the same time he makes you subconsciously ask yourself tough questions about the nature of human kind and how it can turn something holy into such a righteous joke.

The great thing about Churched is truly its multi-tasking nature. Whether you’re interested in an entertaining memoir or an insightful auto-biography, this book can serve both roles.

But even if you’re just looking for a laugh, this is definitely the book for you.

Rating: 5 out of 5 star

Review by Emily Hoover

first 'churched' blog review

Having grown up in the same Baptist denomination as me, I let my friend Stephen Lamb read churched back in May or June. When I read this morning the review he posted on his blog, I was blown away.

Read it here.

'churched' blog tour: last chance to participate!

If you're interested in participating on my blog tour, you have until Wednesday to email Elizabeth at Random House (ejohnson@randomhouse.com)!

hope (another letter to my son)

Dear Elias,

You turned two months old last Friday. Already, you’re wide-eyed and curious about the world around you. I’m convinced you notice and become wowed by things that I don’t see. Or perhaps I’ve just become too busy or jaded to find beauty and wander in simple things. But you haven’t.

For instance, I have no idea why you spend so much time gazing up at the ceiling fan. I’d love to know what you find so interesting about five brown panels whirling around in circular motion. Do you just like the way it moves? Are you frightened by it? Or do you see the power of God spinning round and round above you in our living room?

Your mother loves taking pictures of you. That’s one of the ways I know she loves you so much; nothing brings her more joy than when she’s busy capturing and documenting every one of your facial expressions. And I think you might have a million of them! Of course, I don’t recognize all of them like your mother does. Sometimes she’ll say to me, “I just love when he puts his lips together like this,” and then she’ll do her very best impression of the shape of your mouth. That usually causes us to break out into laughter, and then both of us sit and watch you, waiting, hoping, and doing our best to coax you to do that face again. (Though this time your mother is looking at you through the lens of her camera, determined to catch in picture when you make your lips look like a duckbilled platypus’s.)

Sadly, you’re not very cooperative. But you make up for your non-cooperation by doing an entirely new facial expression that is just as interesting to us. I could stare at you for hours, Elias. Sometimes I do. You and I get to spend Thursdays and Fridays together. You make it difficult to get any work done. That’s not because you’re overly demanding, but because I find so much hope when I look at you. And even more when you look at me with your big brown eyes. When your eyes follow me around the living room, I feel like superman. But my favorite is when you fall asleep on my chest. There are few things that make me happier than when your heartbeat is resting against mine. I experience so much hope in those moments.

Hope is an odd thing, Elias. It’s hard to explain most of the time. You’ll learn about this eventually. But sometimes hope is just a feeling or a thought or a moment that comes to you in a flash. It can feel like a burst of energy or a strange peace or a long comforting hug from a dear friend. It doesn’t always remedy all of the pain or questions or fear that might be grieving you in the present, but it often gives you the ability to push through the hard parts of life. That’s what you do for me. Looking at you makes me feel like I can conquer almost anything, though I’m very human and broken. Your face reminds me that God is with me. You don’t answer all of my questions or calm all of my fears or make the pain I’m feeling in a given moment go away, but you do offer me energy, peace, and hugs to help me walk through those tough moments. Thank you for that. Hopefully someday I can return the favor.

Love,

Daddy (I’m the one who uses the bottles to feed you.)

join the 'churched' facebook group!

Just in case you didn't know there was a churched Facebook group, I thought I'd go ahead and mention it on my blog.

Click here to join!

I also just want to say thank you. So many of you have shown a great deal of passion for helping me get the word out about churched. Those of you who emailed my wife requesting book markers to hand out to your friends, church members, etc, I am so grateful. Seriously, you have no idea how much it means to me to know there's a whole bunch of people willing to help get the word out about this book.

A bunch of you emailed me or messaged me yesterday to tell me that you got selected to be on the blog tour. For those of you who didn't, please know that I had NOTHING to do with that! And to be honest, I don't even know the criteria they were looking for. So, please don't hold that against me. (On the week of the blog tour, for those of you who'd like me to post a link to your review or interview or whatever you decide to do, please just send me a link to the post when it's completed!)

Some of you have even emailed me and asked if there's anything else you can do to help. Those kinds of emails are such a shot in the arm for me. Again, thank you. In effort to answer those emails, I thought I'd offer a few ideas here on my blog. If anybody has any other ideas to offer, please feel free to leave a comment. Here are a few ideas...

• Invite your friends to join the 'churched' Facebook group.
  
• You could (only if you want to) become my "fan" on Facebook. I know, I know--that sounds so narcissistic. And of course, you can search my name and request to be my friend also. Again, narcissistic. Forgive me. :)
• Once you've read and blogged about churched, post a link to it on the Facebook group and also the fan page if you want!
• Invite your friends to check out my blog.
• And lastly, at least, for now--I'm due to take care of Elias in a couple of minutes, I'd like for anybody who's interested to create a one-minute YouTube video or 200-300-word piece about your CRAZIEST church experience (most of mine happened when I was a kid, but feel free to make it from any time in your life). As you will read in churched, when I was in grade school, I once had a Sunday school teacher burn a Barbie doll to explain hell. Yeah, your experience might be less crazy, or perhaps it's a whole lot crazier--either way, tell us about it! Once you write your piece or make your video, send it to me and I'll be sure to post it to my blog!

OK, gotta get home to take care of the boy! Again, thank you so much for your help. Peace to you.

mpt

p.s.: one last thing--check out the new splash page at www.MatthewPaulTurner.com!

wow... i don't know what to say...

I can't tell if this is serious or not. Can you?!?

september eleven

I was at Disney World with my friend Daniel on September 11, 2001. A very weird place to be on such a dark day. My friend Lisa was at Dulles International Airport. Another one of my friends was at the Pentagon.

Where were you?

plastic palin

But it is just me, or does she look like Peggy from King of the Hill?

Here's the story if you're interested. Warning though: the user comments below the article are graphic.

prepping to leave for church...

Unfortunately, the kid on the left is me. Yep, that's me sitting with my sister Elisabeth.

Let's have some fun: Write a caption for this picture.

'little wild one'

By the time most of you read this post, Joan Osborne's new album Little Wild One will be available. Here's the first single, a little ditty called "Sweeter Than the Rest." 

The video is boring, but I'm digging the song. 

PS: For my birthday in November, my wife bought me tickets to see David Sedaris. Though the show will be in October. Last year she took me to see Annie Lennox (my folks helped buy the tickets) and Jonatha Brooke. As many of you already know, my wife is hot. 

oh, the political commentary

Whether you've jumped on the Sarah Palin bandwagon and begun sewing yourself a McCain/Palin 08 buffalo-fir sweater or you're secretly hoping the wheels on that political wagon fall off their axels, I'm pretty sure you'll agree that the "satire" used in this pin falls flat on many levels.

For one thing, the makers of this pin have taken Ms. Palin's words out of context. In last week's speech, I'm pretty sure Palin wasn't comparing her service as governor of Alaska to Obama's work as a community organizer. Am I right about that? If I remember correctly, I think she actually was discussing her work as the smalltown mayor when she tried (quite flippantly I might add) to downgrade Obama's work in the innercity.

Secondly, I know he attracts huge crowds, gives really good sermons on mountaintops, and overcame the Clinton dynasty to become the first African-American presidential candidate, but Barack Obama isn't Jesus. However, I must admit that sometimes his campaign managers (and also some of his supporters) treat him as such.

Thirdly (is "thirdly" a word?), while it's true that Jesus worked on behalf of the poor, he was not a community organizer. That makes him sound like he ran social events, did fundraising, or was mayor of his hometown.

And please, even insinuating that Ms. Palin is Pontious Pilot is way over the top in my opinion. For starters, she's the governor of Alaska. And contrary to popular opinion, they haven't crucified anybody up there in years.

(Side note and completely off the topic: I gotta question. OK, so after Palin's acceptance speech, when the RNC played "Barracuda" by the band Heart--a song that contains the lyrics, "You lying so low in the weeds/I bet you gonna ambush me/You'd have me down down down down on my knees/Now wouldnt you, barracuda?--what do you think was the message the Republicans were trying to send by blasting that song over the loudspeakers? I mean, um, I kind of want to know if she's the one "down, down, down, down, on her knees" OR if she's the one who's causing that person to be down, down, down, down on her knees? Either way, it's quite the provocative picture, don't you think? It certainly doesn't seem like the greatest of messages. Maybe it's just me, but it's the kind of mental picture one probably doesn't want associated with a VP candidate. I could be wrong. **PS: Just this morning, I read that the band Heart has asked Ms. Palin not to use their song. Apparently, they were offended.**)

OK, back to the "Palin" pin: Obviously, I enjoy satire--even the crazy exaggerated kind that is so far over the top it takes a little imagination to connect all of the dots--but in the end the craziest kind of satire has a decent number of "connecting" point. It doesn't have to make perfence sense, but it shouldn't take bad information (as in un-fact-checked information) and use that to be funny. Or at the very least least, satire should offer the reader "gettable" commentary to some degree. And I don't think this does. I mean, I get it, but after I got it, I started poking a bunch of holes in it...

However, maybe it wasn't meant to be "satire." Maybe it was supposed to be taken literal, and if that's the case, it's just dumb.

Thoughts?!? Did I mess up on my fact checking? :)

And please, let's keep the conversation cordial, shall we?

:-)

the 'churched' endorsement list...

Here's the complete list of people who endorsed churched and what they had to say...

"Matthew Paul Turner has written a book that is at once funny and full of humanity. The prose was so vivid that, after reading it, I felt like I'd grown up in a fundamentalist Baptist family – and I'm a Jewish guy from New York."
--AJ Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically

“Churched is funny, poignant, and surprisingly moving. In this deft story of his fundamentalist upbringing Matthew Paul Turner proclaims the good news: that even church can't drown out the message of Jesus.”
—Sara Miles, author of Take This Bread

“Turner’s churched lives in that elusive space between whimsical memories of an innocent youth and cringe-inducing flashbacks of life growing up in the church. Like a visit with long-lost relatives, churched reintroduced me to characters anyone who grew up in the church will find familiar, and I was surprised to find that I was glad to see them. Sweet-hearted, funny, and honest, churched had me reminiscing about the little boy searching for God that I once was and gently reminded me I still have some miles to travel.”
—Dan Merchant, writer/director of Lord, Save Us From Your Followers

“Thanks to churched, Matthew Paul Turner’s vivid, often hilarious account of his childhood, I realized that not having grown up in evangelical culture is less of a handicap than I previously thought!”
—Andrew Beaujon, author of Body Piercing Saved My Life and writer for the Washington Post

“Turner crafts an amusing field guide to fundamentalism that’s both a gentle lampoon of hypocrisy and misplaced fervor, and a model of how to survive being ‘churched’ without cynically rejecting the good with the bad, the Founder with his followers.”
—Anna Broadway, author of Sexless in the City

“Matthew Paul Turner’s memoir has the insight of Anne Lamott and the comic honesty of David Sedaris. His stories force us to wonder which of our Christian beliefs and practices come from scripture and which spring up out of our own preferences and fears.”
—Rob Stennett, author of The Almost True Story Of Ryan Fisher

“Finally! A bona-fide humorist in the North American church! I might be tempted to say Matthew Paul Turner is Christendom’s answer to David Sedaris, but Matthew stands on his own without the comparison. A memoirist who doesn’t take himself or the world too seriously, but still manages to write profoundly and beautifully, Turner gave me a belly-laugh on almost every page. If you grew up believing ‘being conformed not to this world’ meant being the weirdest kid on the block, churched will be the funniest book you’ve read in years!”
—Lisa Samson, award-winning author of Quaker Summer, Embrace Me and Justice in the Burbs

“With his homespun humor and eye for living detail, Matthew Paul Turner’s churched invites readers to rethink the quirks of Christian culture for the sake of uncovering that which is lastingly good and worth holding dear. Turner’s work is a refreshingly gentle discussion of faith and culture with the potential to spark meaningful conversations.”
—Pete Gall, author of My Beautiful Idol

"If you didn't think Jesus-loving fundamentalist kids were very funny, Matthew Paul Turner proves you wrong."
-- Jason Boyett, author of Pocket Guide to the Bible and Pocket Guide to the Apocalypse.

“How can a book be so stinkin’ funny and yet so poignant at the same time? Matthew Paul Turner found his voice! After reading churched I wanted to hug him and then toss out all of my son’s clip-on ties.”
—Jennifer Schuchmann, author of Six Prayers God Always Answers

“Who knew that a journey through faith and fundamentalism could be so painfully funny? I laughed out loud many a time while reading churched. Matthew Paul Turner manages to channel both boyhood innocence and wry retrospective through this fast-moving account of growing up with Jesus in late twentieth-century America.”
—Mike Morrell, TheOoze.com

“A funny, heartfelt portrayal of one man’s attempt to find true meaning despite his upbringing among fundamentalists who taught him that Azrael—the cat from The Smurfs—was an agent of Satan. The true miracle of this book is that its author never manages to lose his faith.”
—Robert Lanham, author of Sinner's Guide To The Evangelical Right

politics are so funny...

This has gotten around some, so you may have already seen it...

this is elias's video for his nana and papa

grandparent's day is tomorrow...

Elias and I made this little video for my parents. Yes, it's cheesy, but we had fun working on it together... 

jesus is my friend! (the music video)

I received this from my friend Jason Boyett. 

Jesus is my friend by "Sonseed" from Peleg Top on Vimeo.

received my first copies of churched...

And somebody's already started reading it... 

'churched' blog tour coming soon!

Would you like to participate? If so, here's how to apply... If you know of any established bloggers who might be interested, send them this information! Thanks guys!

Do you have an established personal blog? If you do, you may be eligible to join the blog tour for Matthew's new book churched. As an approved blog reviewer, you'll receive a free, advance copy of the book and a giveaway copy! To submit your blog for consideration, email ejohnson@randomhouse.com by September 15, 2008. Include your name, street address, and a link to your blog. A limited number of books are available, so email now! The blog tour will take place the week of October 13-17.

guitar praise

It's Guitar Hero with a savior! Yep, Christian Guitar Hero is hitting stores later this month. 

Thank you, Jesus!

FROM THE GUITAR PRAISE WEBSITE: Grab the guitar and play along with top Christian bands! Shred those riffs or blast the bass…you add a unique sound to the solid Christian rock. But watch out: if you can't keep up, the artists will take a break and stop the music. Crank it up and try again - you'll soon be rockin' with the best while praising the Lord!

So awesome, right?!?

Not sure what you think, but I'm so happy that Guitar Hero got saved. Now, people who love Jesus can rock out hardcore in the comfort of their living room without all of that awful guilt they feel for LOVING Pearl Jam and Matchbox 20.   

If you don't believe me, here's your proof...

almost doesn't seem Christian... but then it does again

This is Brandon Heath's new music video for his single "Give Me Your Eyes." For a Christian music video, it's not bad. I mean, if you only watch up until the first chorus, it's really good. Like good enough for VH-1.

After that it's all Gospel Music TV. I mean, there really is a "man to his right who is out of work and buying time..."

so much to write about...

Hello! Did you miss me? I know, I know... I've been a crappy blogger. And I'm sure you've been clicking refresh since last Tuesday wondering when I was going to write about my exciting life. (Kidding, of course.)

Anyway, I'm sitting on my red couch watching NBC's coverage of the Republican National Convention. I've watched every Republican and Democratic National Conventions since 1984. Yes, I was eleven-years old when I started getting interested in the political process. I don't know why, but back then I was enamored by the pomp & circumstance of the political process.

I don't know about you, but I am so glad that we're only two months away from Election Day. My gosh, I feel like this current political process has been going on since 1994. Seriously, how long can it go on? It's like an Oliver Stone movie. But now it's getting exciting. Or at least the drama is in full swing!

Obama's speech last week at the DNC (was I the only one who heard him say that he was the way, the truth, and the life? OK, maybe not, but you get my point). And then McCain's choice for VP Ms. Sarah Palin?! Very interesting. The only thing I'll say is this: I feel sorry for her daughter. Not because she's pregnant. But because she's pregnant and her mother is the Republican VP nominee. I'm sure it's hard enough being seventeen and pregnant, but being seventeen, pregnant, and potentially bound for life in the White House? I hope she has a good therapist. I'm seriously praying for her. All of us should be.

That's all I'll say about politics for the moment.

The following is a short clip from the gig I did in Dallas a couple weeks ago. I must say, it's not my best reading of this story. I've read this particular story a good number of times before, but sadly you can't tell here. If the story sounds familiar to some of you, that's because it might be. It was originally slated for Jesus Needs New PR, and I posted it here a year or so ago. But it's now included in "churched." (Which by the way, releases in one month--I'll be posting more about that later this week. I'm pretty darn excited...) Anyway, here's the clip...



Also, here's the "intro" video that the conference produced. It played right before I went out on stage...



Two weeks from tomorrow, I'll be doing my first of a few dates with The Afters and Matt Maher. I had coffee with Matt last week. Good guy. If you're not familiar with his music, and you enjoy praise and worship music, you should check him out. I got to hear a few demos of his new songs and they are really good. For those of you who live in Indiana and Ohio, that's where we'll be!

The dates are as follows... Jasper, Indiana (September 17), Forest Park, Ohio (September 19), and Mansfield, Ohio (September 20). On the following weekend, I'll be in St. Louis at Missouri Baptist University (September 27).

I'm excited to hit the road, mostly because I'm just so excited about going out and promoting "churched." I've been practicing! Which means I've been doing a lot of "talking to myself." I hope to see/meet some of you guys while I'm out on the road. It's going to be hard leaving Jessica and Elias. But thankfully, I'll be back home every week.

I'll still miss them like crazy.

OK, so here's a couple things that I'm sort of digging at the moment...

• The Original Fruit Leather: My wife has me hooked on these "all natural" fruit rollup knock-offs. And seriously, the grape-flavored ones taste like communion. Yum.
  
• A magazine called Domino. I don't normall enjoy decorating magazines. I don't watch TLC. I can't tolerate Extreme Makeover Home Edition. But I love Domino. Great design. Interesting articles. I could go on and on.
  

Lastly, I just want to write something about my wife. For as long as I live, I won't understand how I ended up with such a creative, passionate, and faithful woman. I don't get it. I can only imagine that God was smiling down on me the day he allowed me to meet her. We're hardly the perfect couple. We fight sometimes. She puts me in my place once in a while. I'm selfish toward her sometimes. I'm a writer with ADHD, which basically means I'm not always the easiest person to live with. But even during the most difficult times, Jessica believes in me. I know that sounds cliche, but trust me, it's not. I mean, the words do make up a cliche. But Jessica's belief in me is anything but cliche. (Am I making sense?) But I must say that watching her become a mommy to Elias has been the most beautiful experience. She's attentive and patient. She nuturing. She's just so good to him and it has been an absolute joy for me to watch. I hope someday he realizes how lucky a kid he is to have such a good mommy.

I guess that's all for now. Until...

Happy September.