The Year of Living Like Jesus: My Journey of Discovering What Jesus Would Really Do

I appreciated how Dobson sprinkled quotes about the reality of how hard it is to live like Jesus throughout the book. One example that made me smile was when Dobson was trying to "honor the Sabbath" but got so eager to wear tassels to remind him of the commandments of God ,that he talked on the phone, used the internet and bought clothes when he was supposed to be resting. Dobson's confessions of failing miserably when he attempted to fast and go camping were hilarious. He was trying to experience the same story of when Jesus was in the dessert for 40 days and was tempted. Here are some things I learned from this book: * The true meaning of "The Kingdom of God." * Various ways to pray. Dobson uses scripture to pray. A concept that makes beautiful sense. I've also incorporated the saying, "Lord have mercy on ___________, " when I don't really know what to pray, but I know God can help. * I've been a Christian all my life, but I've never learned much about other practices. Through his year of Living Like Jesus, Dobson taught me about the Catholic rosary, Episcopal prayer beads, and Orthodox prayer rope. * He also gets brilliant advise for the concept that most Christians have a problem with: praying to Mary. During the year of living like Jesus Dobson went into bars where he was able to casually talk with customers. Yes, he drank a beer when he went into these bars. His conversations with the bar tender and customers were amazing. They asked all kinds of questions and perhaps Dobson planted some seeds. I applaud his efforts. During this year, Dobson leads a group of people on a tour to Israel. I have no idea if I will ever get to visit the Holy Lands, so his descriptions of the places he takes his tourists sounded beautiful. As you can imagine from the concept of this book, Dobson is an amazing individual. I would love to hear him speak some day. In the book, he shares examples of two sermons he preached that would have been fun to hear. In one, he used live goats and in another, he carried a large, heavy cross on his back. Inspired by this book, and the scripture, "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing some people entertained angles without knowing it. " (Hebrews 13:2), I've started a campaign to help a neighbor/family who I don't know, but who is struggling with their health and finances this Christmas season.

Rather than meeting the familiar and expected beneath the cover, I opened this book and found page after page of things that challenged me. Ed, a man living with a degenerative terminal illness, set out to live like Jesus for a year. To do so, he committed to reading through the entire Gospels once a week. He began eating kosher and growing his beard. He went to Synagogue and kept company with people living on the fringes. To the best of his abilities, he took the Bible literally and used it as a filter for every fork in the road. Ed also embarked on a personal journey to discover Jesus in other contexts, something I applaud. He explored what it is to pray the rosary, he purchased an Orthodox prayer rope which moved him deeply, he talked to priests and rabbis and learned folks in an array of different settings, all with the hope of understanding more fully who this person of Jesus was and is. The Year... is arranged as a journal until August when he abandons this format for a broader, more topical analysis of Jesus and faith practices. While I found that many of the Jewish synagogue prayers and procedures were a lot to take in during the month of October [due to Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur], I did come to appreciate the history and faith of a people I still know little about. Isn't it ironic, that so many Christians [I'm putting myself in this category] seem to all but ignore one of the most important components of Christ? In the end I came away with many questions, many things I continue to ponder, and a truer, more accurate portrait of what it means to follow Jesus. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to those of you who would like to really *measure the cost.* Not that Ed did it perfectly, by his own admission! Not that you'll agree with all he did, perhaps, or with all of the decisions he made. But walking with every good intention and doing one's best while confined in our sinful humanity is not as easy as we make it out to be when we wear a WWJD bracelet. Living for Jesus deserves a fresh lens, and I believe Ed Dobson has loaned us his, full of joy and struggle in equal measure.

I have read a lot of books on the life of Jesus, but never have I read a book written by a former pastor that spent a year of his life living exactly as Jesus lived. Ed Dobson is a brilliant writer and pastor and he has taken the gifts God has given him and shared them with the world. I read this book in 2 days and I could not put it down. It was so fresh and free to see that Ed just did everything in his life based on what Jesus would have done, or did do. Now he did not do everything Jesus did - he did not allow himself to be cruicified and rose from the dead 3 days later, but he did most things as Jesus did. He ate kosher, he went to Synagogue, he gave to anyone who asked of him. He did everything to become closer to Jesus. I believe he accomplished his goal. Please take time and get this book and read it. You will not regret it! Matt Nash

At what first seemed like a gimmick (wearing proper clothing, eating kosher), turned into a man really struggling to treat the people and the world around him like Jesus would, which turns out, is not easy at all (shocker!)... The book is an insightful look into the character of Jesus and of the faith of his followers. It's not PC and I'm sure people are going to be arguing semantics about this, but the author is honest and doesn't hold back his fears and doubts. A very good read!

I learned so much from this book. This book is fresh, honest and open. No matter your religious (or non-religious) background, you will find this book a good companion for your own journey. During Ed's investigation of prayer, he investigates and shares with us the spiritual disciplines of the Jewish festivals, the Catholic prayers, the Orthodox and Episcopal prayers. He also talks about his reading of the gospels over and over. He also investigates outreach in non-traditional forms (my passion), which was fun to watch. Have you ever heard of someone's journey and it challenged you to do better? Years ago, I discovered that one of the older women of God I know memorizes whole books of the bible. That became one of my goals, and I began working on James. (Still working.) This book had the same effect on me. It gave me insight, hope and encouragement by watching someone else' journey; as well as a challenge to do better in my own walk. Today I'm doing a better job of living purposefully and focusing on God's perspective. Thanks Ed for sharing your journey - it is making a difference!