Miller's best-known title Blue Like Jazz is not intended to be read as a theological book. It is about an earnest evangelical who nearly lost his faith, went on a spiritual journey, and found Jesus' relevance for everyday life. In the book, Miller describes how the gospel is relevant to postmoderns in all kinds of life situations, including those which make some traditional church members uncomfortable; a few of his descriptions are even somewhat irreverent. Blue Like Jazz is targeted to appeal to those experimenting with different flavors of spirituality, most of whom have lost faith in the institutional church, and many people who buy the book use it as a tool to help people who are struggling in their faith to reconnect with God and the church.

"Miller is recognized for his feelings that Christian faith should be a relationship, rather than a formula. He writes that too many Christians act like the Bible is a sort of math textbook, rather than a long story of God's involvement with people through friendships with Biblical figures like Adam, Abraham, and Moses. This emphasis on the Bible as a narrative has made his writing popular with many involved in the emerging church conversation, while he himself does not consider himself to be a follower of that belief system, recognizing the need of mankind to view its depravity so that it might better teach the concept of love." (Wikipedia)

"I (Donald Miller) never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve...I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happened." In Donald Miller's early years, he was vaguely familiar with a distant God. But when he came to know Jesus Christ, he pursued the Christian life with great zeal. Within a few years he had a successful ministry that ultimately left him feeling empty, burned out, and, once again, far away from God. In this intimate, soul-searching account, Miller describes his remarkable journey back to a culturally relevant, infinitely loving God. (Book description of Blue Like Jazz)

For more information on the Emerging Church Movement, please click here.

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