Loving Jesus by Mark Allan Powell. Epiphany-Oviedo ELCA library section 3A: Christianity: Jesus/God/Holy Spirit. This book by a professor of New Testament at a Lutheran seminary is written for everyday Lutherans just like us. He asks us to revisit our faith, not as an overly zealous “Jesus freak” would, but with a deeper commitment and steadier flame. He talks about religion in terms of “first naivete,” the early stage at which a person is constantly buoyed and happy in knowing Christ. Then he discusses the word piety, which sometimes has negative connotations; a pious person is sometimes thought of as being overly devout, perhaps even self-righteous. Instead, Powell asks us to consider piety to mean devotion to God, trying to love and understand others, and living with hope and faith. He terms this spiritual growth the “second naivete.” Using his own life experiences as examples, he shows us how some basic religious practices took his naive, youthful faith to a less certain but more bracing and exciting adult faith.
I found his review of prayer very helpful because I am not a very good pray-er, especially when I pray aloud. He covers when, where, how, and why we should pray. He suggests using the ACTS method of prayer which stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. Using these parts of a prayer gives us a framework upon which we can base our own personal praise, confessions, thanks and needs. This helps us formulate better prayers and if we can practice this, it becomes second nature. This was a very interesting discussion. Prayer is not just, “Dear God, I need this, I need that. And hurry it up! Amen.”
I also found his discussion about reading the bible helpful. He suggests how to read it, and and how we can expect to feel while reading it (perplexed, confused, and mostly puzzled.) He says that we will not understand parts of the bible, but with repeated reading and studying over the years, we will learn more and more about its meaning. He also suggests ways in which we can apply the bible personally to our own lives. This is very helpful and gives reading the bible greater value. He suggests that when you read a part of the bible you do not agree with, you should tell God this. Tell him your beliefs, biases, and doubts. Powell says, “Accept the bible’s invitation to engage the God of Scripture, and do this in a way that is honest and vulnerable.” In the end, everything in the bible, even the Old Testament, helps us to know, love, and have a relationship with Jesus Christ. This is the purpose of reading the bible. Thus reading the bible leads us into a deeper life of the spirit no matter what our current faith stage may be. How exciting, inspiring and comforting!
Important points of the text are separated into little quotations printed in gray type, and these are fun to read as highlights, for example: “Loving Jesus means loving someone who might sometimes get very annoyed with us, exasperated by our stupidity and appalled at our incompetence,” or “God is not only concerned with behavior, but also with the heart – not only with what we do, but also with why we do it.” ( )

In this biblical spirituality for today, Powell's earnest plea is for Christians to revisit their faith not by blazing in religious enthusiasm but by harboring a steadier flame and deeper commitment. Living at the poetic heart of faith, he argues, entails seeing the coordinates of religious life in a new way. Powell espouses the old-fashioned idea of piety. Drawing on his wide knowledge of the Bible and Christian tradition, as well as insights from his own journey, he shows how simple religious practices move us beyond the old certitudes of a naîve and youthful faith into the less certain but more bracing terrain of a second naîveté, a closer walk with Jesus.