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A review by cocoonofbooks
Bo's Café by Bill Thrall, John S. Lynch, Bruce McNicol
2.0
There's a great irony at play with this book. The overriding theme of this book (besides turning your life over to Jesus) is to take off your mask, be real, and not try to hide anything about yourself. And yet the book itself is clearly written with an agenda that seemed to me to be painfully clear. I didn't realize until I was done that it was written by three guys who are all part of the same religious organization, but it makes complete sense given how the book is written.
It's not a bad message, certainly: We all have flaws, and when we continue to make promises not to screw up, and focus solely on our behaviors rather than the underlying feelings driving them, we inevitably fail and lead others to not trust us. In the case of the protagonist of Bo's Cafe, Steven, the problem is anger driven by shame and a fear of being seen as less than, which has driven his wife away from him. He finds an unconventional mentor in Andy, an old friend of his father's, and eventually confronts the underlying issues leading to his anger and his wife's distrust. Of course, he must do this by entering into an honest relationship with Jesus and opening himself up to God's grace.
The problems I had with this book were many of the same ones I had with the movie Courageous, also a product of "Christian media." I think people who are so deep into Christian culture have lost touch with how non-Christians actually think and talk. Of course, Steven says he is a Christian in the book, but he seems to be intended to represent those people who are Christian in name only. So when Andy starts talking about God, the authors write Steven's reaction how they think a non-Christian or nominal Christian would respond, and it's somewhat ridiculous. Another issue reminiscent of Courageous is that the main characters are all white, while there are a few minority characters relegated to sidekicks or comic relief.
The character of Andy essentially teaches what a good psychologist would teach you, but he kind of dismisses counselors and psychologists for not getting to the root issue, which, of course, is one's relationship with God. In fact, the book emphasizes that Andy and Steven's mentoring relationship is one in a long line of relationships — Andy's mentor, her mentor before her, and the woman who has come to Steven at the end of the book to seek mentoring. It reinforces the problematic notion that God and other, older Christians ("real" ones, not preachy ones) are ALL you should need to get your life together, no matter your issues.
I think this book could be really good for a particular type of person. I found it via a recommendation by Tony DiLorenzo, one of the hosts of the One Extraordinary Marriage podcast, and it's the kind of book that was made for a guy like Tony — a committed Christian who struggles with anger issues (and also happens to live in California near where the story takes place). But the book's agenda does not seem to be "Get Christians to seek help for their problems (including counseling when necessary)." It seems to be, "Let's write a book about guys, that includes lots of stuff about sports and cars and boats, and it will be recommended by guys to other guys who have problems and they'll come to Jesus that way." And the varnish just isn't thick enough to keep that agenda from showing through. The authors would do better to stick to nonfiction (which they've also written) to communicate their message about authentic faith, grace, and trusting God.
It's not a bad message, certainly: We all have flaws, and when we continue to make promises not to screw up, and focus solely on our behaviors rather than the underlying feelings driving them, we inevitably fail and lead others to not trust us. In the case of the protagonist of Bo's Cafe, Steven, the problem is anger driven by shame and a fear of being seen as less than, which has driven his wife away from him. He finds an unconventional mentor in Andy, an old friend of his father's, and eventually confronts the underlying issues leading to his anger and his wife's distrust. Of course, he must do this by entering into an honest relationship with Jesus and opening himself up to God's grace.
The problems I had with this book were many of the same ones I had with the movie Courageous, also a product of "Christian media." I think people who are so deep into Christian culture have lost touch with how non-Christians actually think and talk. Of course, Steven says he is a Christian in the book, but he seems to be intended to represent those people who are Christian in name only. So when Andy starts talking about God, the authors write Steven's reaction how they think a non-Christian or nominal Christian would respond, and it's somewhat ridiculous. Another issue reminiscent of Courageous is that the main characters are all white, while there are a few minority characters relegated to sidekicks or comic relief.
The character of Andy essentially teaches what a good psychologist would teach you, but he kind of dismisses counselors and psychologists for not getting to the root issue, which, of course, is one's relationship with God. In fact, the book emphasizes that Andy and Steven's mentoring relationship is one in a long line of relationships — Andy's mentor, her mentor before her, and the woman who has come to Steven at the end of the book to seek mentoring. It reinforces the problematic notion that God and other, older Christians ("real" ones, not preachy ones) are ALL you should need to get your life together, no matter your issues.
I think this book could be really good for a particular type of person. I found it via a recommendation by Tony DiLorenzo, one of the hosts of the One Extraordinary Marriage podcast, and it's the kind of book that was made for a guy like Tony — a committed Christian who struggles with anger issues (and also happens to live in California near where the story takes place). But the book's agenda does not seem to be "Get Christians to seek help for their problems (including counseling when necessary)." It seems to be, "Let's write a book about guys, that includes lots of stuff about sports and cars and boats, and it will be recommended by guys to other guys who have problems and they'll come to Jesus that way." And the varnish just isn't thick enough to keep that agenda from showing through. The authors would do better to stick to nonfiction (which they've also written) to communicate their message about authentic faith, grace, and trusting God.