Finding God in Unexpected Places
14 April, 2004 
almost finished finding god in unexpected places. (had to get it back to the library with a chapter or two to go.) as always, i come away from yancy’s books feeling like a well-read and well-informed member of society. without being simplistic, he’s an easy read, someone that everyone should read regularly.
finding god is a sort of collection of stories from yancy’s career as a columnist, (christianity today, i believe.) he doesn’t teach; he just tells stories: the story of a rogue missionary in atlanta, the story of hungry ex-communists in russia, stories of prisoners in chile and peru, stories of god being found in unexpected places. there’s nothing heavy in this book, only the steady, constant affirmation that god has not left earth, that those who seek him (and some who do not) find him, and that his grace remains the scandal of the age.
Your use of the phrase “God remains the scandal of the age” made me think of this I found at ponder this -
“All we really have is the scandalous gospel of grace, that while we were still weak and sinners and even enemies, Christ died for us.
“My place will know me no more, but God knows me. The Giver of life, who came to me and kept coming to me before I ever went to him, knows me, and so I have hope, hope on which I can rest all that I am . . .
“I’m dying. Maybe it’ll be longer instead of shorter; maybe I’ll preach for several months instead of a few weeks. But I am dying. And it’s hard and I hate it and I’m frightened by it. But there is hope, an unshakeable hope. That hope is not in something I’ve done, some purity I’ve kept, or some sermon I’ve written. I hope in God, the scandalous God with a plan the world has never heard of — reaching out for an enemy, saving a sinner, dying for the weak. And that I can stake my life on. I must. And so must you.”
From a writer/preacher named Van Tholen, I believe. Thanks! I’ll check out Yates.
Oops. I meant “Yancey.” Too bad you can’t always edit your own comments. Sorry. - not perfection
The scandal of grace is a common theme with Yancy. I highly recommend his work, “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” for further thoughts from him. In “Finding God…” he has the great chapter titled, “Will God Forgive What I’m About to Do?”