My Beautiful Idol

At age 23 Gall walked away from a lucrative advertising job, determined to uphold his ethical standards while revolutionizing the world and the church. Five years later, after dropping out of seminary and quitting jobs with a rehab program, a community center, a home for developmentally disabled men, Bud's Warehouse and a plumbing distributor, he returned to his Midwestern family, musing, What do you call someone who leaves the ordinary world on a hero's journey, but fails? Like Rob Bell (Velvet Elvis) and Donald Miller (Blue Like Jazz), Gall is edgy the evangelical way: he keeps sex and swearing mostly offstage, but, like other good guys, drinks, doubts and unleashes scathing sarcasm at the conservative Christian subculture.Now in his mid-30s, Gall mocks his younger self throughout: a fat blond guy with no car, no cash, no direction, no prospects, no discipline. Relentlessly ironic, he may invite misunderstanding: do his harsh criticisms reflect his present view of evangelical reality, or are they meant to show his postadolescent pomposity?Nevertheless, his themes are clear: God doesn't need an image consultant; it is better to be authentic than great; and to achieve authenticity we must forsake our deepest sin and our love for our most beautiful idol: to be our own god. (May)
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Review
Have you ever turned on lights in a basement only to see a flurry of critters running for cover? With a wry mix of insight and transparency Pete Gall lights up a reader's soul. Thank God for a book that becomes an honest friend! But Pete does more than expose our brokenness. He tugs us to join him in walking, stumbling, running - whatever our state and status - into the arms of a God who loves us. This book is for everyone, absolutely everyone, who knows what a prodigal is and needs! -- Dr. Ron Frost, Professor of Historical Theology & Ethics, Multnomah Seminary

Pete Gall approaches life with such honesty and intelligence, it can be a bit unnerving to interact with his story - whether in person or in his books. If you hang in there, you discover that grace is Pete's ultimate aim, and love is his trump card. His spiritual autobiography challenged me to explore my own personal story, hoping to experience the kind of growth and insight I drew from Pete. -- Jeff Johnsen, Executive Director, Mile High Ministries

Pete Gall runs the gauntlet of self-absorption, religious dysfunction, and disgust at the tawdry meanness of his own spiritual veneer - the archetypal path of contemporary evangelicalism. With humor and honesty as his only protections, he takes a beating (and the candid reader will too), but keeps his feet moving out of a genuine hunger for God. -- Greg Paul, Author

St. Augustine invented the confessional memoir. Modern examples are shorter and funnier (think Anne Lamott and Donald Miller). Now comes Pete Gall, who somehow gathers the messiness of his life into an enduring account, one both poignant and whimsical. -- Philip Yancey, Author

[My Beautiful Idol] is a delicate reminder to denounce all that dazzles that does not look like Jesus. It is an invitation to say no to all other lovers and counterfeit hopes, and to put our faith in the God that is blessing the most downtrodden people of this world, the God whose Gospel is good news to the poor. -- Shane Claiborne, Author & Activist