A review of Open House vol.3 by Sheridan Voysey
An admission: I do have a gig on the Christian national radio program that spawned this book (and its predecessors), but I don't get paid for my reviews and have no association with this book, aside from suggesting interviewees: authors Caroline Jones and Marilynne Robinson.
I feel compelled to recommend this book having raced through reading it. Sheridan Voysey is an excellent interviewer, comparable to Andrew Denton (Enough Rope) and Richard Fidler (Conversations, ABC radio). He has a wonderful way of disarming the subject and bringing forth gems of insight, experience or deep feeling.
Like well-known journalist and presenter Geraldine Doogue asking the church for a theology of generosity: "not just a "no, stop, don't, you're broken' message, but more of an invitational theology - of sharing, bounty, joy and involvement".
Or church leader Mark Driscoll saying that he is personally attracted to the humility of Jesus: "I am absolutely, continually overwhelmed by his humility… that God would come into human history… that God would be poor and homeless, single, never marry or enjoy sexual relationship… that he would suffer, that he would even allow his friends to betray him."
Or Sean George, himself a doctor, talking about the miracle of being brought back from being declared clinically dead: "The God whom I serve has answered and brought me back to life - something that is medically impossible, but with God nothing is impossible. I feel so honoured to be part of something that God has done."
Not all the subjects of this book are Christians, but Voysey unashamedly explores their views on spirituality. Even when talking to a confirmed atheist like philosopher Alain de Botton, Voysey gently gets him to question the logic of his fixed viewpoints.
Open House deals with issues of life, faith and culture; and the 20 interviews in this book are divided between those subject areas.
Highlights in the Life section include Melinda Tankard-Reist on the sexualisation of our girls, and Five Love Languages author Gary Chapman on how to show love.
In the Faith section, there is some fascinating research from Olivera Petrovich on every child's innate sense of God, Donald Miller's challenge to all of us to see our lives as an unfolding story intertwined with God's, and the limbless Nick Vujicic's encouragement to live miraculous lives.
The Culture section is like a textbook on how to interpret novels, TV, film and music. The standout is the fascinating conversation with actor Brian Deacon who played the lead role in The Jesus Film which has now been viewed over six billion times, and is credited with resulting in up to 225 million commitments to follow Jesus. Astonishingly, Deacon himself struggles to believe, although he has huge respect for the Son of God having played the role of Jesus.
Each interview follows Voysey's belief that "at the heart of your life lies the question of faith…" and "...through faith the unexpected can break into this world."
Which is why I will buy copies of this book for non-Christian family and friends this Christmas. Story and conversation are often much more effective vehicles for truth than preaching, which should come as no surprise since it is the way Jesus communicated his mission.
