Bob Goff

I have ... really mixed feelings about this book. There, I said it.

With all its 5-star reviews, I feel somewhat in the minority (and probably am).

Certainly, Goff writes engagingly (much like I envision he speaks live/in person), and I understand the appeal of the read. Several of the stories were literally-LOL funny.

Other stories, though, I just found at best tacky. (The $400 room-service-bill prank on a honeymooning BFF? Really? I kept waiting for him to say, "Don't worry, I did actually show more cover the bill," but he never did. Like, who does that? Goff, apparently.)

Still other times, I felt the scriptures or stories themselves somewhat shoehorned into the point Goff was attempting to make. We give "satan" (little-"s" intentional, because Goff made _such a point_ of that) too much credit? How would Goff respond to 1 Peter 5:8, or Ephesians 6:10-17? Maybe we do give the devil a lot of credit, and when he gets more credit than our Savior, I fully agree that's problematic. But ... yeah. I'm still SMH a bit on that chapter in _Love Does_.

I'd be curious to find out how, exactly, Goff does engage the scriptures, as well--given his aversion to "Bible study." Sometimes the book feels geared more toward Christians already well versed in the Bible, to move them out of head knowledge and into action, living out what they believe. Definitely admirable--I'd also just say ... know the foundation you're built on.

Obviously, as I write this on Goodreads, you can see I highlighted a lot. And there's a lot of good here. I just think ... there could be more.

Perhaps my biggest positive takeaway is from Chapter 21, "Hearing Aid": "Tell me about the God you love; tell me about what He has inspired uniquely in you; tell me about what you're going to do about it, and a plan for your life will be pretty easy to figure out from there." (p. 143) show less

This is a wonderful read about some of the ways one man goes about living his faith. Goff tells some amazing, supposedly true, stories about his life and about what living life has taught him about God. There are some powerful insights, and while some of his life lessons are a bit repetitive, the stories make it absolutely worth reading all the way through. It is engaging, entertaining and his stories will likely touch most of us at one point or another. More importantly are the ways he has show more allowed life to teach him about faith and about a personal relationship with God in Christ.. Goff suggests that for all of us, we can come to a deeper relationship with God by learning the life lessons that teach us faith and be understanding that love is not something to learn about or simply receive, but when it comes to living our faith, "Love Does." show less

3.5 stars. This book is hard for me to review. I love many of the ideas in the book - be secretly incredible, spend more time loving like Jesus did, "hang" your real self and not the fake one out for people to see. The book is more of a collection of essays, and they each are thought-provoking. The entire time I was reading I could see how easy it would be to take the book the wrong way. It would be easy to think that this guy is just a rich jerk who can afford to do amazing, "whimsical" show more things. It would be easy to say I'm NOT the kind of person who can or wants to run off to some destination with no planning and do something crazy. In fact, I was starting to get stressed out as I was reading because I'm NOT that kind of person. In the end, though, I don't really think Bob Goff is trying to prove anything about how cool and awesome he is with this book. I think he's just trying to inspire people to get out of their ruts and really live loving and caring for others as Jesus did. show less

A book about putting action in place of words, Love Does seeks to change our minds about how we live within the world around us. Written in an almost autobiographical nature, Bob Goff shares many stories from his life, showing how living with whimsy and an insatiable desire to love others can bring change in one's life and strengthen one's relationship with God.

However, the book falls flat on delivering on its title. The person of Bob the author describes in his stories comes off as show more reckless, naive, and at times a brute. Aside from the literally incredible, nearly absurd stories, the theology presented in Love Does is flimsy and amateurish.

The first half is a more palatable version of the prosperity gospel, implying heavily that following God will improve your life in the same way Mr. Goff's has been. The second half is a treatise on why being a "religious person" makes you a "fakey" Christian, why sin isn't as bad as we might think, and several chapters devoted to propping up the anti-intellectual mentality that anything more than "simple" faith is inherently useless and suspect.

In all, Love Does offers more theological sound statements in its title than anywhere in its pages.

See a full critique here: http://kami.falseblue.com/2014/07/01/love-does/ show less