August 1, 2014

How to Pick Up a Stripper and Other Acts of Kindness by Todd and Erin Stevens

How to Pick Up a Stripper and Other Acts of Kindness by Todd and Erin Stevens is a provocative title, but it is actually referring to a ministry that is in Nashville, Tennessee that helps strippers to show them that God loves them, despite the choices they have made in life.


Book Description
The starting and ending points for all outreach have to be love. The most effective way to reach people for Jesus is through servant evangelism—showing God’s love in practical ways. This type of outreach is what Jesus modeled, is culturally relevant, and values people. The goal should be to invite people to take the next step from where they are.
Friendship Community Church, led by Pastor Todd Stevens, has experienced tremendous growth through acts of kindness. The church’s most radical servant evangelism project is Nashville Strip Church, founded by Erin Stevens. Erin’s life changed when God told her to "go feed the strippers." With home-cooked meals and gift bags, Erin shows dancers that God loves them. How to Pick Up a Stripper and Other Acts of Kindnessincludes the story of a dancer who has come to know Christ, left the strip club industry through Erin’s ministry, and is now serving with Erin to reach other strippers.
 From feeding the homeless, to Easter egg hunts for special needs children, to ministering in a strip club,How to Pick Up a Stripper and Other Acts of Kindness provides exciting ideas for showing God’s love in practical ways.

Features include:
* Stories from servant evangelism events, including Strip Church
* Ideas for showing God’s love in practical ways
* Inspiration to step out of your comfort zone to serve people” – How to Pick Up a Stripper and Other Acts of Kindness

My Thoughts
How to Pick Up a Stripper and Other Acts of Kindness is a book that I really enjoyed reading because it shows that there are ministries out there that are truly helping people that most of society doesn’t want to talk about or try to help.

This book doesn’t just focus on strippers though, it is also helping the homeless, children with disabilities, and much more. The overall message is that we can all be better servants and people in general, if we slow down our pace, and listen to people who we encounter with respect and love – not matter what we may originally perceive them to be.

Overall, I think that this book is an excellent example of how to be a better Christian and/or person. I definitely recommend it.


* Thank you to the publisher of How to Pick Up a Stripper and Other Acts of Kindness, Thomas Nelson as part of their Book Look Bloggers program, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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