All My Knotted Up Life

Pastor’s Bookshelf - Welcome to my bookshelf!

Each month I will discuss a recent book that I’ve finished.

This time I’d like to talk about

All My Knotted Up Life

By Beth Moore

It might surprise you to know that this is actually the FIRST book I have ever written by Beth Moore. For those who don’t know, Beth Moore is an extremely well known and successful speaker and bible teacher. She existed primarily in Southern Baptist Circles, but her work quickly expanded beyond that into these incredible nation-wide tours where she would travel and teach all over and everywhere that people needed to hear about Jesus.

She was prolific in the 80’s and 90’s - but I had actually never heard of her until I found her on twitter. I knew people had strong opinions, but all I ever saw was her kindness and her persistent and ever present love of Jesus in her tweets. Eventually I realized that she was a big deal outside of twitter and started to hear about all of her many works over the years.

This book is a memoir, but it’s so much more than that. It tells an incredible story of a flawed woman from a flawed family working in a flawed system trying to help flawed people. It’s heart-breaking and beautiful, inspiring and discouraging each in turn. At the core it is honest and it is authentic. I laughed, I cried, and I pestered my wife over and over sharing bits and pieces I enjoyed the entire time I was reading it.

You’re probably noticing a trend in that I generally do recommend the audio book version - and this title is no exception. In fact, this is another one of those situations where the audio book format is even BETTER than print. Beth reads it herself, and when she talks about her early years in Arkansas - she uses her strong Arkansas accent. And then, when the story moves to Texas, the accent follows right along.

If you don’t know - Beth has been the center of much controversy in evangelical spaces, particularly in the world of the Southern Baptist Church. Because of her popularity, there had always been critics who did not women to preach or teach that felt she was crossing a line. But then after she spoke out against Donald Trump in the wake of the Access Hollywood Tapes being released - the sky came falling down around her. The wave of anger that came into Beth’s life eventually led to her leaving the SBC, and finding a new home in a different church.

She is not the only woman leader to face struggles in church life. She is not the only leader to criticize Donald Trump and experience strong backlash because of it. But, because of her public persona, and her significant notoriety - she plays out the story of many in a more public way. I think a lot of people will see themselves in pieces or Aunty Beth’s story. I can’t recommend this book highly enough - it is a beautiful gift to the Christian world, and I hope many find it as healing as I did.