The first time I heard Tony Campolo preach was in chapel at Westmont College. I fell out of my chair laughing at his irreverence, passion, and incredible sense of humor. That he was preaching a message of justice, love for others, and concern for the poor resonated even more deeply for me.
About a decade later I picked up a copy of The Kingdom of God is a Party and found myself laughing once again. Tony is an incredible storyteller and has a knack for weaving humor into spiritual insights. Like most of Tony’s books, Kingdom is a collection of sermons and experiences that is organized by chapter. When this is done well you feel the book speak to you because it is so personal. When done poorly it feels like Tony wrote it on a plane and quickly sent it off to his publisher. Kingdom is the former, thank goodness, and the chapters fly by as you read.
The premise of the book is exactly what you’d think it is from the title: the Kingdom of God is a party and we need to begin truly celebrating. We need more birthday cakes, songs, shouts of joy, laughter, and just plain fun in our spiritual lives. And we need to share this passion with others. Written 20-years ago, the book sweeps away the last remains of the old dour Christianity that was heir to the Puritan concepts of proper decorum. It was a breath of fresh air for me.
After reading the book I wrote Tony and asked if we might find a time to talk about some ideas that I had been pondering. He invited me to Philadelphia and we spent the better part of a day talking (between his classes, bible studies, meetings, and everything else that he packs into those rare days that he is home). The ideas and connections he shared (including reconnecting me with an old college friend) fostered the international launch of a new environmental ministry.
In some ways, The Kingdom of God is a Party represents the influence that Tony has on my life. He’s a friend, a mentor, a partner, and a big encourager. Kingdom may not be his best book (though I suspect it is one of his most popular), but it came along at just the right time for me. It spoke to me in a way that matches my own style: humorous, adventurous, sometimes irreverent, and yet serious about serving the poor and loving God.
And for that, it deserves to be on the list of 25 books that most influenced my life.
Want to read more of my top 25? Here is the list thus far:
Celebration of Discipline – #1
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings – #2
The Cost of Discipleship – #3
The Screwtape Letters – #4
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – #5
Only the Paranoid Survive – #6
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold – #7
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – #8
Truman – #9
Shantaram – #10
The Maltese Falcon – #11
The Shadow of the Wind – #12
Survey of the New Testament – #13
Calvin & Hobbes – #14
Celtic Daily Prayer – #15
Managing the Nonprofit Organization – #16
A Wrinkle in Time – #17
The Practice of the Presence of God – #18
Catch 22 – #19
The Tortilla Curtain – #20
The Kingdom of God is a Party – #21
Earthkeeping – #22
Reviving Ophelia – #23
The Grapes of Wrath – #24
Peanuts – #25