Same Kind of Different As Me -- 5 stars

Same Kind of Different As Me 

by Ron Hall and Denver Moore

 

A true story that reads Better than fiction.    A true page turner and a call to authentic  Christian service! 

 

This book is a true story of three very different people whose lives come together by divine appointment. The people are Ron a very wealthy art dealer who travels the world selling rare paintings to his extremely wealthy clients, Denver, a mean, rough and rugged homeless drifter who escapes from modern day slavery (share cropping) in the deep south only to end up as a homeless bum in Texas, and Debbie the arts dealer's wife, a woman of true faith, love and compassion.

Debbie felt the Lord was calling her to move beyond charity dinners for the less privileged in society to showing His love to the "least of these". Like most women, she draws her husband, Ron into serving with her at the shelter.   Ron on the other hand agrees to help just to please Debbie and appease his conscience. While they are serving the homeless, Debbie encourages Ron to develop a friendship with Denver, a very mean and rough homeless bum whom she is convinced the Lord will use to bring change to the city.

 This book was very touching and will change the way you view the less privilege. This book showed me what it really means to help the less privileged. Helping the "least of these" is more than visiting them as a group to feed them and "share the Word" with them. Truly caring for the under privilege is getting to know them and being involved and truly concerned about their lives. This book has really changed my life.

My favorite part of the book was when Ron asked Denver he could be his friend. Here is how Denver responds (very profound):

 "I heard that when white folks go fishin they do somethin called `catch and release.'" Catch and release? I nodded solemnly, suddenly nervous and curious at the same time.

 "That really bothers me," Denver went on. "I just can't figure it out. 'Cause when colored folks go fishin, we really proud of what we catch, and we take it and show it off to everybody that'll look. Then we eat what we catch . . . in other words, we use it to sustainus. So it really bothers me that white folks would go to all that trouble to catch a fish, then when they done caught it, just throw it back in the water." He paused again, and the silence between us stretched a full minute.

Then: "Did you hear what I said?" I nodded, afraid to speak, afraid to offend. Denver looked away, searching the blue autumn sky, then locked onto me again with that drill-bit stare.

"So, Mr. Ron, it occurred to me: If you is fishin for a friend you just gon' catch and release, then I ain't got no desire to be your friend."

 This book will challenge any Christian to seek the Lord more and also to love as we have been commanded to. Debbie was a true woman of God who was willing to serve the Lord where ever He took her. This book deals with heart breaking tragedy (the death in the book really affected me), prejudice, crisis of faith, forgiveness and authentic Christian love.

While I love the portrayal of Christ's love in the book, there were some troubling theology present. Like someone having a "visitation" from a dead person. Scripture does not teach that the dead can "visit" with the living. Having said that, this does not in any way take away from the greatness of the book.

 I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is 17 and older.