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Blue Like Jazz

Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality is a 2003 memoir by American author Donald Miller recounting his experiences with doubt, disillusionment with institutional religion, and eventual embrace of a personal Christian faith characterized by authenticity over dogma.^[1]^[2] The book, published by Thomas Nelson, presents spirituality through anecdotal essays rather than systematic theology, emphasizing relational aspects of faith amid cultural skepticism toward organized Christianity.^[3] Miller's work gained significant traction within evangelical circles, selling over 500,000 copies by 2007 and earning the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) Gold Book Award for sales exceeding that threshold.^[4] It spent 43 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, reflecting its appeal to younger readers seeking non-traditional expressions of faith.^[5] Critics noted its conversational style and vulnerability as strengths, though some faulted it for lacking doctrinal rigor and prioritizing personal narrative over biblical exposition.^[6] In 2012, the book was adapted into a film directed by Steve Taylor, starring Marshall Allman as a fictionalized version of Miller navigating secular college life after a conservative upbringing.^[7]^[8] The independent production, funded partly through crowdfunding, received mixed reviews for its episodic structure and thematic inconsistencies, holding a 40% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and portraying Christianity's tensions with countercultural environments.^[9] Despite modest box office success, the adaptation extended the book's influence in exploring faith's relevance in postmodern settings.^[10]

Publication History

Authorship and Writing Process

Donald Miller authored Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality as a semi-autobiographical collection of essays reflecting his personal spiritual evolution. Born in 1971 and raised in a conservative Christian environment in Houston, Texas, Miller departed from traditional expectations after high school, embarking on cross-country travels before settling in Portland, Oregon.^[4] There, he attended Reed College, a secular liberal arts institution known for its unconventional culture, which profoundly shaped the introspective content of the book through direct encounters with skepticism toward organized religion.^[4] The writing process stemmed from Miller's private journaling and reflections on disillusionment with institutional Christianity, rather than commissioned or collaborative efforts. This followed his debut book, Prayer and the Fifth Gospel: A Cry for a Living Church, a shorter work published in 2000 by a small press, which received limited attention.^[11] Blue Like Jazz, completed independently, eschewed rigid doctrinal frameworks in favor of narrative vignettes drawn from lived experiences, such as community-building amid cultural alienation. The title derives from an appreciation for jazz's unstructured expressiveness, evoking Miles Davis's emotive style as described by musician Tom Waits.^[12] Miller's approach emphasized authenticity over polished theology, prioritizing experiential anecdotes to convey faith's fluidity. He later described the book's genesis as an organic outgrowth of personal crises and epiphanies in his early thirties, without reliance on academic research or external validation during drafting. This self-directed method contrasted with more systematic religious writing, aligning with the text's critique of formulaic spirituality.^[13]

Initial Release and Commercial Performance

Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality was initially published by Thomas Nelson on July 15, 2003.^[12] The book emerged from Donald Miller's personal reflections on faith, initially self-published in limited form before attracting the interest of the commercial publisher.^[4] Initial sales were modest, reflecting the niche appeal of its unconventional approach to Christian spirituality amid a market dominated by more traditional evangelical titles.^[4] However, word-of-mouth promotion and resonance with younger readers disillusioned with institutional religion propelled its growth. By 2007, four years after release, it had sold 500,000 copies, earning the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) Gold Book Award.^[4] The book's commercial breakthrough came as it ascended to the New York Times bestseller list, ultimately surpassing 1 million copies sold.^[14] This performance marked a significant success for Thomas Nelson, transforming Miller from an obscure author into a prominent voice in contemporary Christian literature.^[15]

Content and Structure

Narrative Style and Format

Blue Like Jazz is structured as a collection of autobiographical essays rather than a conventional linear memoir, with each chapter centered on a distinct personal anecdote or thematic reflection drawn from author Donald Miller's experiences.^[16] ^[17] The book comprises 14 chapters, each titled with a single word accompanied by a subtitle that hints at its content, such as "Confession" or "Belief," allowing for discrete explorations of spirituality unbound by chronological sequence.^[18] This episodic format facilitates a mosaic-like presentation, where vignettes interconnect through recurring motifs of doubt, grace, and relational faith, eschewing a unified plot in favor of fragmented, introspective narratives.^[19] ^[20] The narrative style is markedly conversational and confessional, employing first-person prose that mimics casual storytelling to convey vulnerability and authenticity.^[21] Miller integrates humor, self-deprecation, and raw emotional disclosure to dissect theological concepts, often through everyday scenarios like camping trips or romantic entanglements, rendering abstract ideas tangible and relatable.^[22] This approach prioritizes experiential testimony over systematic argumentation, with chapters functioning as standalone reflections that cumulatively build a portrait of evolving belief.^[20] The absence of overt sermonizing or scriptural exegesis underscores the subtitle's emphasis on "nonreligious thoughts," fostering an intimate, reader-directed dialogue that invites scrutiny of institutional faith norms.^[23]

Key Personal Anecdotes

In Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller recounts his experience at Reed College, a secular institution in Portland, Oregon, where he and a group of Christian friends constructed a confessional booth during the annual Renn Fayre festival in the late 1990s, an event characterized by heavy alcohol consumption and uninhibited behavior among students.^[24] Instead of inviting attendees to confess personal sins, the group reversed the traditional format by publicly confessing the historical and contemporary failings of the Christian church, including its complicity in events such as the Crusades, support for slavery, and perceived political overreach in modern America.^[25] Miller describes this as a pivotal moment of vulnerability that fostered unexpected dialogues and softened hostilities toward Christianity among skeptical participants.^[26] Another prominent anecdote involves Miller's strained relationship with his absent father, which shaped his initial resistance to conceptualizing God as a paternal figure.^[27] Raised in a nominally Christian household in Texas during the 1970s and 1980s, Miller reflects on how his father's emotional unavailability led him to view divine authority with suspicion, prompting a prolonged phase of doubt and experimentation with nonreligious spirituality in his young adulthood.^[26] This personal dynamic, explored through introspective narrative, underscores his broader critique of institutionalized religion's failure to address individual relational voids.^[22] Miller also shares the story of his friend Laura, a fellow Reed student whose exploration of a same-sex relationship represented a search for identity amid existential uncertainty, ultimately culminating in her reaffirmation of Christian beliefs.^[28] In the account, Laura attends a prayer event at a drive-in theater, where a raw, unscripted encounter with communal worship leads her to conclude that Jesus is the Son of God, marking a turning point from disillusionment to tentative faith.^[28] This episode illustrates Miller's emphasis on experiential authenticity over doctrinal conformity in spiritual growth.^[29]

Core Themes

Rejection of Institutional Religion

In Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality, published in 2003, Donald Miller articulates a profound disillusionment with organized Christianity, portraying institutional religion as marred by hypocrisy, consumerism, and entanglement with political partisanship.^[30] He recounts personal experiences, such as his upbringing in a strict Texas denomination where faith felt distant and formulaic, leading him to abandon church attendance in his early adulthood.^[31] Miller describes evangelical churches as overly focused on cultural battles and consumer-oriented programs, which distracted from authentic spiritual engagement and alienated seekers like himself.^[32] A central anecdote illustrating this rejection occurs during Miller's time at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, a secular liberal arts institution known for its countercultural ethos. Amidst a campus environment hostile to Christianity, he constructs a "confession booth" at the annual Renn Fayre festival—not to evangelize, but to publicly confess the failings of the institutional church on behalf of Christians.^[30] In this setup, Miller apologizes to nonbelievers for specific grievances, including the church's historical support for slavery, environmental degradation, political manipulation, and judgmental attitudes toward differing lifestyles.^[33] He frames these admissions as liberating, arguing that shedding the "baggage" of institutional Christianity allows for a purer embrace of Jesus' teachings, unencumbered by organizational flaws.^[34] Miller explicitly differentiates "Christianity" as a rigid, institutional system from "Christian spirituality," which he views as experiential and relational. He writes of "throwing out Christianity and embracing Christian spirituality," a process that involved rejecting doctrinal legalism and corporate-like church structures in favor of personal encounters with faith.^[30] This theme resonates with a generation skeptical of religious institutions, as evidenced by the book's appeal to those distrustful of organized religion yet drawn to individualized belief.^[35] However, Miller's narrative does not advocate total abandonment of community but critiques its current forms as insufficient for genuine transformation.^[27]

Emphasis on Experiential Faith

In Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller advocates for an experiential form of Christian faith, framing it as "Christian spirituality"—a personal, intuitive engagement with God that prioritizes direct emotional and relational encounters over doctrinal formulas or institutional affiliations. He describes this shift explicitly: "The beginning of sharing my faith with people began by throwing out Christianity and embracing Christian spirituality, a nonpolitical mysterious system that can be experienced but not explained."^[30] This approach centers on what Miller identifies as the essence of spiritual transformation: "I think the most important thing that happens within Christian spirituality is when a person falls in love with Jesus," evoking a visceral, affective bond akin to romantic attachment rather than intellectual assent or communal ritual.^[30] The book's titular jazz metaphor encapsulates this experiential emphasis, likening faith to jazz music as "a music birthed out of freedom," where "everybody sings their song the way they feel it, everybody closes their eyes and lifts up their hands."^[36] Unlike structured symphonies or rigid religious orthodoxy, jazz—and by extension, authentic spirituality—involves improvisation, unresolved tensions, and personal expression, mirroring the ambiguities of lived belief without demanding tidy resolutions or propositional certainty.^[36] Miller uses this analogy to critique formulaic evangelism and doctrinal rigidity, arguing that true faith emerges from soul-level freedom and authenticity, allowing individuals to navigate doubts, grace, and divine presence through felt experience rather than prescribed rules.^[13] A pivotal anecdote illustrating this is the "confession booth" Miller and his Christian friends erected at Reed College's annual Ren Fayre festival in 1997, a countercultural event known for hedonism. Rather than soliciting confessions from nonbelievers, they reversed the dynamic: Christians publicly confessed the church's historical failings—such as complicity in slavery, the Crusades, and cultural hypocrisy—to passersby, fostering vulnerability and relational honesty as a pathway to spiritual connection.^[24] This act embodied experiential faith by prioritizing humble, embodied witness over argumentative persuasion, enabling Miller to experience God's grace amid personal and communal brokenness, and highlighting how such raw authenticity can bridge divides more effectively than institutional defenses.^[24]^[17]

Reception and Influence

Positive Assessments

Blue Like Jazz garnered significant praise for its candid, narrative-driven approach to Christian spirituality, which resonated with readers disillusioned by conventional religious structures. Critics and readers alike commended its authenticity and ability to articulate personal faith struggles in relatable, non-dogmatic terms. Publishers Weekly highlighted Miller's "enjoyably clever" prose, noting that his story is "telling and beautiful, even poignant," distinguishing it from more formulaic spiritual memoirs.^[37] The book's conversational style was seen as a refreshing counterpoint to theological rigidity, appealing particularly to younger audiences navigating postmodern skepticism toward organized religion.^[6] Commercially, the book achieved bestseller status, appearing on The New York Times list and selling over 1 million copies, which earned it a Platinum Award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association in recognition of its sales milestone.^[30]^[38]^[3] This success underscored its broad appeal, bridging secular and evangelical readerships by framing faith as an experiential journey rather than doctrinal adherence. Influential figures in progressive evangelical circles, such as Brian McLaren, praised it as "no better book" for introducing Christian spirituality to those unfamiliar or wary of traditional expressions.^[39] The work's influence extended to voicing sentiments of a generation seeking genuine encounters with God amid cultural shifts, with reviewers noting its role in making Christianity feel accessible and relevant without compromising core spiritual insights.^[19] Its high reader engagement, evidenced by sustained popularity and word-of-mouth endorsements, further affirmed its positive reception among those valuing vulnerability over polished piety.^[4]

Broader Cultural Reach

Blue Like Jazz attained widespread commercial success, appearing on the New York Times bestseller list for 43 weeks and selling over 1.5 million copies.^[40]^[30] The memoir's confessional style and critique of evangelical subculture appealed to young adults disillusioned with rigid institutional religion, fostering discussions on personal spirituality amid postmodern skepticism.^[4]^[35] Emerging alongside the Emerging Church movement in the early 2000s, the book catalyzed a shift toward narrative-driven expressions of faith, emphasizing experiential encounters over doctrinal conformity and influencing how younger evangelicals engaged cultural critiques of Christianity.^[4]^[41] It popularized a "nonreligious" lens on Christian themes, resonating with intellectuals seeking authentic spirituality detached from perceived cultural legalism.^[42]^[33] The work's emphasis on vulnerability and self-discovery extended its reach into broader conversations on youth spirituality, appearing in analyses of reading patterns among first-year college students and missions-oriented narratives that prioritize personal stories.^[43]^[44] By voicing generational angst over conflating faith with political conservatism, it contributed to evolving evangelical self-examination without prescribing institutional alternatives.^[30]^[19]

Criticisms and Controversies

Theological Inadequacies

Critics of Blue Like Jazz have argued that the book's portrayal of Christian faith prioritizes subjective experience over doctrinal precision and scriptural authority, rendering its theology vague and underdeveloped. Donald Miller presents spirituality as an indefinable feeling akin to jazz music, stating that "it cannot be explained, but is something you feel," which aligns with postmodern skepticism toward objective truth but sidesteps systematic biblical exposition.^[6]^[45] The text rarely references specific Bible verses, relying instead on personal anecdotes and emotional resonance, such as Miller's claim that truth is verified by feeling "that it was true" rather than through exegesis or creedal standards.^[6]^[42] A key inadequacy highlighted is the distortion of core soteriological concepts, particularly the nature of divine love and human depravity. Miller suggests an intrinsic quality in individuals draws God's affection—"there was something inside me that caused Him to love me"—which evangelical reviewers contend undermines the doctrine of unmerited grace and implies semi-Pelagian tendencies by positing that humans can desire rescue apart from divine initiative.^[6] This experiential lens also fosters irreverence, as God is occasionally depicted in casual or impersonal terms, such as "the thing that created us" or an indefinable "it," potentially eroding awe toward divine holiness.^[42] Furthermore, the book's rejection of rigid boundaries in faith—mirroring jazz's improvisational style—leaves essential theological distinctions unresolved, failing to differentiate Christian spirituality from relativistic or non-Christian beliefs like reincarnation.^[45] Miller's admitted unfamiliarity with the full Bible exacerbates this, as his theology emerges from limited scriptural engagement and self-focused narratives, prioritizing authenticity over orthodoxy.^[42] Such critiques, voiced by discerning evangelical observers, underscore how Blue Like Jazz offers emotional appeal but scant intellectual or confessional rigor for sustaining mature faith.^[6]^[45]

Contribution to Dechurching Trends

Blue Like Jazz, published in 2003, contributed to dechurching trends by articulating a vision of Christian faith that prioritized personal, experiential spirituality over institutional structures, resonating with disillusioned evangelicals who viewed organized churches as rigid or performative.^[30] The book's nonreligious framing of Christian spirituality encouraged readers to embrace a "mysterious system that can be experienced but not explained," sidelining doctrinal certainty and communal obligations in favor of individualistic encounters with God.^[30] This approach appealed to a generation skeptical of "big box Christianity" and megachurch culture, fostering a mindset where church attendance became optional rather than essential.^[30] Author Donald Miller's own trajectory exemplified this shift: initially drawn to a church like Imago Dei Community in 2005 for its relational depth, he later distanced himself, stating in 2014 that "church is not a huge part of my life" and struggling with its emphasis on certainty.^[30] Critics argue the book amplified evangelical dissatisfaction by promoting extrabiblical individualism, contributing to broader dechurching patterns where millions disaffiliated from formal congregations between 2000 and 2020, often citing disillusionment with institutional hypocrisy or irrelevance.^[30] With over 1.5 million copies sold by 2010, its influence extended through the emergent church movement, which Miller helped popularize, encouraging "dones"—faithful individuals who left churches while retaining personal beliefs.^[46]^[47] Theologically, the book's rejection of institutional markers—such as structured services or doctrinal adherence—as barriers to authentic faith aligned with rising "spiritual but not religious" identities, a demographic segment that grew from 17% of U.S. adults in 2007 to 27% by 2017.^[35] While not the sole cause of dechurching, which encompasses factors like clergy abuse scandals and cultural secularization, Blue Like Jazz normalized opting out of ecclesial commitment, leaving readers with a self-focused faith prone to isolation rather than communal accountability.^[30] Observers like Tim Challies have noted it sparked a rebellion against traditional forms, correlating with declining church membership rates from 70% of Americans in 2000 to under 50% by 2020.^[30]

Film Adaptation

Development and Production

The adaptation of Donald Miller's 2003 memoir Blue Like Jazz into a feature film began with Miller's efforts to script the non-linear, essay-style narrative, which he described as a two-year process of restructuring it into a cohesive coming-of-age story centered on a protagonist's experiences at Reed College.^[48] Miller collaborated with musician-turned-filmmaker Steve Taylor and producer Ben Pearson on the screenplay, with Taylor attached as director to bring a satirical edge reflective of the book's critique of evangelical subculture.^[49] Pre-production advanced under Produce Entertainment and the Christian Film Fund, but principal photography, which commenced in 2010 primarily in Nashville, Tennessee, encountered a major setback when the primary investor withdrew funding mid-process.^[50] To salvage the project, Taylor and supporters initiated the "Save Blue Like Jazz" crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter in October 2010, seeking $125,000 to complete post-production alongside $400,000 from existing investors; it ultimately raised $345,992 from 4,495 backers, marking the largest crowd-sourced creative endeavor on the platform at the time.^[51]^[52] Filming wrapped with an additional week on location at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, to capture authentic campus scenes, emphasizing the film's themes of intellectual and spiritual exploration amid countercultural settings.^[53] The production team, including cinematographer J. Clarke Gallivan, focused on a modest budget approach enabled by the grassroots funding, allowing for independent completion without further institutional backing.^[54] This crowdfunding model not only secured the film's release but also engaged a dedicated audience, with backers receiving credits and perks that fostered early promotional momentum.^[55]

Content Adaptations and Reception

The film adaptation of Blue Like Jazz, directed by Steve Taylor and released on April 13, 2012, transforms Donald Miller's non-linear collection of essays into a semi-fictionalized coming-of-age narrative centered on protagonist Don Miller's freshman year at Reed College, a liberal arts institution in Portland, Oregon.^[19] Unlike the book's episodic reflections on personal spirituality and critiques of institutional religion, the screenplay—co-written by Miller, Taylor, and Ben Pearson—constructs a linear plot following Don, a young Baptist from Texas escaping family pressures, as he immerses himself in the campus's countercultural scene, confronts church hypocrisy, and undergoes a crisis of faith.^[19] Key book elements, such as the "sexy carrot" metaphor for temptation and the "blue bridge" imagery symbolizing spiritual disconnection, are retained as motifs, while new fictional devices like a confessional booth prank critiquing evangelical shortcomings amplify the theme of experiential authenticity over doctrinal rigidity.^[56] Adaptations include heightened dramatic elements absent from the memoir, such as Don's explicit rebellion through pranks and relationships, including time spent with a character named Penny whose Christian commitment is portrayed more ambiguously than in the source material.^[57] The film preserves the book's irreverent tone with inclusions of profanity, alcohol use, and secular influences, diverging from conventional evangelical media by foregrounding doubts and cultural clashes rather than resolution through traditional conversion arcs.^[58] This restructuring prioritizes visual storytelling and relational dynamics, such as Don's mentorship under a faux-pagan professor and friendships with quirky outsiders, to convey the memoir's emphasis on raw, nonreligious explorations of Christian spirituality.^[8] Reception was mixed, with critics praising its departure from formulaic faith-based films but faulting narrative inconsistencies and uneven messaging. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 40% approval rating from 40 reviews, reflecting divided opinions on its blend of humor, profanity, and theological introspection.^[9] The film earned a 5.8/10 average on IMDb from over 3,000 user ratings, with audiences appreciating its authenticity and SXSW premiere buzz for fostering faith discussions amid irreverence.^[7] Commercially, it grossed $595,018 domestically on a modest budget funded partly through crowdfunding, achieving a limited release on 136 screens but underperforming relative to production expectations.^[59] Some reviewers lauded its provocative critique of Christian hypocrisy and cultural nuance, while others critiqued its muddled character arcs and failure to fully resolve spiritual tensions.^[10]^[60]

Legacy

Impact on Evangelical Thought

Blue Like Jazz, published in 2003, emerged as a seminal text in the nascent Emerging Church movement, offering young evangelicals a narrative-driven alternative to perceived rigidities in traditional evangelicalism.^[4] The book resonated with disaffected Gen-X and millennial readers disillusioned by what Miller portrayed as legalistic, culturally insular forms of Christianity, emphasizing instead a personal, improvisational spirituality likened to jazz—fluid, experiential, and less bound by doctrinal formulas.^[30]^[61] By 2008, it had sold over one million copies and received the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association Platinum Book Award, amplifying its reach within evangelical circles seeking relevance in a postmodern context.^[4] This influence manifested in a broader evangelical reevaluation of institutional practices, prioritizing authenticity and relational faith over propositional truth or ecclesiastical structures. Miller's memoir critiqued the conflation of Christianity with political conservatism and consumerism, fostering a generation more open to deconstructing evangelical subcultures while affirming Jesus' kindness amid personal narratives of doubt and discovery.^[30]^[4] However, theologians like Tim Challies observed that its postmodern ethos often downplayed biblical authority on topics such as sin, wrath, and the necessity of church community, potentially shifting focus from orthodoxy to subjective experience.^[4] Long-term, the book's legacy includes contributing to trends of evangelical individualism, where church attendance became viewed as optional rather than essential, as echoed in Miller's own 2014 reflections on connecting with God outside traditional services.^[30]^[61] Critics from Reformed perspectives, such as those at The Gospel Coalition, argued this undermined biblical mandates for corporate worship and accountability, reflecting American cultural priorities over scriptural ecclesiology.^[61] Despite such concerns, Blue Like Jazz undeniably broadened evangelical discourse, encouraging introspection about faith's cultural expressions while highlighting tensions between innovation and fidelity to historic doctrines.^[4]^[30]

Retrospective Evaluations

In the two decades following its 2003 publication, Blue Like Jazz has been reevaluated as a cultural artifact emblematic of early 2000s evangelical disillusionment, capturing the frustration of younger Christians with institutional hypocrisy and rigid dogma while prioritizing personal, experiential faith over doctrinal precision. Critics note that its anecdotal style and rejection of "organized religion" resonated with a generation navigating postmodern skepticism, but in hindsight, it exemplified the emergent church movement's emphasis on authenticity at the expense of communal accountability and theological rigor, contributing to broader trends of spiritual individualism.^[30]^[13] Retrospective analyses highlight how the book's portrayal of Christianity as a "jazz-like" improvisation—fluid, non-confessional, and anti-institutional—aligned with Donald Miller's later public statements diminishing the necessity of church attendance, as in his 2014 blog post admitting infrequent churchgoing and difficulty connecting with God through organized services. This trajectory has led some evangelical observers to argue that Blue Like Jazz inadvertently normalized dechurching by framing institutional faith as optional or even obstructive, fostering dissatisfaction rather than reform within evangelical structures.^[30]^[61]^[62] Theological retrospectives often critique the book's lightweight orthodoxy, with reviewers observing that its appeal waned as readers sought substantive engagement amid rising cultural pressures on evangelicals, revealing Blue Like Jazz as more a product of its era's anti-authoritarian ethos than a timeless spiritual guide. While it sold over a million copies and influenced memoir-style Christian writing, its legacy is now seen as transitional: bridging conservative evangelicalism toward progressive deconstruction for some, yet leaving many with unresolved tensions between personal narrative and ecclesial tradition.^[45]^[13]

References

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Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality
Rating 3.9 (118,179) Jul 15, 2003 · In this intimate, soul-searching account, Miller describes his remarkable journey back to a culturally relevant, infinitely loving God.Missing: summary | Show results with:summary
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Donald Miller's spiritual journey from strict religious upbringing through doubt to discovering a genuine relationship with God, offering fresh perspectives on ...Missing: summary | Show results with:summary
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Gold Award Achieved June 2006 535,000 SOLD Nelson Books, A Division of Thomas Nelson Publishers BLUE LIKE JAZZ Donald Miller Gold Award Achieved July 2006
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Apr 27, 2014 · In 2007, three years after its release, the book had sold 500,000 copies and was awarded ECPA's Gold Book Award. Just one year later it had ...
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Blue Like Jazz Official Trailer #1 (2012) HD Movie - YouTube
Feb 21, 2012 · Blue Like Jazz Official Trailer #1 (2012) HD Movie Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller spent 43 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list and ...
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Blue Like Jazz (2012) - IMDb
Rating 5.8/10 (3,082) Don, a nineteen-year-old sophomore at a Texas junior college, tries to escape his Bible Belt upbringing for life in the Pacific Northwest at the most ...
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'Blue Like Jazz,' Directed by Steve Taylor - The New York Times
Apr 12, 2012 · A Baptist boy from Texas goes to a Northwestern liberal arts college in “Blue Like Jazz,” an adaptation of Don Miller's memoir.
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Rating 40% (40) A college student (Marshall Allman) seeks escape from his evangelical upbringing by transferring to a progressive school in Portland, Ore.
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Blue Like Jazz Movie Review | Common Sense Media
Rating 2.0 · Review by Jeffrey M. AndersonMar 9, 2025 · Blue Like Jazz is a coming-of-age story that lurches around in terms of character and themes, and the result is something a good deal less than it could have ...Missing: film | Show results with:film
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The first book written by Donald Miller was Contemporary Approaches to Christian Education, published in 1982. What was the most recent book Donald Miller wrote ...
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Donald Miller was raised in a strict Texas denomination where he was only vaguely familiar with a distant God. When he grew older, he ran all the way to the ...<|separator|>
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Dec 2, 2015 · Miller wrote a little book in 2003 called Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality, and over the next few years it got passed hand to ...
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Blue Like Jazz' hopes to go from New York Times bestseller to big ...
Oct 22, 2012 · ... book came to be a New York Times bestseller that sold more than 1 million copies. Given that the book seemed to resonate well with readers ...
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Best-selling Portland author Donald Miller has a new book and a ...
Dec 8, 2009 · Miller was a writer whose tiny publishing business wasn't making much money when he wrote "Blue Like Jazz." Cue the explosion.
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Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality
Donald Miller wrote 'Blue Like Jazz' as a reflection of his personal faith journey. The book is a series of autobiographical essays rather than a traditional ...
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Nonfiction Book Structure: The Table of Contents
May 7, 2023 · The memoir, Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller, has a simple but very different structure. Each chapter title is one word, but it has a subtitle.
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Blue Like Jazz: The Movie - The Gospel Coalition
Mar 12, 2012 · This, in many ways, was Don's story, and Blue Like Jazz was a collection of essays and vignettes that reflected on his journey. The book struck ...
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[PDF] STUDY GUIDE www.bluelikejazz.com - ONE-online WORDS
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I told them that we should build a confession booth in the middle of campus and paint a sign on it that said, CONFESS YOUR SINS. Penny put her hands over her.
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Nov 26, 2023 · What realization does Laura come to by the end of her story in this chapter? By the end, Laura realizes that she believes Jesus is the Son ...Chapter 2 | Problems | Q&a · Chapter 10 | Belief | Q&a · Chapter 12 | Church | Q&a<|control11|><|separator|>
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Blue Like Jazz is a memoir by Donald Miller that explores faith, doubt, and spirituality. It offers a refreshing and honest perspective on Christianity.
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The Bestseller that Made Church Cool—and Optional
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Why I'm Conflicted About Seeing "Blue Like Jazz" - deCOMPOSE
Mar 15, 2012 · And, JL, just for clarity's sake: neither Don Miller nor the church he attends is part of the emerging church movement. Having said that, I ...<|separator|>
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Blue Like Jazz - White Horse Inn
Apr 18, 2012 · When I was nineteen, my former pastor's wife gave me a book called Blue Like Jazz ... Miller is open in his dislike of institutions and the church ...Missing: organized | Show results with:organized<|separator|>
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When Faith Seems Blue Like Jazz | Crosswalk.com
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Miller is enjoyably clever, and his story is telling and beautiful, even poignant." -Publishers Weekly ... 13. Page 3. BLUE LIKE JAZZ dumpy car, and I had ...Missing: "refreshing" | Show results with:"refreshing"
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Blue Like Jazz Now Only $5 - FaithGateway
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Jul 27, 2023 · Miller seems to be exploring a return to authenticity in the way Christians express and live out their faith. The thread of thought that starts ...Missing: summary | Show results with:summary
[40]
Blue Like Jazz (2012) - News - IMDb
Chicago – Donald Miller's “Blue Like Jazz” is a beloved book that spent 43 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and sold over 1.5 million copies. I haven ...Missing: sales | Show results with:sales
[41]
Navigating the Emerging Church Highway
Jun 10, 2009 · ... Blue Like Jazz,2 which deconstructed the evangelical subculture, has become a bestseller. The common critique of Emerging Evangelicals is ...
[42]
Review Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian ...
Dec 9, 2011 · Blue Like Jazz is the beautifully-written, almost dreamlike story of Don Miller's search for God, meaning, and reality.Missing: publication | Show results with:publication<|separator|>
[43]
[PDF] Reconciling Diverse Reading Patterns and the First Year ...
Miller, Blue Like Jazz. Blue Like Jazz skyrocketed to popularity when it came out in 2003, doing what few devotional texts do and becoming a New York Times ...
[44]
The Emerging College Generation and Missions: Issues, Attitudes ...
Narrative Christian spirituality such as Don Miller's Blue Like Jazz captures the hearts of students who are trying to figure out their own story. 3. Self- ...
[45]
Review: Blue Like Jazz - deCOMPOSE - Mike Duran
Review: Blue Like Jazz. by Mike Duran on March 8, 2013. I'm not sure I would have read this book if not for the fact that I'm researching memoirs on Christian spirituality. ... church and most ...
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Beware of Blue Like Jazz - Way of Life Literature
Dec 9, 2008 · Donald Miller's (b. 1971) book Blue Like Jazz: Non-Religious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality (2003) is a harsh rant against biblical ...Missing: authorship process
[47]
The Dones: Faithful Church Refugees and the DeChurched Project
Jun 22, 2015 · Maybe some day you'll plant a Dones church. Simply a recreation of the recent “emergent” church (started by then-dones like Donald Miller et al.) ...<|separator|>
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'Blue Like Jazz': The Quest to Get Christians to Laugh at Themselves
Oct 22, 2010 · Donald Miller worked for two years to turn his bestselling memoir, Blue Like Jazz, into a movie. First there was the task of wrestling the ...Missing: style format
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Steve Taylor: Directing the critically acclaimed Blue Like Jazz movie
Apr 27, 2012 · The long planned film of Blue Like Jazz seemed to have floundered due to lack of funding until two fans created a site called Save Blue Like ...Missing: development | Show results with:development
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Blue Like Jazz - Response - SPU - Seattle Pacific University
Apr 26, 2012 · Don Miller (Marshall Allman) and Penny (Claire Holt) are caught in a web of cynicism and religious intolerance in Blue Like Jazz. Photos by ...
[51]
SAVE Blue Like Jazz! (the movie) by Steve Taylor - Kickstarter
Mar 14, 2022 · SAVE Blue Like Jazz! (the movie). A feature film based on Donald Miller's ... Kickstarter Awards: By the Numbers. Jan 10, 2011. An Update from ...
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Donors Save 'Blue Like Jazz' Pic - Deadline
Oct 28, 2010 · The dough was raised through Kickstarter.com, and the flm's backers claim it's the largest crowd-sourced creative project ever. ... I have raised ...
[53]
THE LONG TAKE: Filmmaker, Musician, Educator Steve Taylor on ...
Aug 1, 2025 · “Blue Like Jazz” was shot mostly in Nashville, with an additional production week spent on location at Reed College. Coke and Clarke returned to ...
[54]
Blue Like Jazz (2012) - Box Office and Financial Information
Production and Technical Credits ; Donald Miller, Screenwriter ; Steve Taylor, Screenwriter ; Ben Pearson, Screenwriter ; Steve Taylor, Producer ; J. Clarke Gallivan ...
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'Blue Like Jazz' film has greener future, thanks to gifts - oregonlive.com
Nov 1, 2010 · The fundraising campaign on Kickstarter.com sought to raise $125,000. Added to $400,000 put up by investors, that amount would have been "enough ...
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Blue LIke Jazz - Fuller Studio
As if that weren't enough of a challenge, Blue Like Jazz, the film directed by Steve Taylor based on Don Miller's wildly successful memoir, also comes saddled ...Missing: influence | Show results with:influence<|separator|>
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Blue Like Jazz - Christianity Today
Blue Like Jazz pokes fun at evangelical culture and satirizes academia. Do you think any of these satires are truthful and deserved, or are they inappropriate?
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Blue Like Jazz: The Anti-Christianity Christian Film - Patheos
Apr 3, 2012 · The film addresses spiritual struggles in a forthright manner, one that is attuned to the complicated, cosmopolitan, and fiercely egoistic ...<|control11|><|separator|>
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https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Blue-Like-Jazz
[60]
"Blue Like Jazz" DVD Movie Review - Jesusfreakhideout.com
Director: Steve Taylor ; Starring: Marshall Allman, Claire Holt, Tania Raymonde, Justin Welborn, Jenny Littleton, Eric Lange, Jason Marsden ; Running Time: 1 hour ...Missing: details | Show results with:details
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Dear Donald Miller - The Gospel Coalition
Feb 4, 2014 · ... writers hold up a mirror to the world around them and say, “Here you are.” Blue Like Jazz ... interviews and meetings. We talk about ...
[62]
Why the Emerging Church Movement Failed
Mar 7, 2024 · Books like Blue Like Jazz and Velvet Elvis, which exemplified this approach, became huge best-sellers. Soon, however, leaders within the ...