Same Kind of Different As Me

by Ron Hall & Denver Moore

It must be my month for book reviews. This one is a "must read" for anyone who attempts ministry in a multicultural setting. It's written from the alternating point of view of two men. One of them is an white upper middle class Art Dealer whose customers are the movers and shakers of this world. The other is a black, homeless man who says that living in alleys and under bridges in Houston was a step up in life for him. They become friends due to the insistence of Ron's wife and by overcoming the objections that Denver has about relationships and people in general.

The resultant story is gripping, not sweet and syrupy, but real and hard-hitting. While Ron shows Denver what life is like in Middle Class America, Ron learns about that world, his point of view and his God from Denver. He is able to see the world through different eyes.

“God gives each person on the earth a set of keys, keys to live this life down here on the earth. Now in this set, there is one key you can use to unlock prison doors and set captives free.”

Denver turned his head just slightly so that the right side of his face was closer to me than the left. He leaned in with his right shoulder and narrowed his eyes even farther. “Mr. Ron, I was captive in the devil’s prison. That was easy for Miss Debbie to see. But I got to tell you: Many folks had seen me behind the bars in that prison for more than thirty years, and they just walked on by. Kept their keys in their pocket and left me locked up. Now I ain’t tryin to run them other folks down, ’cause I was not a nice fella – dangerous – and prob’ly just as happy to stay in prison. But Miss Debbie was different – she seen me behind them bars and reached way down in her pocket and pulled out the keys God gave her and used one to unlock the prison door and set me free."

I highly recommend the book. In fact, I'm just starting the sequel (recently published) What difference do it make? by Ron Hall, Denver Moore, and Lynn Vincent.

I'm headed to the easy chair now....just wish my tummy would quit rumbling. Doesn't it know, it isn't time to eat just yet?