Book Review: Dinner With A Perfect Stranger by David Gregory

I just finished reading Dinner With A Perfect Stranger by David Gregory. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect but when the book summary begins by inviting you to have dinner with Jesus of Nazareth my curiosity was peaked.

"You’re bored, Nick. You were made for more than this. You’re worried about God stealing your fun, but you’ve got it backwards.… There’s no adventure like being joined to the Creator of the universe.” He leaned back off the table. “And your first mission would be to let him guide you out of the mess you’re in at work.”

This book is Christian fiction and at only 100 pages, I wasn't entirely prepared for the adventure I was pulled into. A simple concept that has stimulated the imagination of Christians and Non-Christians alike for generations: If you were at the dinner table with Jesus Christ, how would the conversation go?

The maître d’ led me over to him. Rising from his chair, he stuck out his hand and firmly grasped mine.

“Nick Cominsky,” he said. “Hi. Jesus.”

In retrospect, a thousand comebacks were possible—“Jesus H. Christ! So good to finally meet you!”…“Are twelve of our party missing?”…“I didn’ t know they buried you in a suit.”

The absurdity of the scene, though, stunned me into silence. What do you say to that? The man and I continued shaking hands a little too long, until I issued a weak “Uhhuh.” He released my hand and sat back down.

David Gregory does not disappoint, the conversation in this simple book is intriguing and relevant to questions many Christians ranging from new believers to those that are seasoned in their faith have asked. I really couldn't put the book down, and after finishing it in one day, I re-read it the next. The imagery and the simple beauty in the book are easy to follow and allow the reader to feel like they are seated in the restaurant with Jesus.

“Come at me again. You are…”

“Jesus. My family called me Yeshua.”
...
“So your family called you Yeshua?”

“Most of them. James called me a few other things.”

“Well, Yesh— Do you mind if I call you Yesh?”

“Whatever suits you.”

“Yesh it is, then. Tell me,”—I held up my wineglass—“can you turn this wine back into water?”

"No problem," He replied. He turned and signaled for the waiter... "My friend would like a second glass of water instead of this wine."

I have always believed Jesus had a divine sense of humor (no, the pun hasn't escaped me) and the human character of Jesus is brought to life by Gregory with such care and attention the reader cannot help but fall comfortably into the conversation as Jesus and Nick enjoy their meal as old friends would. This is the manner of relationship with Christ the Bible says he craves with us all and in this book the friendship with Jesus brought to life in a unique and comfortable scenario.

Read an excerpt from Dinner With A Perfect Stranger by clicking this link:
http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9780307730091&view=excerpt


 I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. This book can be purchased from: http://www.alibris.com/,  amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, booksamillion.com, borders.com