Midnight Jesus

Daft magic for pinball fans & insomniacs alike!

This is a gentle and poetic book, which slowly sweeps you up till you are captured by the “Late Night Psychiatric Crisis Guy” (the book’s subtitle). Jamie Blaine writes in sporadic vignettes, which chronologically tell his story from aimless to a Masters degree and an affinity for helping people. Even if the religious aspects dominate the book sometimes, the story shines through for me. Mr Blaine is an excellent writer.

“There’s a feeling in the city late on a Sunday Night, like the show is over and the credits have rolled. Like God slips in from his study, in his house shoes and tattered robe, reading glasses sliding down the end of his nose. I know God doesn’t need reading glasses. I think he just wears them to put me at ease.”

“It’s the kind of moment when time slows and every detail bleeds living color like Instamatic film, when your throat catches because for a brief few seconds life is as beautiful as you’d always hoped.”

The author says, “This is a book of those snapshot moments. When just for a little while, it feels like things really could be all right.”

I got lost in the language and enjoyed the true kindness of Jamie as he ministers in his own way to people society may see as “damaged” but he sees as just a bit lost. His methods are successful most of the time and he genuinely makes a difference and isn’t that the point, really?

I would recommend this book if you are feeling a little cynical and believe there is no good left in the world. Somewhere there are people like Jamie Blaine doing late night radio shows and caring. I was given a free copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Very interesting - if a bit random - picture of a very different, but necessary ministry. Jamie James challenges many of the 'rules' we take for granted and indirectly asks his readers to find the meaning and follow the road Jesus has for them. While I may not agree with all his theology, the wake up call and new perspective is worth the read.

"Midnight Jesus" by Jamie Blaine is a very unique and capturing book, filled with many stories and adventures. These adventures are about Jamie Blaine and his firsthand encounters with people that have challenged his thoughts and beliefs and have impacted who he is today. The people he comes in contact with everyday aren't your normal everyday people though. In fact, who can define what normal is with the life Jamie Blaine writes about living in this book? Jamie is a psychology major in college, psych-ward crisis line worker and last but not least, a skating rink DJ. Oh and might I add, a devout Christian man.

Jamie writes about how Jesus is always with him during all of his exciting and not-so-exciting midnight escapades. There's even instances when Jamie talks to Jesus as if he's talking to a friend. " I like that midnight Jesus, when you can talk to him just like a friend."

In every story, Jamie mentions Jesus. He even starts each chapter out with a quote or Bible verse that has something to do with what he learned through each story. My favorite story that Jamie wrote about is about a man who is considering suicide by jumping off of a railroad bridge. The man would go out and stand on the bridge and he would look over the edge, but he never could jump. Jamie went to talk to him and help him one night after a church play. Jamie played Jesus in the church play and he was still dressed up when he went to find the man on the bridge. It was funny and it was the story that opened my eyes to what this whole book was really about. With this one story, Jamie writes that we should "show up and be Jesus" to other people sometimes. I agree with him completely, because sometimes we are the only Jesus some people will ever see in their lifetime. That doesn't mean we should dress up like Jesus and parade around with a "holier than thou" attitude.

There are three things I feel like Jamie Blaine is trying to tell us through this book. First, I feel like he's trying to tell us that God loves each and every one of us just the way we are. No one is ever not good enough, so don't judge anyone. Second, God uses us in mysterious ways to do His work. Our job is to just be available to God and not ignore His signs. Lastly, I feel like Jamie is trying to tell us that God is ultimately in control, no matter how much we try to control things that will happen to us.

Jamie Blaine's writing style is very relatable and easy to understand. He writes with his heart and backs it up with his mind. I could really feel how he described to be feeling and agreed with every thought to each situation he wrote about that he faced. He really stretches your mind when it comes to his faith and how he uses it in his work as a psychologist.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone to read. Especially if you're a Christian who is struggling with not feeling good enough for what God has called you to do or if you're just looking for your calling. Maybe you are meant to do what Jamie Blaine does, but would you have the same mindset and, most of all, heart set as he does about it? I give this book four out of five stars!