REVIEW: Chasing God by Roger Huang

Huang brilliantly uses narrative to demonstrate the importance of falling in love with a God so humongous, he fills our needs as they arise.

Recounting his first day at what he thought was his dream job, his car breaks down in the Tenderloin and the things he sees leave a mark on him. He knows he has to do something.

We then flashback through a series of memories of Huang’s childhood, teenage years, early marriage and back up to that first day. Then he takes the simple step, the thing I have heard so many talk about but so few actually do. He makes a bag full of sandwiches and takes them down to the Tenderloin and hands them out.

He starts with sandwiches, and slowly grows his ministry bit by bit. As he sees injustice in a community he strives to eradicate it. Every step a step of faith, he makes himself vulnerable to the reader, sharing his pain and his fear. The Don Miller of San Francisco, he shares a faith that is not tied to religion or big systems, but is simply a relationship with a God who answers prayers and provides for our needs.

At so many points, I found myself weeping at the power of a God who is greater than fear or doubt or an unknown solutions for immediate problems – in one later tale, Huang shares about getting a call from a local grocer that had a broken freezer on a day his ministry needs a significant volume of food.

If you have enjoyed the faithful ponderings of Don Miller or the huge faith of Francis Chan, I highly recommend this book.

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Chasing God: One Man’s Miraculous Journey in the Heart of the City by Roger Huang and Susanna Foth Aughtmon (ISBN: 978-1434705952) is available in paperback on September 1, 2013 for $14.99 and is by published David C. Cook. Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC. Information about San Francisco City Impact is available on their website and Twitter.