A.J. Jacobs
Although being a human guinea pig isn’t always an easy journey, A.J. Jacobs has continued to entertain his readers at the same time as bettering his own life. His book, The Year of Living Biblically, is a classic.
Kevin Roose
In his book, The Unlikely Disciple, Kevin Roose shares the story of transferring from very liberal Brown University to Jerry Fallwell’s far right and religious Liberty University. This book is a frighteningly honest look inside a Christian world from an outsiders view, but is hardly dismissive.
Ed Dobson
At face value Pastor Dobson’s book appeared to be the Christian version of A.J. Jacobs book, but in The Year of Living like Jesus, Dobson focuses less on the particulars of the experiment and more on his own personal growth. He made a focus of experiencing aspects of Christianity that were very unfamiliar to his background, and yet very meaningful for his development.
Rachel Held Evans
The inspiring author of Evolving in Monkey Town is in the middle of her own social experiment this year. Starting in October, Rachel began living out a Year of Biblical Womanhood, following all of the Bible’s instructions for women as literally as possible. Reading about the her experiences along the way is fascinating and I can’t wait for her book to be released.
Morgan Spurlock
Though most people know Spurlock for his documentary Super Size Me, about eating only at McDonalds for a month, I’ve been more impressed with his fantastic TV series on FX called 30 Days. In this reality show Morgan puts himself or others in a real world environment usually very opposite of where they normally live. It is a fantastic and thought provoking show.
Timothy Kurek
Though I won’t steal this new writer’s thunder by sharing any details before his book is published, his dedication to living life in someone else’s shoes was full of compassion and sacrifice. The story will no doubt get some religious tongues a clucking, but will certainly help spark some significant, healthy dialog.
…
When I look at the above list and compare it to my own experiment, just going to a different church service every week for a year sounds like a pretty minimal challenge. Yet my heart is full as I feel both the freedom and the desire to press forward into a realm that before would have been unheard of for me.
