Matthew Paul Turner's "Hear No Evil"

Perhaps you’re like me, and your friends throw their heads back in riotous laughter as they peruse the contents of your CD collection or IPod. Maybe they stare quizzically as you regale them with impromptu concert medleys of random Amy Grant songs from the 1980s. (I have a life theory that ANY situation one might face can be perfectly summarized and/or celebrated by an Amy Grant song, but alas, I digress…) Maybe when someone talks about a particularly exciting new venture, you immediately belt out “Saddle up your hor-se-es / I got a trail to blaze…”


Maybe you’re like me, and you grew up in that unique American subculture, conservative Protestant evangelicalism. Even when I’m covered with glory-goose bumps from a particularly riveting Sandi Patty key change, I must admit I often mind myself shaking my head, or even laughing at some of our church-ian antics. If your mind is swirling with images of gospel tracts and Testamints right about now, and you’re just on the brink of rolling your eyes, then Matthew Paul Turner’s newest book, Hear No Evil, is your next must-read.

In this book, Turner tells of his formative years spent in a conservative, fundamentalist family and church. He describes his life journey through the medium that likely has affected him more than any other influence—music. Like few other authors I’ve read, Turner’s clever wit offers a spot-on critique of the narrowness and even silliness he encountered in some Christian circles. Still, somehow he delivers his hilarious observations with a greater-than-normal measure of grace and kindness. In Hear No Evil, I saw images from my own life as I laughed and winced my way through Turner’s precocious childhood and his all-too familiar Christian collage misadventures. He writes of his years working in the contemporary Christian music business, and I remember eagerly awaiting my monthly installment of Contemporary Christian Music magazine when I was in high school—the very years he worked as the magazine’s editor. I found myself thinking, “Hey, I remember that article!” No doubt I devoured every word.

Full of belly laughs and even a few tears, Turner’s Hear No Evil also speaks volumes about grace, acceptance, and the love about which so many of those infectious Christian pop songs harmonize. Matthew Paul Turner possesses the rare gift to celebrate all the good things about the Christian community while simultaneously calling us to greater humility and thoughtfulness. And just like a great Amy Grant song, his words rolled across my brain with such delicious rhythm and rhyme that I didn’t even realize how deeply this delightful romp was forming, challenging, and shining a light in my soul.

Maybe none of this sounds even remotely familiar to you. Perhaps playing rock music backwards to hear its dark message was never a part of your formative years. If that’s the case, take heart. Be thankful for your lack of therapy bills, and read Matthew Paul Turner’s Hear No Evil, anyway. You’ll have a new understanding of your alien-friends with strange CD collections. You just might gain some insight into people in your life you never thought you’d figure out. And maybe—just maybe—you’ll experience the divine love, laughter, and acceptance that Turner has woven through his pages of pure, unadulterated verbal lusciousness.

Hear No Evil is what would happen if David Sedaris, Augusten Burroughs, Anne LaMott, and Amy Grant’s discography had a collective love child... You’ll want to pinch its cute little cheeks. Trust me.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Get your copy here: http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400074723