peppermint-filled piñatas: breaking through tolerance and embracing love

A book that I recently came across is peppermint-filled piñatas: breaking through tolerance and embracing love. This book's author, Eric Bryant is a talented individual with a heart that is truly set on embracing people and loving them as Christ loves others. I had the pleasure of working with Eric over a summer back in the mid nineties. He is a genuine individual that has unique insights and a tangible grasp on how preceptions separate people from reaching across cultural barriers to embrace similarities. I reccommend this book as it may just open your eyes to how you view your relationships and reactions towards others. There are differences ranging from people to people and across cultural lines. Though they exist, we must learn to be tolerant of others in order to move past tolerance and find a common ground while cultivating a community of people that love, who listen to one another and who are willing to learn from each other. A broader vision is necessary to live in righteousness, stand by or morals, and love one another. Eric does a great job telling of his journey and expressing his passion for loving people in a heartfelt and humorous way.

The following is information and reviews taken from EricBryant.org.

We live in a diverse world filled with unprecedented opportunity. There is a call to move past the barriers that stand between us and those who may be different. Eric Michael Bryant has seen tolerance shown to those who are different than us — racially, religiously, sexually, politically, economically — and believes there must be more. After all, Jesus didn’t just tolerate people; he embraced them all with love.

Using lighthearted humor, engaging personal stories, and a “party theology,” Bryant shows us how to love our neighbors and fulfill the vision Jesus had for the church from the beginning.

Whether that is through building relationships with the help of bounce houses, stand up comedy, or piñatas, followers of Christ will be inspired to actively engage the world around them.

Reviews for peppermint-filled pinatas:

“Relationship evangelism is the message of this book from Bryant, ‘the bald white guy’ on staff at the 80-nationalities multicultural Christian community Mosaic in Los Angeles. ‘Love is the new apologetic,’ writes Bryant. For too long, he argues, the world has been made aware of what Christians hate rather than whom they love; what they are against rather than what they support. Christians, he says, ‘have created an environment where we are seen as judgmental, irrelevant, mean, and hypocritical.’ Mixing scripture, humor and personal anecdotes (including a great one about a filling station clerk), Bryant invites Christians to develop a ‘party theology’: invite others to share in your life, and accept invitations to participate in other people’s lives, especially if they are different from you in some way. The content is familiar: look to connect through a common cause, hobby or passion. Learn conflict resolution and practice it. Break stereotypes, whether they are ethnic, economic, sexual, religious or political. Apart from one confusing anecdote about a schizophrenic who seems to get well through Christian service, this is a solid book for Christians who have ‘head knowledge’ about relationship evangelism, but need encouragement rather than how-to steps to put that knowledge into action.”
-Publisher’s Weekly”

Peppermint-Filled Piñatas is Saving Private Ryan meets Nacho Libre! Eric calls us to a heroic mission and at the same time exposes our flawed humanity. He tackles one of the most critical and complex issues of our time and brings it down to earth and keeps us grounded in reality. It’s quite a gift to force us to face such uncomfortable and serious issues and at the same time keep us laughing. Somebody needed to write this book; I am grateful Eric did. We will all be better for it. Thank you, Eric, for awakening in us a love that knows no boundaries.”
- Erwin Raphael McManus, author, futurist, lead pastor of Mosaic in Los Angeles

“In the times we live in, we desperately need books like Peppermint-Filled Pinatas. Eric understands the times, and because he does he gives clear and practical examples of how we can bridge the unfortunate gap between people in our culture and the wonderful, beautiful and incredible gospel of Jesus. We just gave Peppermint Pinatas to our key leaders at our church, as we believe his message needs to be heard and lived out.”
-Dan Kimball, author, speaker, founding pastor of Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz, CA