:: in.a.mirror.dimly :: A theology and culture blog with the Bible in one tab and a news feed in the other.

No, Matthew Paul Turner didn’t invent the Hokey Pokey dance that has ruined many a roller skating date. But he has written a book called Hokey Pokey: Curious People Finding What Life’s All About, and I have a copy of it on my coffee table to review…

When the book arrived I gave it the quick look over, trying to imagine I was in a book store, picking the book off the shelf and making a decision on whether or not I would purchase it. While the book itself is a really neat read, I feel like I owe it to potential readers to talk about the book’s presentation, such as the “shock and awe” value of the cover.

The cover is provocative and will surely make you want to find out what this book is, well, all about. But the subtitle threw me for a loop. “Curious people” I thought? How does he define a curious person? Why should I care about curious people and what they have to say about life? The back cover just kept up the line about how important it is to meet these curious people, but didn’t really clarify what it’s all about.

I wasn’t feeling very curious. Imagining myself as a customer in a bookstore, I have to admit I’d have my doubts.

However, what the cover doesn’t quite say, Turner quickly clarifies once you dive into the book:

“Hokey Pokey is about getting on a path toward discovering what life is about. Notice that the subtitle to this book does not say ‘people who have found what life is about.’ That’s because it’s not about people who think they they’ve arrived! It’s about people who are in the process of discovery. This curious path toward figuring out life is not one that ends…But don’t think of calling as something you arrive at–because it’s not. it’s a journey that takes a lifetime. It’s a process” (30).

I give him points here because he only used the word journey once and is creatively employing the notion of curiosity to emphasize the importance of one’s calling as an ongoing quest.

So what is this book all about? The ongoing pursuit of one’s calling in life. OK, now I’ll stop my griping.

When you dive into Hokey Pokey you are whisked into Turner’s world of story telling, meditation on scripture, and penetrating insights. He moves scenes with compelling dialogue–something you rarely find in a nonfiction book. Each section is carried by stories that land the reader on his main points, always providing another story to keep you reading through.

The narrative focus makes the book work, as no one could bear reading a discourse on finding one’s calling. It’s too large, vague, varied, and dare I even say subjective a topic. Telling stories is a great way to bypass preaching or simplifying. Turner is allowed to embrace the complexities and solutions of each story, while sharing his own thoughts. Even if readers don’t agree with where Turner lands, the process is a sound one that is delightful in itself for the reader.

Of course the hokey pokey dance itself had to come up at some point in the book, and Turner weaves a simple story from his childhood into a major theme of the book. As an 8-year-old fundamentalist Christian who already thought it was wrong to dance, Turner experienced the freedom of “dancing” the Hokey Pokey in gym class, and this search for freedom is a major theme of this book that looks into calling. “Pursuing  your calling,” he shares “requires you to also be on a path toward becoming free. Think about your life for a moment: What keeps you locked up and unable to be yourself–the person God made you to be?” (42).

Calling is a tough topic to handle. I mean, we’re dealing with people’s lives here–choices that are often hard if impossible to undo. Turner does not minimize this. “There are lots of theories about whether or not each of us is called to a specific career. I have friends who say they were born to be car salesmen–that schmoozing is in their blood. Other friends of mine believe they were born to be poets, but would starve to death if they ever tired to make a living with their talent” (68-69). It’s apparent that he is carefully walking through a mine field. Not everyone finds their dream jobs, but then Turner isn’t just talking about jobs. Though I’ve read a few reviews that recommend this book for the college audience, I think that underestimates where Turner is going. He’s calling us to some critical reflections on our lives (not just our careers), and that is something anyone can and should do. It just hurts more if you’re older…

Turner also does an excellent job of digging into the assumptions of our culture and comparing them with the story of scripture. “Today’s culture has turned ‘calling’–as it relates to career–into something that is very individualistic… Interestingly enough, the Bible doesn’t support such a theory. Whenever someone was called to a ’specific something,’ it was almost always for the good of the community, an entire people, not just the individual” (70-71). 

Analysis such as this elevates the Hokey Pokey from the many books in the Christian pack that act as if American culture either doesn’t affect our theology or if we talk about culture we are surrendering to it. Turner blends his stories, humor, and curiosity into a collection of thoughts and teachings that will help readers analyze where they’re at in their lives and how they too can tap into God’s calling. It’s a tough process, but Turner is a good friend to the curious.