Jonathan Acuff, Stuff Christians Like (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010). $12.99, 208 pages.

Stuff Christians Like satirizes some of the beliefs and behaviors of American evangelicals. Jonathan Acuff admits the title pays homage to Christian Lander’s Stuff White People Like. Like Lander’s book, Acuff’s book is smartly written, on-target with its sarcasm, and laugh-out-loud funny.

The book originated with blog posts on StuffChristiansLike.net. My favorite posts are “Using ‘Faith Like a Child’ As an Escape Pod from Difficult Theological Discussions” (13–15), “Secret Christian Bands” (40–41), “The Seven People You Meet in a Prayer Circle” (53–56), “The Metrosexual Worship Leader” (80–84), “Telling Testimonies that Are Exciting Right Up Until the Moment You Became a Christian” (125–126), “Being Voluntold” (180–181), “Thinking You’re Naked” (190–192), and “Trying Harder” (200–203).

Acuff doesn’t moralize in this book. He impressively maintains a snarky tone throughout. And yet, a serious point lies under the satire, namely, that some evangelical beliefs and behaviors—the “folk religion” side, so to speak—get in the way of experiencing God’s grace and loving others as a result.

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