By Yvette Shin

What if you spent an entire year living as Jesus did? Chances are you would like a lot like the person on your right. He is Dr. Ed Dobson, retired pastor of Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and author of the new book, The Year of Living like Jesus (Zondervan).

On Wednesday, October 21, Reverend Michel Faulkner and the New Horizon Church of New York hosted a free breakfast and book signing event celebrating the book’s October release at Gospel Uptown (2110 7th Avenue at 125th Street). After providing a brief biography and synopsis his book, Dobson answered questions about his experience.

Inspired by A.J. Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically (Simon & Schuster), Dobson decided to pursue a year-long journey of his own attempting to live as Jesus did—eating kosher, growing a beard, observing Shabbat, and following the teachings of the Gospel. Part personal pilgrimage, part social experiment, Dobson chronicles his year of living “Jesus-ly” with dry humor and thoughtful insight.

The self-confessed lover of bacon describes in vivid detail the agony of keeping kosher, a feat especially troublesome when eating out. Dobson encountered circumstances that were not only challenging but also surprising. A non-drinker, Dobson sometimes found himself in a bar consuming alcohol, discussing spiritual matters. “When you’re sipping a beer, it’s disarming,” he muses. After all, Jesus did consume alcohol.

Dobson delved deep into the intricate world of Judaistic traditions by celebrating High Holy days and wearing the tallit katan (a fringed undergarment). More unexpectedly, he explored Catholic and Easter Orthodox prayer traditions, praying the rosary and the Jesus prayer repeatedly during the year.

By far, the most difficult part was adhering to the Gospel. Dobson often found that obeying the teachings of Christ were counter-intuitive and just plain hard, such as giving money to beggars, keeping the speed limit, and loving one’s enemies. While attending the memorial service for his son’s close friend—a soldier killed in Iraq by a roadside bomb—Dobson struggled to love those who were responsible. He obeyed and prayed for those who made, planted and detonated the bomb. He may not have meant it, but he did it.

Probably the most controversial topic in the book is Dobson’s decision to vote Democratic during the most recent presidential election. A life-long Republican, Dobson decided that Obama’s proposed policies were more aligned with the teachings of Jesus.

When asked by Seed contributor Yvette Shin what his message would be to college students, specifically NYU students, who are in a sense embarking on a journey of their own, Dobson had this to say: “Read, study, and try to obey the Bible.” Dobson himself read the Gospels a total of thirty-five times during the year, often listening to them on his iPod and feeling as if he were on the fringes of the crowd listening to Jesus himself. “It was weird,” he adds with a smile. For more information, please visit http://www.livingjesusly.com