Like the first-century Pharisees, we've reduced Christianity to a set of propositional beliefs. Truth is, we've gotten away from what it really means to be a Christian. In The Jesus of Suburbia, Mike Erre reveals that we've created a Jesus in our own image. In a fresh, startling manner, Erre helps us understand that the real Jesus is calling us to live, act, and think in ways that overturn the status quo. "Expect no sugar-coated sweetness about 'felt needs' and in-church coffee bars from Erre, pastor of teaching at Rock Harbor Church in Costa Mesa, Calif. Expect instead compelling discussion of how the Christian church has lost sight of the revolutionary teaching and love of Jesus. 'Much of the message of American Christianity presents Jesus as the purveyor of the American Dream,' he says. American Christians, he claims, have reduced Jesus to a study of risk management; we want him to be 'predictable and safe.' Erre also uses the adjectives 'insecure, threatened, naive, simplistic, mean and shortsighted' to describe many of today's churches. He lambastes our love of theology instead of Jesus, our contentment with 'simply knowing about him instead of knowing him.' While this protest continues in the vein of other recent books that take a hard look at Jesus and the church (Jesus Mean and Wild; Out of Your Comfort Zone), it offers a fresh look at how the American church must begin 'demonstrating the message of Christ,' not merely explaining it. After all, says Erre, 'if you follow Jesus, you follow the most radical man who ever existed.'"--Publishers Weekly

"The Jesus of Suburbia paints a disturbing picture of an imitation Jesus many have been taught to worship, one that little resembles the revolutionary, life-transforming Jesus of Nazareth. It asks whether we want to be swept up by the real Jesus into a culture-impacting movement of God, or are we satisfied with merely living for comfort and financial success in the status quo?"--BOOK JACKET.

WARNING: This book may be hazardous to your religious lethargy! No one reads this book without being changed! No one reads this book without being incredibly challenged and blessed! Why? because the topic of the Holy Spirit carries with it a powerful transforming energy which renews the soul of anyone who approaches it. After the cross, the most important teaching in all of Christendom is the doctrine of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. John said that he baptized with water, but the one who was to come after him would baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit! This sacred fire, the fire of love, is here. Now. A gift. A treasure for you. The purpose of this book is to demonstrate that the filling of the Spirit is not merely an idea to believe in but an enlightening, empowering encounter to be experienced each day. It is the throbbing heart of a vital, dynamic Christianity. Consciousness is rising as Christians move the foundation of their spiritual lives from law to grace, from rules to relationship, from dogma to devotion from belief to experience. This book invites you to be part of this exciting journey, part of the new Pentecost. It is designed to move you from a traditional doctrinal paradigm as the foundation of your religious experience to a new, relational-spiritual paradigm which recognizes that connection in the now, moment by moment intimate connection with the Divine through the in-dwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, is everything. "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, which is given unto us." Romans 5:5

From one of the most daring and sensuous young writers in America, Jesus Saves, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, is a suburban gothic that explores the sources of evil, confronts the dynamic shifts within theology, and traces the consequences of suburban alienation. Set in the modern launch pads of adolescent ritual, the strip malls and duplexes on the back side of suburbia, it’s the story of two girls: Ginger, a troubled minister’s daughter; and Sandy Patrick, who has been abducted from summer camp and now smiles from missing-child posters all over town. Layering the dreamscapes of Alice in Wonderland with the subculture of River’s Edge, Darcey Steinke’s Jesus Saves is an unforgettable passage through the depths of the literary imagination.

Rick Warren famously wrote, “It’s not about you.” But much of the Western church seems to disagree, having settled for a self-centered message of personal fulfillment. With incisiveness and a passionate love for the church, pastor and author Byron Forrest Yawn offers a compelling call away from narcissism and back to the powerful and transforming gospel of Jesus. He shows the difference between... Sunday-morning life coaches selling self-help seminars, and preachers proclaiming God’s redemptive work through Christ promises of prosperity and comfort, and a realistic and helpful perspective on suffering escape from unbelievers and their godless world, and redemptive engagement with people As Byron exposes the false gospel of “suburbianity,” he offers readers a better alternative: to look beyond themselves and embrace God’s call to be His image-bearers and ambassadors, partnering with Him as He restores people and all creation to His original design.

A collection of thought-provoking reflections inviting us to contemplate the events of Good Friday in new ways. The reflections are diverse, from Peter’s clumsy fear to the Seven Last Words.

What does it mean to preach the gospel today? How do we shape vibrant congregations? How do we preachers not merely survive, but thrive? For nearly a quarter century, Chris Neufeld-Erdman has preached the gospel--sustaining congregational life and emboldening Christian witness in the midst of this turbulence. He's also taught seminarians and mentored working pastors. His theology and practice of preaching is hammered out on the anvil of real life. It's tested. True. Useful. In this book, a veteran pastor meditates on everything from exegesis and sermon preparation to the way preachers might preach after tsunamis, hurricanes, and earthquakes. He reflects on what it means, for example, to host the text in the midst of what feels like a terminal state of war and violence, both abroad and at home, as well as the task of preaching in the midst of the massive anxiety produced by economic uncertainty and political gridlock. Here's a book that will inspire and guide you as a wise, empowered preacher--an ordinary agent of the extraordinary gospel.