Announcing My New Book! Just What is “The Gospel” Anyway? Your Guide to Church Shopping
My new book, published just this past week, is Just What is “The Gospel” Anyway? Your Guide to Church Shopping
(Available through the book page on this website or directly at Amazon.com)
I am super excited about this publication for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it gave me a chance to work on integrating a couple of significant theological traditions and thinking, have them talk with each other and to/through Bonhoeffer’s religion-less Christianity, in order then to land on an understanding of “gospel” that was honest, made sense, was actually good news and then provided a way for how to be church. Then too, I’m excited about the “Project” connected with it (see below).
People inside the church today……. are searching earnestly for ways to shore up the enterprise but, instead of looking at what the message is that they actually are communicating, try to make shiny and pretty a cultural and institutional artifact. And if they do say they want to get to the “basics” by delivering “gospel,” what they define as “gospel” if often wrong headed and wrong spirited.
People outside the church today…… are as disinterested in church as they ever have been.
My contention is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is, well, amazing, but that it needs to be clarified and defined and then clearly communicated so that those in the Church get "gospel" right and those outside of the Church actually get something that is liberating instead of boring, repressive and destructive.
Just what is "the Gospel" anyway? And how can a person find a church that lives it and delivers it?
We need to start with what actually happened to and with Jesus, and end there too. By reviewing what I call the "justice theology" from 1st century roots to the "reconciliation theology" from 16th century roots I offer up a way of understanding and living out the Christian faith today and a way to communicate just what the Gospel is in 100 words or less.
Let’s get at what “Gospel” is and means so that communication that is life-giving can actually get traction in our swirling world of a million information bits we need to navigate daily.
Then, use that definition, either mine or the 100 words or less that you will name, to find that church community where you can thrive and the world is a better place because of it.
Announcing the “Just What is ‘The Gospel’ Anyway?” Project
I just mentioned above your “100 words or less.” In my book I give you mine. Actually mine end up being 80 words. But what do you say? How do you name “Gospel”? I invite you to write your “definition” here, responding to this blog, or email me at johan@beinganddoingmatters.com. Let the conversation begin!
