5 years ago I came back from a Sabbatical Summer having had the opportunity to think deeply about things that God had been teaching me over the previous 15+ years of ministry leadership and 30 years of following Jesus. I came away convicted by the realization that the area that God had consistently been dealing with me on since I first began following Jesus was actually about having a real relationship with Him. I know that we talk a lot about having a "relationship with God" in Christian settings, but the revolutionary significance of that and how we tend to want to bottle that up into forms that are more manageable really hit me. I realized that over the years God had been speaking to me through His word about areas in my life where I was religious and looked more like a Pharisee than I looked like Jesus. It was a powerful time that summer and it led to distilling those distinctions between a religious mindset and a relationship with God down to seven key differences. I have continued developing those thoughts while also taking the time to teach them in various contexts. Each time I go through this I grow more aware of how truly revolutionary an actual relationship with God through Jesus Christ is compared to our man-made substitutes.
Over the last year, I have written these thoughts down into a BOOK that I want to share with you for FREE as an e-book before it goes to print. We will be sending out the Introduction and Chapter 1 this week and the following chapters each week after that (there are 10 chapters total).
I welcome your input and comments, but more than anything I pray that you will be encouraged and challenged to grow closer in your relationship with God and to break free from the false dichotomies of License and Legalism as you pursue a living relationship with God.
If you would like to read the rest of the book for FREE before it gets published you can sign up to receive it by email (in email format and as a downloadable pdf) and we'll send you one chapter at a time.
More Than Religion
5 years ago I came back from a Sabbatical Summer having had the opportunity to think deeply about things that God had been teaching me over the previous 15+ years of ministry leadership and 30 years of following Jesus. I came away convicted by the realization that the area that God had consistently been dealing with me on since I first began following Jesus was actually about having a real relationship with Him. I know that we talk a lot about having a "relationship with God" in Christian settings, but the revolutionary significance of that and how we tend to want to bottle that up into forms that are more manageable really hit me. I realized that over the years God had been speaking to me through His word about areas in my life where I was religious and looked more like a Pharisee than I looked like Jesus. It was a powerful time that summer and it led to distilling those distinctions between a religious mindset and a relationship with God down to seven key differences. I have continued developing those thoughts while also taking the time to teach them in various contexts. Each time I go through this I grow more aware of how truly revolutionary an actual relationship with God through Jesus Christ is compared to our man-made substitutes.
Over the last year, I have written these thoughts down into a BOOK that I want to share with you for FREE as an e-book before it goes to print. We will be sending out the Introduction and Chapter 1 this week and the following chapters each week after that (there are 10 chapters total).
I welcome your input and comments, but more than anything I pray that you will be encouraged and challenged to grow closer in your relationship with God and to break free from the false dichotomies of License and Legalism as you pursue a living relationship with God.
If you would like to read the rest of the book for FREE before it gets published you can sign up to receive it by email (in email format and as a downloadable pdf) and we'll send you one chapter at a time.
SIGN UP HERE!
Here's the Table of Contents:
Introduction: My Adventures in Missing the Point
1. Religion or Revolution?
2. Fearless
3. A New Thing
4. A New Law
5. Inside Out
6. Get It? Got It? Good!
7. Eye Can See Clearly Now
8. Wearing Uniformity
9. Where Are You Headed?
10. Free, Not Cheap
Conclusion: How Much Is So?