two sample chapters from rejesus

As reJesus is coming out in the US in December (and elsewhere in January), the publisher have released two chapters as a sampler. I really am deeply excited about this book. Mainly because I believe it gets to the very core of missional Christianity–namely Jesus and his role in defining the movement that claims his name. Anyhow, some more endorsements have come in. Here are more of them, followed by a download of the two chapters.

“At this moment in history we are in the middle of an ecclesial and theological reformation that is at least as radical as, and likely more significant than, the Protestant Reformation of the 16th and 17th centuries. In this bold, compelling, and prophetic masterpiece, Hirsch and Frost articulate the beautiful vision of the Jesus-centered Kingdom that is driving this new Reformation. Hirsch and Frost brilliantly weave together insightful biblical exegesis, critical historical reflection, transforming spiritual discipleship, probing cultural analysis, and even a good bit of humor in ways that help readers get free from the deadening yoke of the Christian religion and rediscover the wild, untamed, life-giving Jesus of the Gospels. I hope everyone who professes faith in Christ will dare to read this book. They will not put it down unchanged.”
—Greg Boyd, Senior Pastor of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, co-author, The Jesus Legend

“In ReJesus, Alan and Michael successfully reinstate Jesus at the center of the spiritual life and mission of God’speople. In an era overly focused on how to ‘do church,’ their message is clear; we must take a closer look at the life of Jesus. If you want to jump back into authentic, New Testament discipleship, then take their challenge to recalibrate the mission and work of the church around the story of Jesus. As only true practitioners can, they provide an abundance of practical insights and inspiration.”
—Matt Smay, Missio Director of the Missional Church Apprenticeship Practicum, co-author, The Tangible Kingdom

“THIS is THE conversation to be had! While everyone is obsessed with reinventing the church—this puts not just the conversation, but the focus squarely back on where it belongs: Jesus! It’s not the forms, the structures, the styles, the venues—it’s the person of Jesus. I devoured every page of this book; I was completely engrossed in it. All true missional living starts and finishes with Jesus. When Jesus is at the core, not just of telling others about him but of creating a new life within us, we will be transformed and the church will be redefined. It will come not from ideas from without but from a person from within—Jesus! When Jesus is at the core, our faith and the church will always be alive to anyone, any time, any culture, and any place in the world. What Alan and Mike have done is write a book that answers the ‘so what’ of Jesus to his followers. The book is profound.”
—Bob Roberts Jr., Senior Pastor of NorthWood Church in Keller, Texas, author, The Multiplying Church

“Frost and Hirsch excavate the ruins of Western Christianity, digging through the accumulation of 2,000 years of dust in order to return the church to the sure foundation of Jesus Christ. This book is a challenging and helpful addition to the task of re-centering, re-founding, or, in their words, ‘re-Jesusing’ Christianity. The Jesus- shaped church will look quite different from many of the modern variety, and Frost and Hirsch skillfully articulate both the need and the means to align the way of Jesus with the religion that bears his name.”
—Mike Erre, Teaching Pastor at Rock Harbor Church in Costa Mesa, California, author, The Jesus of Suburbia

“ In response to our present challenges, Frost and Hirsch offer a fresh and provocative reading of the person of Jesus as the key for Christians to draw upon in living as contemporary disciples. They dig deep into the Jesus narrative for clues in understanding a wild Messiah—a ReJesus—and they discover key resources that are used to reclaim a radical call to discipleship. The reader will find their proposal to be openly invitational but should be prepared to be quite challenged.”
—Craig Van Gelder, Professor of Congregational Mission,
Luther Seminary, author, The Ministry of the Missional Church

“Is the religion of Christianity the religion of Jesus? Is Jesus to be a model for our lives, or is he just a God-shaped security deposit? Frost and Hirsch recover God’s call to become more like His Son and dare to place an earthy, narrative Christology at the center of all things missional.”
—Sally Morgenthaler, author, Worship Evangelism, contributor, An Emergent Manifesto of Hope

“As Christendom dies a slow death, people scour the landscape of literature to find answers for how to redo church, re-engage faith, or reposition so that we can maintain our present status quo of reputation, resources, and rest. In ReJesus, Hirsch and Frost call us past these pathetic pursuits to a new world, or old world, in which leaders follow Jesus and let Jesus reform the church. Read, only if you’re willing to rethink everything.”
—Hugh Halter, Missio Director, Pastor of Adullam in Denver, Colorado, co-author of The Tangible Kingdom

“The themes of mission and personal and corporate renewal can be approached from a variety of perspectives. Many books on mission take a pragmatic approach, focusing on strategies; while those addressing renewal tend towards a nostalgic spiritualizing, drawing inspiration from previous revivalism the church. ReJesus: A Wild Messiah for a Missional Church represents a different approach. It draws together three key themes that are all too often compartmentalized: Christology, Missiology, and Ecclesiology. So many churches in the West are suffering from amnesia with regard to the Biblical narrative, or at best are guilty of a selective reading, resulting in a misrepresentation of Jesus to conform to our cultural assumptions and boundaries. Frost and Hirsch present us with a faithful portrayal of Jesus as fully human, as God intended us to be, by showing us what the God who dared to make us in his own image is really like. The authors present an untamed Jesus who makes scary, radical demands, while at the same time giving of himself to empower his followers with the courage and resources necessary to follow his leading. ReJesus reveals abundant evidence of extensive research, and dropped into the text are brief descriptions of individuals who embodied the challenges Frost and Hirsch present to the reader. In confronting such a gospel every seeker will find more than they bargained for! But the gospel was never a bargain, it is always a gracious gift—far too great and glorious for us to ever fully comprehend or exhaust its potential. In reading this book be prepared for a wild ride!”
—Eddie Gibbs, Senior Professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, author, LeadershipNext

“Frost and Hirsch have done it again. Reading ReJesus provoked, frustrated, and ultimately convicted me of my need to live more deeply in the way of Jesus. If you are looking for another book on simply bolstering church as-we-know-it, this is not for you. If you and your church want to be challenged to walk in the Way of Jesus, this book delivers.”
—Ed Stetzer, blogger (www.edstetzer.com), author, Planting Missional Churches

“It is with such ease that the church veers off course. ReJesus draws us back to Jesus in all of his radical, passionate, and transformative beauty. Frost and Hirsch demonstrate by word and example that to be the church demands a fearless, intimate, and constant encounter with Christ. As individuals and as a community, we have no option but to heed their wisdom.”
—Daniel M. Harrell, Associate Minister at Park Street Church in Boston, author, Nature’s Witness

And as promised, here are the downloads….

rejesus-intro and rejesus-ch 1

October 23, 2008 | Filed Under christology, reJesus |  

Comments

18 Responses to “two sample chapters from rejesus”

  1. Peter on October 23rd, 2008 5:43 am

    Congrats, Alan. Those are some pretty strong endorsements.

    -Peter

  2. Wes Woodell on October 23rd, 2008 6:21 am

    Looks good. I’ll plan on picking this one up.

  3. Peggy on October 23rd, 2008 6:23 am

    The Abbess definitely plans to get this one, Alan … and thanks for the two chapters. I’m going to download them and read them soon.

    Thanks and congratulations!

  4. Brandon on October 23rd, 2008 6:47 am

    Need anyone to do early blog reviews :D

  5. Janet on October 23rd, 2008 10:58 am

    Congratulations Al… sounds like a “must read”!

  6. Gibby on October 23rd, 2008 1:04 pm

    Bless you, my friend. Congrats.

  7. Johnny Laird on October 23rd, 2008 8:33 pm

    …looking forward to picking up my copy!

    Pax

    J

  8. Eric on October 23rd, 2008 9:05 pm

    Good stuff Alan. I look forward to reading the rest of the book.

  9. Ryan Bolger on October 24th, 2008 2:00 am

    Alan, sounds great. Congratulations. Looking forward to getting it when it comes out. Peace, Ryan

  10. Tom Smith on October 24th, 2008 4:14 am

    I just read the intro and it really excites me! Here in South Africa we’re still busying ourselves with “setting Jesus free” from our apartheid past.

  11. Andrew on October 24th, 2008 8:57 am

    Very good introduction Alan & Michael. Quite engaging. Looking forward to the rest of the book.

  12. Ben on October 24th, 2008 6:25 pm

    Alan,

    In this sample chapter I noted that you reaffirm your ‘belief’ in the ‘formula’:

    ‘Christology determines Missiology determines Ecclesiology’

    I noted that Mark Driscoll in one of his book reformulated this as:

    ‘Christology determines Ecclesiology determines Missiology’

    I recently commented on this on my blog. Tony Jones was speaking at Blackstump and he said:

    ‘Emerging Churches do not start as outreach but as a last ditch effort of founders to save their own faith. Best way to be missional is to be an authentic Christ centric community.’ (Not a direct quote but close)

    It seemed (to me) that he agreed with Driscoll’s version of the ‘formula’ (shock horror).

    On my blog I wrote:

    ‘When I first read these different perspectives (in the authors respective books) I felt a gut reaction to agree with Frost and Hirsh, but after hearing what Tony had to say at Blackstump I was left wondering if this was an American / Australian thing. Is this just about context or is one side actually right and the other actually wrong?’

    Further food for thought came from Matt Stone who wrote on his blog:

    ‘Tony notes that Australia is very similar to America in many ways, except when we say unchurched, we genuinely mean unchurched, not just dechurched. Yes, true, very true. Hopefully that observation will help more people understand why we place much more emphasis on mission and much less on welcoming post-evangelicals.’

    Are coming at the same issue but in different contexts and that results in different approaches getting primacy? Is it just that we (outside the USA) are just further down the slippery slop? Is this the core difference between Emerging-Missional and Emerging ‘n’ Missional? I’ve been stewing on this for three weeks so maybe I’m just over thinking it.

  13. alan hirsch on October 24th, 2008 11:50 pm

    Ben, I have never been more sure of the ‘formula’. The problem if ecclesiology presceeds missiology is to make mission into a subset of the church. If we take the Missio Dei seriously this can never be the case (see Bosch). They way I say it is that it is not so much that the church has a mission, but that the mission has a church”

  14. Mick on October 25th, 2008 4:03 am

    I deeply appreciate your writings and their continued movement toward the Lord Jesus.
    You write, “movement, the parachurch movement, rapid church multiplication,emerging church, simple church, or the passion movement, so many of them have been presented as new ways of doing church. From our perspective,
    this is putting the cart before the horse. Let’s get our Christology right and then dare to place all our deeply held desires for how to do church at its service. Not vice versa.”

    I think this is spot on. The question/concern I wrestle with is how the Spirit will lead this process vs. “us” “doing” it again.
    In Revelation 2Open Link in New Window Jesus tells the church at Ephesus to Remember…, Repent, and do the things you did at first in response to their having lost him as their first love. We need to re-remember Jesus as I believe you are getting at with “Rejesus”. But I wonder how the Western church will be with “repent” which biblically CAN BE a process, a season, a liminal space between remembering and doing. A time and place for us to become broken, to weep and wait for the Spirit to “Rejesus” us into a missional people?
    How do you see this?

  15. Penney Winiarski on October 25th, 2008 10:37 am

    Standing by the mailbox!

  16. Lucy J on October 25th, 2008 11:05 pm

    It’s not just the importance of the subject matter, the intelligent approach or the passion for the Christ that drips from the pages that impresses me about the books you have authored/co-authored, Alan. I can also see “artistic development” in both the graphic art layout of the printed pages and in the literary style. The use of powerful illustrative and anecdotal examples gives the dissertation impact. Maybe I’m a bit biased because you’re expressing what close friends and I have been discussing, albeit less eruditely, for a good while now! I can see that Andrew and I will be gifting copies to various people, as we did with The Shaping of Things to Come and The Forgotten Ways…

  17. Steve mac on November 2nd, 2008 12:07 pm

    Alan
    These are very moving words you and Mike have written. My first response is repentance. I am looking forward with trepidation to the rest.

  18. Jack Allen on November 4th, 2008 1:43 am

    Alan,
    Thank you for the two chapters. I read them over the weekend and immediately pre-ordered five copies of the book–four to give away. The content is spot on, which I expected from you and Michael. I bought five because I am rewarding you for giving away something of value. In coming days (meaning when I darn well get to it) I’m blogging on what I read–very provocative stuff. Though, man, I do tense up over the Latin terms. Couldn’t you have used Greek or Hebrew? Latin smarts of Romanesque hierarchy. Perhaps that’s intentional irony? Either way, the Intro and ch 1 were well worth my time. So, thanks!
    100,000 blessings,
    Jack
    Nehemiah Church Planting Professor
    New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

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