The Secret Message of Jesus
Uncovering the Truth that Could Change Everything
- Theology
- Publisher: Nelson Books (Thomas Nelson)
- Published: 2007
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Publisher's Description
Discover afresh the transforming message of Jesus— an epic story that is good news for everyone, whatever their gender, race, class, politics, or religion. “What if many have carried on a religion that somewhere along the way missed the rich and radical treasures hidden in the essential message of Jesus?” When Brian McLaren began offering an alternative vision of Christian faith and life in books such as A New Kind of Christian and A Generous Orthodoxy, he ignited a firestorm of praise and condemnation that continues to spread across the religious landscape. To some religious conservatives, McLaren is a dangerous rebel without a doctrinally-correct cause. Some fundamentalist websites have even claimed he's in league with the devil and have consigned him to flames. To others though, Brian is a fresh voice, a welcome antidote to the staleness, superficiality, and negativity of the religious status quo. A wide array of people from Evangelical, Catholic, and Mainline Protestant backgrounds claim that through his books they have begun to rediscover the faith they'd lost or rejected. And around the world, many readers say that he has helped them find—for the first time in their lives—a faith that makes sense and rings true. For many, he articulates the promise of what is being called "emerging Christianity." In The Secret Message of Jesus you'll find what's at the center of Brian's critique of conventional Christianity, and what's at the heart of his expanding vision. In the process, you'll meet a Jesus who may be altogether new to you, a Jesus who is… Not the crusading conqueror of religious broadcasting Not the religious mascot of partisan religion Not heaven's ticket-checker, whose words have been commandeered by the church to include and exclude, judge and stigmatize, pacify and domesticate McLaren invites you to discover afresh the transforming message of Jesus—an open invitation to radical change, an enlightening revelation that exposes sham and ignites hope, an epic story that is good news for everyone, whatever their gender, race, class, politics, or religion. "Pastor and best-selling author McLaren revisits the gospel material from a fresh-and at times radical-perspective... He does an excellent job of capturing Jesus' quiet, revolutionary style." —Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Here McLaren shares his own ferocious journey in pondering the teachings and actions of Jesus. It is McLaren's lack of salesmanship or agenda that creates a refreshing picture of the man from Galilee who changed history." —Donald Miller, Author of Blue Like Jazz "In this critical book, Brian challenges us to ask what it would mean to truly live the message of Jesus today, and thus to risk turning everything upside down." —Jim Wallis, Author of God's Politics and editor of Sojourners "Compelling, crucial and liberating: a book for those who seek to experience the blessed heat of Christianity at its source." —Anne Rice, Author of Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt
Endorsements (16)
“In The Secret Message of Jesus Brian McLaren shares his own ferocious journey in pondering the teachings and actions of Jesus. As you read this terrific book, you may find yourself questioning Jesus, appreciating Jesus, admiring Jesus, and perhaps, in the end, feeling a sense of love and loyalty. What happens to you in the reading is not unlike what happened to the men and women who met Jesus thousands of years ago, and the millions who have claimed to have met him since. McLaren is surprisingly objective, and it is his lack of salesmanship or agenda that creates a refreshing picture of the man who claimed to be God.”
“In this critical book, Brian challenges us to ask what it would mean to truly live the message of Jesus today, and thus to risk turning everything upside down.”
“Brian McLaren has given us an insightful, timely, and occasionally startling distillation of the message of Jesus. He is well aware of the many ways it has been distorted and debased by ourselves among others, but McLaren argues compellingly that it continues to be the best message we have—bringing clarity, guidance, and, above all, hope into our shadowed and floundering world.”
“Here McLaren breaks new ground. The Secret Message of Jesus is his first decoding of the Gospel for those who are, or wish to be, ‘a new kind of Christian.’ More to the point, Christians of every kind, old or new, will receive energy and a renewal of their own commitment from reading these pages.”
“Brian McLaren insists gently that we recognize the message of Jesus as an ongoing revolution that may never come to an end in time. The Law of God doesn’t change, no, but our perception of it is never static; it does and must change as the centuries pass. New study, new insights, new metaphors and new acknowledgements of past limitations can bring us closer and closer to the living, breathing, and dynamic nature of Scripture as we seek to meet its radical demands. McLaren reminds us that we have been invited to transform ourselves through Christ. Lucid, compelling, crucial and liberating: a book for those who seek to experience the blessed heat of Christianity at its source.”
“In The Secret Message of Jesus the religious fog begins to lift and the revolutionary life that Jesus lived and calls us to begins to take shape. Take a chance on this wise and thought-provoking book.”
“There is good reason that Brian McLaren is “emerging” as a prominent voice in the new shape of the church to come. His passion and gifts are fully articulated in this volume wherein he invites the reader back to the most urgent and elemental dimensions of Jesus. McLaren pushes beyond conventional church faith to the rawness of the text, there to be met by One who is revolutionary, subversive, and invitational in demanding and healing ways.”
“This is the real “DaVinci Code”—the lost message to the contemporary church. A powerful, eye-opening book that has me rethinking my own position on everything.”
“Over the last few years Brian McLaren has helped so many of us navigate the changing landscape of our emerging post-modern culture. While bringing insight and hope to so many of the hard questions of belief our new world brings, his books have enabled us to reimagine the nature and purpose of our faith and the church. In The Secret Message of Jesus, Brian helps us further on our journey, with probably his most important work to date.”
“As I finished reading The Secret Message of Jesus, the thought came to mind that this is the last Christian book I need to read. It is time to set down the books and start doing .”
“It’s amazing that the secret message of Jesus is also a secret to many Christians, but Brian McLaren courageously explains how and why this has happened. In this book, the “good news” sounds good again—to non-Christian and Christian alike.”
“Brian is thoughtful and probing and edgy and restless. Kind of like the guy he’s writing about.”
“Brian explores Jesus and his ‘secret’ message imaginatively, invitingly, and in ways certain to provoke controversy and conversation, just like Jesus did.”
“Brian McLaren has done it again! He has written a book that challenges traditional religiosity with a vital rediscovery of the central biblical truths.”
“This book will make you uncomfortable. It might make you mad. Jesus has that affect on people, Brian McLaren reminds us with understated wisdom. The Secret Message of Jesus challenges us to put aside our sterile certainties about Christ and reconsider the imaginative world of Jesus’ stories, signs, and wonders.”
“What Brian McLaren brings to the task of understanding and responding to the person, personality, and program of Jesus is an exceptional way of imagining. His gift is to bring together an intelligent reading of the gospels, an acute sensitivity to the beauty and brutality of humankind, and a compelling and far-reaching grasp of the possibilities inherent in Jesus’ message. This book should renew our hope.”
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