His subtitle was what drew me in, wanting to find out more about this book: what ever happened to the Good News?
In this book, Yancey explores why the Christian Church stirs up such negative feelings these days. That's a question that I've often wondered myself and I was very interested to see what his research revealed.
In reading this book I have certainly been convicted. Not necessarily because I have personally done things that "turn non-believers off from the Gospel", but because I am guilty by association with others who also claim my same beliefs and who have been very offensive at times.
I don't like that evangelical Christians are mostly known for that they are "against" rather than what they are "for". It frustrates me that American Christians especially will get all up in arms about some Christian "celebrity" being "persecuted" in our media but the same do nothing to help share the Good News to a dying world. We will often be happy to sign a petition to keep an offensive show off the air and share all about it on Facebook but when faced with the responsibility of feeding the hungry in our own community we turn a blind eye. No wonder unbelievers are often turned off by our words. They can seem contradictory and even meaningless in light of our lack of action to move beyond our own personal comfort zone.
This book explores all of that and much, much more. Yancey looks at how believers can become dispensers of grace and how evangelical Christians can reinvent that title, making it into something that is true to it's name: "glad tidings" or "good news"
This book is certainly challenging and, like I mentioned before, convicting. Especially when it talks about Christians and politics.
I for one want to effective as a Christ-follower. I want to share God's grace with everyone I come into contact with, to share living water with a thirsty world.
So I encourage you to get out of your comfort zone and put this book on your 2015 reading list.
You can find this book at your local bookstores or on Amazon.
Disclaimer: I received this book from Book Look Bloggers in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion. No other compensation was received.
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