THEY'RE BRIGHT. THEY CAN BE BRUTALLY HONEST. THEY CAN BE CYNICAL. THEY'RE SPIRITUALLY HUNGRY. HOW WILL YOU TELL THEM ABOUT JESUS?There is a new, "postmodern" generation with a vast, unmet spiritual hunger. They don't know Jesus. In fact, they don't know much "about" Jesus. They need someone who can relate the truth of the gospel to them in terms they understand. But how does one communicate this transforming truth to a generation increasingly suspicious of religious words and cynical about religious claims?Robert Henderson invites you to look over his shoulder as he addresses the brutally honest questions of faith posed by a young postmodern man named Chip. Chip's questions echo those of a spiritually hungry generation uncertain of where to look for answers--and totally unimpressed with what they see as powerless religion that offers no hope for change. Discover how to introduce the next generation of seekers to the radical grace of Jesus--grace that will make a difference in their lives.

THEY'RE BRIGHT. THEY CAN BE BRUTALLY HONEST. THEY CAN BE CYNICAL. THEY'RE SPIRITUALLY HUNGRY. HOW WILL YOU TELL THEM ABOUT JESUS? There is a new, "postmodern" generation with a vast, unmet spiritual hunger. They don't know Jesus. In fact, they don't know much "about" Jesus. They need someone who can relate the truth of the gospel to them in terms they understand. But how does one communicate this transforming truth to a generation increasingly suspicious of religious words and cynical about religious claims? Robert Henderson invites you to look over his shoulder as he addresses the brutally honest questions of faith posed by a young postmodern man named Chip. Chip's questions echo those of a spiritually hungry generation uncertain of where to look for answers--and totally unimpressed with what they see as powerless religion that offers no hope for change. Discover how to introduce the next generation of seekers to the radical grace of Jesus--grace that will make a difference in their lives.

When Jesus left the most exclusive gated community in the universe to come live with the people he loved and gave his life for, he turned everything we know and believe about life on its head. Jesus said that he came to bring good news to the poor, but most Western Christians remain disconnected and isolated from the poor and their contexts of injustice. Even our churches echo society’s pressure to isolate ourselves from the margins (e.g. by moving to a better suburb) and instead teach us how to be “nice people” who worship a “nice Jesus” and don’t disrupt the status quo. Convinced that Jesus places love for the poor and the pursuit of justice central, Craig Greenfield has sought to follow in Christ’s footsteps by living among people at the edges of society for the last fourteen years. His quest to follow this Subversive Jesus has taken Craig and his young family from the slums of Asia to inner city Canada and back again. This is the story of how Jesus led them to the margins: initiating the Pirates of Justice flash mobs, sharing their home with detoxing crackheads, welcoming homeless panhandlers and prostitutes to the dinner table, and ultimately sparking a movement to reach the world’s most vulnerable children. This book is a strong and potentially controversial critique of the status quo too often found in our churches, but it offers an inspirational and hopeful vision of another way. While readers may not relocate to a slum, they will certainly come to view their lives and ministry through a fresh lens—reconsidering how they are uniquely called by Jesus to subversively love the poor and break down systems of injustice in their sphere of influence.

Traditional preaching, along with the mainline churches in which it has been most prevalent over the years, is losing its appeal for growing numbers of people who are caught up in the dangers and confusion of our fragmented world. Many are hungering for a more powerful and challenging message rooted in Jesus' Life and teachings, seeking clues about how to live faithfully amid the destructive social and personal pressures created by our nation's exploitation of its position of global dominance. The sermons in this volume emerge from the conversion story of a Southern white, Presbyterian pastor who was transformed by the civil rights struggle and who has chosen to live on the boundary between mainstream and marginalized people. Rooted in an understanding that Jesus' gospel message is subversive of many of the dominant values and practices of our culture and our world today, they are intended to be "disturbing" sermons. But they disturb for the sake of healing and hope, always pointing to Jesus' good news of the liberating possibility of beloved community, inclusive of us all. "Z Holler's collection of sermons, Jesus Radical Message, are exegetical models, faithful to their texts, but highly disturbing. He has taken familiar stories of Jesus and let them speak to modern readers as they spoke to the disciples of old, threatening their prejudices and challenging their deepest commitments. They grow out of Holler's own experience-as all good sermons should do-are well-written, and to the point."---Charles Consar Columbia Theological Seminary "I share with my friend and elder Z Holler two deep convictions: that the gospels call us to radical discipleship, and that the Beloved Community Center of Greensboro is truly carrying on the work and witness of Martin Luther King. Z's journey of following Jesus and standing in solidarity with the BCC is remarkable for a white southern preacher of his generation, reminiscent of Clarence Jordan and Will Campbell. His memoir and sermons testify to the wound of reacism, and to how gospel faith changes personal and political geographies."---Ched Myers Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministers "Having been associated with Z Holler on a daily basis for many years, I have been impressed by his interest in and compassion for those in our society for whom the social, legal, and economic systems were a burden instead of offering help and deliverance. He worked diligently to understand their life situations and to content those who controlled the systems. His vision of justice for all was always clear and his ability to articulate that vision is a challenge to any one of us who dare preach sermons based on the person and work of Jesus Christ."---William A. Stewart Minister in the Presbyteian Church (USA) "With a heart trained by scripture, Z Holler listens to the pain of the oppressed. Bearing the particular burden of white Southerners, he has painstakingly translated the pain of racial and class injustice into these sermons along with the dangerous memory of Jesus the Radical Messiah and Z's particular rendering of his demanding call to discipleship. Fresh and urgent, here is a wonderful gift to the discipleship movement-inspiration to engage the word in all times and places."---Revs. Murphy Davis and Eduard Loring Open Door Community, Atlanta, CA "Jesus was and is very radical as he proclaimed and gave witness to the in-breaking of God's Kingdom. Z Holler gives witness to the radical nature of Jesus' proclamation in these sermons with the aid of Scripture his own scholarship. For a taste and sample, read sermon number four, "Let us Go Across to the Other Side." You will want more. The sermons are deep and require reflection. Share reflection in a group or meditate on one each morning, You will be challenged and fed."---Rt. Rev. A. C. Marble, Jr. Bishop of Mississippi, retired, 1993-2003 Biship Assisting, Diocese of North Carolina, 2004 Z Holler, a retired Presbyterian pastor, is a co-founder of the Beloved Community Center in Greensboro, North Carolina. He served as co-chair for the Greensboro Truth and Community Reconciliation Project

The Underground Church proposes that the faithful recapture the spirit of the early church with its emphasis on what Christians do rather than what they believe. Prominent progressive writer, speaker, and minister Robin Meyers proposes that the best way to recapture the spirit of the early Christian church is to recognize that Jesus-following was and must be again subversive in the best sense of the word because the gospel taken seriously turns the world upside down. No matter how the church may organize itself or worship, the defining characteristic of the church of the future will be its Jesus-inspired countercultural witness. Meyers debunks commonly held beliefs about the early church and offers a vision for the future rooted in the past. He proposes that the church of the future must leave doctrinal tribalism behind and seek a unity of mission instead. Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu says of this volume: "Robin Meyers has spoken truth to power, and the church he loves will never be the same."

Christianity is carrying a lot of baggage. Two thousand years of well-intended (and sometimes not so well-intended) attempts to carry forward the good news of God with us have resulted in some murky understandings of the teachings of Jesus and the culture of God?s kingdom. To embrace Christianity, sometimes we have to repent of what we?ve made of it. In The Unkingdom of God Mark Van Steenwyk explores the various ways we have failed our mission by embracing the ways of the world and advancing our own agendas. He shows us that the starting place of authentic Christian witness is repentance, and that while Jesus' kingdom is not of this world, it remains the only hope of the world.

Whether the issue of the day on Twitter, Facebook, or cable news is our sexuality, political divides, or the perceived conflict between faith and science, today’s media pushes each one of us into a frustrating clash between two opposing sides. Polarizing, us-against-them discussions divide us and distract us from thinking clearly and communicating lovingly with others. Scott Sauls, like many of us, is weary of the bickering and is seeking a way of truth and beauty through the conflicts. Jesus Outside the Lines presents Jesus as this way. Scott shows us how the words and actions of Jesus reveal a response that does not perpetuate the destructive fray. Jesus offers us a way forward—away from harshness, caricatures, and stereotypes. In Jesus Outside the Lines, you will experience a fresh perspective of Jesus, who will not (and should not) fit into the sides.