the (un)offensive gospel of jesus • October 2008

Who is the Jesus we’re showing? What is the Story we’re telling?

These honest questions sit at the heart of this punchy, provocative book by Jeremy Bouma. Throughout his debut title, Jeremy seeks to drive a conversation within the Church about how She is showing Jesus and telling His hopeful Story because America is progressively skipping toward post-Christendom. Many within America are increasingly disinterested in Jesus, skeptical of His followers, and ambivalent toward His good, hopeful message.

Why is this the case? If Jesus and His message are what people have been waiting for their whole life, why are so many people leaving and avoiding Him, His community, and gospel Story? Who is the Jesus people are seeing? What is the Story people are hearing? The time is right to cast a new vision for showing and telling.

The (un)offensive gospel of Jesus sketches a fresh portrait of the good Jesus and hopeful gospel found in the Holy Scriptures. Based on his experiences in the American Church, conversations and friendships, studies in theology and the Gospels, and the joy of personally following Jesus, Jeremy explores how Jesus and His gospel are inherently inspiring, reassuring and good. More importantly, he reminds the Church that we are responsible for the Jesus we show and the Jesus people see, the Story we tell and the Story people hear. In the end, the author helps us all understand why the person and message of Jesus are more hopeful than many of us think.

God’s story of rescue • Spring 2010

This book is about a story. A story about our individual and collective pilgrim stories. One that has passed from tribe to tribe, family to family and person to person for generations. This story is the grand, sweeping, magical, story of God’s rescue.

Once upon a time, our beautiful world was whole, complete and good. But then something happened: we rebelled against our Creator and now it is not the way it was supposed to be. We aren’t either.

Like any story, this one offers a solution, a fix. God’s story of Rescue explains how God is putting the world back together again and offers everyone on the planet the chance to redefine their own story through the promise of rescue and hope of re-creation.

That’s God’s story. It’s ours, too.