Description: ReJesus asks the following questions: * What ongoing role does Jesus the Messiah play in shaping the ethos and self understanding of the movement that originated in him? * How is the Christian religion informed and shaped by the Jesus that we meet in the Gospels? * How do we assess the continuity required between the life and example of Jesus and the subsequent religion called Christianity? * In how many ways do we domesticate the radical Revolutionary in order to sustain our religion and religiosity? * How can a rediscovery of Jesus renew our discipleship, the Christian community, and the ongoing mission of the church?
These questions take us to the core of what the church is all about. Rather than reformation, the authors call their task re-founding the church because it raises the issue of the Church's true Founder or Foundation. This theme is of particular importance at the dawn of the twenty-first century as many attempt to address Christianity's endemic and long trended decline in the West. The authors feel that a spiritual, theological, missional, and existential crisis looms in the West.
Customer Reviews
Review Summary: I needed to read this
Date: 2008-12-15
Details: Amidst all the latest fads and "movements" within contemporary Christianity in the West, Frost and Hirsch's "ReJesus" is a clarion call to recalibrate our lives to the one that gathered us together and sent us out in the first place - Jesus.
In their own words, "this book is dedicated to the recovery of the absolute centrality of the person of Jesus in defining who we are as well as what we do."
What I appreciate so much about these two authors is that it is clear that the motivation behind their penetrating and sometimes uncomfortable critique of pop-Christianity is stemmed in their deep love for the Church. While this book has a rich bibliography from such theologians as N.T. Wright, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Jaqcues Ellul, and Jurgan Moltmann...both Frost and Hirsch have chosen to step out of the ivory tower of academia and into the streets of everyday existence as they paint a vivid picture of what it means for someone's entire life to be re-focused, re-calibrated, and re-centered on Jesus.
While Frost and Hirsch are both excellent writers and engaging to read, I found this book reading me even after I set it down...it really got deep inside of me.
If you are interested in going beyond a mere admiration of Jesus to a pervasive imitation of Jesus in every area of your life - this book is for you.
As a pastor, but more importantly as a follower of Jesus Christ, this book couldn't have come to me at a more pivotal time. When I first became a follower of Jesus 8 years ago, a friend and mentor reminded me to never forget my first love - Jesus.. Over the years, however, my first love has been smothered by the trappings of comfort, success, and maintaining the status quo. I have devoured books on how to be a better pastor, a better leader, and a better Christian through the latest trends and fads...
This book, however, is unlike those. As the authors of "ReJesus" say, "it is time to recalibrate the church around the person of Jesus rather than around marketing ploys developed for a shallow consumeristic age."
Thanks to both Frost and Hirsch for helping me remember my first love and providing a re-invitation to follow Jesus in every area of my life.
out of 1 Reviews
