The curriculum for the Jesus Journey School is inspired by these five books. Kay Charlotte and I read N.T. Wright’s Paul: A Biography last summer. So a month or so ago, I ordered up the other four and got down to reading. Here are a few thoughts from each of them.
These Five Books Are Shaping the Upcoming Jesus Journey School
Jesus Journey by Trent Sheppard
Sheppard focuses on Jesus’ humanity in this book. I’ve talked a lot about Jesus’ human nature in the classes I’ve taught, and I found this book to be so inspiring, and challenging, and funny! A favorite quote for me is:
“In my own journey with Jesus, there has been no greater motivation for my faith than the deep, dawning realization that God is one of us. More (fare more!) than the hope of heaven or the fear of hell, it is this bedrock belief—that we have seen the face of God in Jesus—that inspires and informs my faith.”
Bonus: I met Trent in the early 2000’s when we invited him to speak to our Mission Adventures staff and leaders at our MA Waves Gathering at YWAM Chico. I loved his passion for Jesus then, and I love his book now!
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The Ninefold Path of Jesus by Mark Scandrette
This one focuses on the nine beatitudes in Jesus’ sermon on the Mount. Scandrette casts theseas common struggles all humans face. Towards the end of the book, he shows how all nine can be part of our growth towards Christlikeness:
“What if the Beatitudes map a progressive journey of spiritual development? First, trust the Creator's care. Then, lament what is broken and wait for divine comfort. Affirm your inherent dignity and worth. Embrace your agency and power. Receive mercy and respond with compassion. Tell the truth and live whole-heartedly. Reach past differences to find common ground. And then surrender to suffering. The order is important. Only after you can affirm these realities can you confidently resist evil through nonviolence. The surrender response must come from a place of strength, confidence, and courage.”
Bonus: I worked at YWAM Los Angeles with Mark’s sister, Jen. On a trip to the Bay Area, we were able to meet with Mark in his home for a few hours — he’s such a kind example of who Jesus is.
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Know the Real Jesus by Alexander Venter
Venter has us look at Jesus through the historian’s lens. He combines historical research with biblical scholarship. This one started rather ‘thick’ with lots of technical terms and references to the long history of Jesus research. Although it was sometimes challenging, I found so much gold. For example, this nugget about Jesus’ parentage:
“…Jesus was 'the mamzer Nazareth'. [Mamzer is Hebrew for ‘bastard’]. The charge that he was illegitimately conceived plagues him all his life, even far from his hometown, evident in the disputes in Jerusalem during his ministry. When Jesus spoke of God as his father, Pharisees challenged him (John 8:19,41,48,53): "where is your father?... we are not illegitimate children (mamzers)... Aren't we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed? Who do you think you are?" They saw him as a Samaritan half-breed due to mother's 'fornication'. Even in his village of Nazareth, he was known as "Mary's son", not Joseph's son (Mark 6:3).”
Ouch — I never read those passages as such personal attacks on Jesus by the Pharisees. Thankfully, Jesus knew His identity and endured this and so much more.
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Bearing God’s Name by Carmen Joy Imes
I think this book might be my favorite of this bunch. That subtitle, “Why Sinai Still Matters”, hints at how understanding the Old Testament, (or ‘Original Testament’ as one of my pastors likes to say) is critical for us to understand the New. Imes points out that many of us modern Christians have ‘unhitched’ the Old Testament from our faith. She writes,
“Rather than unhitching, I want to make the case that we should re-hitch to Israel’s Scriptures so that we can truly understand who Jesus is and what he came to do.“
She sets the Old Testament scriptures in context and helps us better understand what it means to bear the name of God in our humanity.
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Paul: A Biography by N.T. Wright
You know, finding a quote from each of these books sounded easy when I started. But I’m seeing that there’s just so much to choose from. If you were to hold my copies in your hands, you would see that I underline and highlight a lot. But one of my favorite lines is:
‘Saul had his feet on the ground, and his hands were hardened with labor. But his head still buzzed with scripture and the news about Jesus.’
This book shows me that Paul wasn’t a distant theologian but a hardworking, deeply human man who was completely captured by what God had done in Christ. He was convinced Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection had changed the world and he was willing to pay any price to help people understand and know Him.
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