Subversive Kingdom: Living as Agents of Gospel Transformation by Ed Stetzer

I was offered the opportunity to review Ed Stetzer's (director of research at Lifeway publications) latest book, Subversive Kingdom: Living as Agents of Gospel Transformation.His name was not familiar to me, but I am a BIG FAN OF LIFEWAY PUBLICATIONS, so I was tickled. Gotta say, this was a great read. Has a permanent place on my bookshelf! God fills us Christians, like a fountain of pure, clean, cold refreshing water flows into a tall, clear, glass pitcher. But the fountain does not fill the pitcher so it can just sit there all smug and make all the empty pitchers envious and jealous. We are the same. God fills us up and means for us to go out into the world and share the Gospel of Jesus! But Just like Jonah: we sit there in church and think the unworthy need to come to church like we do, and we sit there and get our fill and then we leave and do nothing for God. We are supposed to share - I mean come on people - did Jesus teach us Nothing???? We know better. Stetzer has become frustrated with pews of people who just sit there and then do nothing. And to that end, he lights a great fire under the pews with this book. I especially enjoyed the way he points out that God uses the everyday, average people with flaws and warts and all to serve His Kingdom. Moses, picture Moses. Hot headed and stuttering. Long way from perfect. Noah, King David...the list is LONG of the kind of average persons from the Bible that God picked to help Him in His Work so why do we think God has changed His style? We know God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow so why do we think God needs only the rich, political affluent people to do His work? God has never relied on them before! Its the regular folks that God equips and depends on and this book really tickled me. I have noted a few people in church before that I though of as f-ing Pharasses. Yeah, I spelled it like that on purpose. You know the type. The retired rich people with perfect clothes and Home & Garden houses and every hair in place who always give lip service to God...but let them get the chance to work for God and they are more concerned with looking their best while they are down in the trenches and finding someone else to do the job than they are with serving God. Every church has some of them; and churches might new a reformation like the author suggests. I really dont think the churches need to change I think they just need to open their eyes. But the author has a lot more experience than me as hes from the pulpit. I agree with him, it sure is frustrating to see a bunch of Christians but noone will do anything just like Jonah (again) because we dont think the others/outsiders/nonchurchers are worthy....like we are anybetter. If we could get to Heaven on our own, Jesus would not have had to be tortured to death. We are saved by Grace, nothing else. The author talks about politics and ceremony and the hangups of our culture and points out once again the way God handled this in the past: Jesus did not come to us with pomp and circumstance on a great stallion surrounded by a host of angels and gold and diamonds underfoot like the rose petals of Earthly Kings. Jesus came humble; just as a man. And He did impossible things. And He told us that some will come after Him who will believe in Him who will do even MORE impossible things than He did. We need to start shutting up and start putting out. All we do is talk about why we cant do this or that for God. Jesus came to the hottest most miserable place on Earth. All of our Biblical History happened in the desert areas. Why? I think because the dry air preserved the records and facts so that time could never erode the TRUTH. Buy what you want- but this book is a great investment and will get those gears to turning in the right direction. Think of this book as WD-40 for your soul.