renewedheartministries.com<\/a> beginning December 1.<\/p>\nHere is a sample of what folks are saying about the book:<\/p>\n
\u201cHerb has spent the last decade reading scripture closely. He also reads the world around us, thinks carefully with theologians and sociologists, and wonders how the most meaningful stories of his faith can inspire us to live with more heart, attention, and care for others in our time. For those who\u2019ve ever felt alone in the process of applying the wisdom of Jesus to the world in which we live, Herb offers signposts for the journey and the reminder that this is not a journey we take alone. Read Finding Jesus with others, and be transformed together.\u201d \u2014Dr. Keisha McKenzie, Auburn Theological Seminary<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1222\/2022\/11\/FindingJesus_CVR1-300x300.jpg\")
\u201cIn Finding Jesus, Herb Montgomery unleashes the revolutionary Jesus and his kin-dom manifesto from the shackles of the domesticated religion of empire. Within these pages we discover that rather than being a fire insurance policy to keep good boys and girls out of hell, Jesus often becomes the fiery enemy of good boys and girls who refuse to bring economic justice to the poor, quality healthcare to the underserved, and equal employment to people of color or same-sex orientation. Because what the biblical narratives of Jesus reveal is that any future human society\u2014heavenly or otherwise\u2014will only be as good as the one that we\u2019re making right here and now. There is no future tranquil city with streets of gold when there is suffering on the asphalt right outside our front door today. Finding Jesus invites us to pray \u2018thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven\u2019 on our feet as we follow our liberator into the magnificent struggle of bringing the love and justice of God to all\u2014right here, right now.\u201d \u2014Todd Leonard, pastor of Glendale City Church, Glendale CA<\/p>\n
\u201cHerb Montgomery\u2019s teachings have been deeply influential to me. This book shares the story of how he came to view the teachings of Jesus through the lens of nonviolence, liberation for all, and a call to a shared table. It\u2019s an important read, especially for those of us who come from backgrounds where the myth of redemptive violence and individual (rather than collective) salvation was the focus.\u201d \u2014Daneen Akers, author of Holy Troublemakers & Unconventional Saints and co-director\/producer of Seventh-Gay Adventists: A Film about Faith, Identity & Belonging<\/p>\n
\u201cSo often Christians think about\u00a0Jesus through the lens of Paul\u2019s theology and don\u2019t focus on the actual person and teachings of Jesus. This book is different. Here you find a challenging present-day application of Jesus\u2019 teachings about the Kingdom of God and the Gospel. Rediscover why this Rabbi incited fear in the hearts of religious and political leaders two millennia ago. Herb\u2019s book calls forth a moral vision based on the principles of Jesus\u2019 vision of liberation. Finding Jesus helps us see that these teachings are just as disruptive today as they were when Jesus first articulated them.\u201d \u2014Alicia Johnston, author of The Bible & LGBTQ Adventists<\/p>\n
\u201cHerb Montgomery is a pastor for pastors, a teacher for teachers, and a scholar for scholars. Part memoir and part theological reflection,\u00a0Finding Jesus\u00a0is a helpful and hope-filled guide to a deeper\u00a0understanding of who Jesus is. Herb\u2019s tone is accessible and welcoming while also challenging and fresh. This book is helpful for anyone who wants a new and fresh perspective on following Jesus.\u201d \u2014Traci Smith, author of Faithful Families<\/p>\n
This week\u2019s passage reminds us once again that elements in the Jesus story that were once life-giving for certain of Jesus followers in their context must evolve and become more life-giving so they can have non-destructive meaning for us today as we seek to follow Jesus in our own society. These new ways of reading will be in perfect harmony with the overall spirit of the message and teachings of Jesus. Reading this way often involves hard work as we wrestle with understanding its application to our time\u2019s social needs, but this work is well worth it for those of us who believe the Jesus story still has much to offer us today.<\/p>\n
As we begin this Advent season, may Advent this year be not only about the arrival of Jesus in Bethlehem, nor only the arrival or coming of our holiday season or the future coming of Jesus, but also the coming of more life-giving ways to follow Jesus today. That\u2019s the kind of Advent I can get behind!<\/p>\n
May this blessed season of Advent bring peace, joy, love, and justice to each of you.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I understand why a reversal would have resonated with the original audience of our passage, and today, we can do better.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4129,"featured_media":5700,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[729],"tags":[2647,3255,3252,2611,1056,73,89,1842,176,2720,2049,284,777,693,3258,759,58,1224,70],"class_list":["post-5721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-liberation-theology","tag-advent","tag-arrival","tag-coming","tag-ecological-justice","tag-economic-justice","tag-feminism","tag-hope","tag-immigration-justice","tag-jesus","tag-lectionary-reading","tag-lgbtq-justice","tag-liberation-theology","tag-racial-justice","tag-religion","tag-reversal","tag-salvation","tag-social-justice","tag-universalism","tag-womanism"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/p>\n