I’ve always felt that Karl Barth, along with the others who have followed after him like Thomas F. Torrance and Jürgen Moltmann, is such a great theologian not only because of his genius in theology (which goes without saying), but because of the gospel he preaches. I read theology for this reason (beyond the enjoyment I take from it!), because I’m looking for a theology that preaches truly good news to a world desperately in need of hope. This is why I write so much about thinkers like Karl Barth, Thomas F. Torrance, and Jürgen Moltmann on this website; they’ve helped me come to grips with a truly “preach-able gospel.”
Theology and practice are not two separate fields, they’re one and the same. Whatever is truly theological is at once practical. As my friend Marty Folsom shared on Facebook about a week ago: “If theology only debates issues that bore the congregation and keep the neighbors from wanting to come to church, it seems to have abandoned the humanity of God that engages everyday life. Can theology be theologically rational if it is not profoundly relational?”
This is why I read theology, and these are the kinds of books I want to write—books that engage with the everyday lives of human beings.
With this goal in mind I’m happy to announce a short attempt to do exactly this: to preach a theological gospel, to take the theology I’ve learned (and am still learning) from Barth and others and to make it clear, approachable, and preach-able. In short, to “preach the gospel to all creation.”
I’ve written Welcome Home: The Good News of Jesus as a sort of gospel tract (as much as one can in the digital age). My hope is that anyone could pick it up and relate to it, while at once being challenged by it. Though it’s perhaps written most of all for anyone asking the question, “What makes the good news good?” (A question I was once asking and still am asking, and which has sent me on a long journey over the last six years of rediscovering the gospel.) It’s a very (very) short book, more of a booklet than anything, coming in just over 12k words. But it is also packed full of food for thought and deep ideas. Students of Barth will undoubtably notice many similarities between this book and Barth’s theology, but there’s also a debt owed to Thomas F. Torrance and Jürgen Moltmann.
Overall it’s not about Barth or Torrance or Moltmann; it’s about Jesus. My heart is warmed as I read it over once again, as I’m reminded in my own words of what God has done for me in Jesus Christ. The ultimate goal is to see Jesus better, with the help of some very intelligent people, and to encounter His love for humanity as it was put on full display through His life, death, and resurrection.
So without further ado, here’s where you can download my new book (Did I mention it’s free? It is!):
Download now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iBooks.
Please share this however you can, with whoever you’d like, and help me spree the word! It’s permanently free like my other book, and so I hope it has a lasting impact with a large reach!
[shareaholic app=”share_buttons” id=”612658″]