Rejesus: A Wild Messiah for a Missional Church

My pastor Toli Morgan inspired us recently when he said "Jesus really is amazing" and went on to tell us why. I loved the passionate appeal of Jesus that he portrayed. It interests me the different pictures we have of Jesus. One of my earliest pictures of Jesus came from my Nana - a literal framed picture of Jesus. You would probably recognise the picture. Do you recall bearded lady Jesus on a Sunday School wall? With blue eyes and blond hair unlike anyone born in Palestine for hundreds of years before or after, this Jesus looks into the distance with the sun shining on his face. He looks inoffensive, unflappable, even spooky. It's a "break-glass-in-case-of-emergency" domesticated Jesus. I am getting a different picture of Jesus from rereading the gospels and reflecting on Frost and Hirsch's new book ReJesus. It's a picture of Jesus that is radical, wild, dangerous, mysterious and with an agenda that is often quite different from mine. "What Would Jesus Do (WWJD)?" becomes a very challenging question when I think about the sorts of things Jesus did. (Unfortunately, "WWJD?" can become narrowly used only in relation to personal morality, and I prefer asking "What is Jesus Doing?" so I can join in with what the risen and alive Jesus is doing.) ReJesus takes a fresh look at Jesus and invites us on a quest to get Jesus back to the centre of church life. In the face of hypocrisy where terrible things have been promoted in Jesus' name, when Jesus is too often in our hearts but not our actions, where churches can tend to overspiritualise Jesus or trivialize him into a spiritual accessory, and in seeking "new ways of doing church", missional leaders Frost and Hirsch urge refounding, recalibrating and rebooting around a fresh understanding of Jesus. I appreciated its passionate appeal, the heroes of faith scattered through its pages, the outline of historical depictions of Jesus, and the reminder that we serve a God who calls for our ultimate loyalty, beyond any sacred-secular divisions. I have read lots of books on church over the last few years. The next three years I am keen to read more on Jesus, starting with a fresh engagement with Jesus in the gospels that ReJesus points me towards. (Originally reviewed in 2009) Witness: The Voice of Victorian Baptists, (April), Exclusive Web Content, accessible at [...])

ReJesus, by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch, is a book about seriously studying the Gospels in order to reform the Church into the image of Jesus Christ. Too often, especially in the USA, the Church has been made into the image of predominant culture. The same can be said of Jesus Himself. We create God in our image. in ReJesus Frost and Hirsch confront us with the Jesus of the Gospels, who is wilder than our Judeo-Christian culture would like. The Jesus of the Gospel means business. I recommend this book. The illustrations and comparative studies in the lives of radical Jesus followers are also to be commended.

The church is much like a jet airplane. There is an enigmatic power about a jet as it roars across the sky using its power to accomplish its mission, to reach its destination. Now imagine that jet, with all of its power, suddenly void of its instruments, void of its compass. In that scenario, not only does the jet become useless, it becomes dangerous. The church minus Jesus is like the jet minus its instruments. Sadly, this is the state of much of the church today--useless and dangerous. The church, as strange as it may sound, is in need of Jesus. In ReJesus, Michael Frost & Alan Hirsch provide the church with exactly what it needs...Jesus. In a quick two hundred pages, Frost & Hirsch weave together theory, stories, examples, and diagrams that cause you to think, listen, dream, and pray. Above all, they cause you to question the place of Jesus in your ministry. Is Jesus the center of all that you do? Is he the source of mission? Is he the life of your community, or has Jesus been pushed to the margins in favor of other lords, such as religion or Christ-less theology? Having read previous books by both authors, I'm convinced that this book is the most important because it is about the most important topic of all. For those interested in missional church, this book serves as a welcome reminder that apart from Jesus there is no mission nor church. I will be using this book for years to come as we train leaders and church planters for mission.

The book was in excellent condition. I gave it to my brother for x-mas and he was SUPER excited!

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.