What Would Jesus Do Today

One review said this book teaches "convenient" faith, but I'm not sure they read the same book I did. Cope and Shelly go through the various struggles within Christianity today and apply Jesus' words and actions to these issues. In the conclusion they address some of Jesus' tougher sayings including the idea that nothing--including family, friends, or even one's life--should be more of a priority than He is. That's not "convenient"--that's a life-altering change of mind-frame. The authors also do an excellent job of relating Jesus' balance of reverence for law with unfailing compassion and they warn about modern-day Pharisees with their legalism and hypocrisy. For those readers who are all-too familiar with the last group I just mentioned, please give this book a try and realize that the oppressive brand of "Christianity" common in some churches today is not what Jesus intended. This book focuses on the HOPE of Jesus and, well, we could use more books like this one.

Mike Cope has been a minister for over fifteen years, serving much of that time working with university students and is currently an Adjunct Professor Abilene Christian University. Rubel Shelly has served as a minister for the Woodmont Hills church in Nashville, Tennessee since 1978. What Would Jesus Do Today is their collaborative effort to show a Christian readership that such real life issues as poverty, competition, honesty, commitment, stress, money, sexuality, injustice, death, and more, are quite often too complex for a simply response to the enduringly popular question (especially among Christian fundamentalists and evangelical, "What Would Jesus Do". Offering solid principles and a biblically-based direction, What Would Jesus Do? Today combines considerable biblical scholarship, practical experience, and hard won wisdom to help the non-specialist general reader deal with some of life's toughest questions, stresses, and dilemmas from a Christian perspective.

Mike and Rubel will change your thought process from what do I think to what would Jesus think and from how should I respond to how did Jesus respond in similar situations. This book is an easy read and makes for excellent adult Bible class curriculum. I highly recommend it if you aspire to higher Christian living.