Synopses & Reviews
Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound . . . or is it? Grace set to music is one thing, but what about grace itself? What about grace as an idea, an act, a force? Grace upsets the natural balance, turning the law of cause and effect on its head. Our instinctive reaction is to pull back from grace. Rather than recognizing our unworthiness to receive this completely undeserved gift from God, we want to believe that, on balance, something in our lives merits the good that comes our way, that we deserve whatever gifts we receive. And if we find it difficult to accept grace for ourselves, how much more unwilling are we to have it handed to others? When someone gets off the hook too easily, aren't we uncomfortable? A miscarriage of justice, we think. That's not fair! But real Christian faith requires that we accept and embrace this radical thing called grace. It's not about being fair: God's grace will turn your world upside downif you let it.
With his characteristic humor and warmth, seminary president and former pastor Donald McCullough challenges Christians to understand God's radical grace and what it means to embrace it completely. He tenderly presses us to reexamine our view of the relentless, unpredictable, and boundless God we sometimes underestimate or take for granted, showing how grace liberates our relationship with our creator. Drawing on a wealth of biblical and real-life stories, McCullough illustrates the transformation made possible by accepting grace for ourselves, relinquishing patterns of guilt, and instead reveling in freedom. He helps us recognize and extend grace to our relationshipsto forgive, to serve, to break down barriersenabling us to do the work of Christ on earth.
Review
"Donald McCullough is a person with a deep spiritual hunger and a depth of understanding and challenge that I always find tough and touching and illuminating."
--Anne Lamott, author, Traveling Mercies
"Donald McCullough understands that God’s generosity gets up our nose and that, if we are honest, we find the teachings of Jesus offensive. It’s an old spiritual maxim that the most privileged access to grace is through our greatest weakness. Who needs it? The author looks the issue in the eye with clarity and humor, showing us that our freedom and joy depend on a truth-telling that exposes not only our weakness and fragility but also the breathtaking grace of God, which rescues us from despair and makes us radiant with God’s delight."
--Alan Jones, dean, Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, and author, Reimagining Christianity
"Donald McCullough’s wonderful book offers a fresh perspective on grace as God’s wild pursuit of our lives. This is not a book to comfort you. It’s a book to help you become fully alive."
--M. Craig Barnes, Robert Meneilly Professor of Pastoral Ministry, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
"I have always thought that most of our adult Christian life is spent re-learning who God is. It’s like we are looking in one direction and Don’s words call loudly to us, ‘No, over here!’ And as we snap our heads to look, we see a God who makes our jaw drop, our eyes well, and floods us with joy."
--Nancy Ortberg, church consultant and former teaching pastor, Willow Creek Community Church
Synopsis
Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound . . . or is it? Grace set to music is one thing, but what about grace itself? What about grace as an idea, an act, a force? Grace upsets the natural balance, turning the law of cause and effect on its head. Our instinctive reaction is to pull back from grace. Rather than recognizing our unworthiness to receive this completely undeserved gift from God, we want to believe that, on balance, something in our lives merits the good that comes our way, that we deserve whatever gifts we receive. And if we find it difficult to accept grace for ourselves, how much more unwilling are we to have it handed to others? When someone gets off the hook too easily, aren't we uncomfortable? A miscarriage of justice, we think. That's not fair! But real Christian faith requires that we accept and embrace this radical thing called grace. It’s not about being fair: God’s grace will turn your world upside down¾ if you let it.
Synopsis
"Donald McCullough understands that God's generosity gets up our nose and that, if we are honest, we find the teachings of Jesus offensive. It's an old spiritual maxim that the most privileged access to grace is through our greatest weakness. Who needs it? The author looks the issue in the eye with clarity and humor, showing us that our freedom and joy depend on a truth-telling that exposes not only our weakness and fragility but also the breathtaking grace of God, which rescues us from despair and makes us radiant with God's delight."
Alan Jones, dean, Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, and author, Reimagining Christianity
Grace Will Turn Your World Upside DownIf You Let It
"Donald McCullough's wonderful book offers a fresh perspective on grace as God's wild pursuit of our lives. This is not a book to comfort you. It's a book to help you become fully alive."
M. Craig Barnes, Robert Meneilly Professor of Pastoral Ministry, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
"I have always thought that most of our adult Christian life is spent relearning who God is. It's like we are looking in one direction and Don's words call loudly to us, 'No, over here!' And as we snap our head to look, we see a God who makes our jaw drop, our eyes well, and floods us with joy."
Nancy Ortberg, church consultant and former teaching pastor, Willow Creek Community Church
About the Author
Donald McCullough is president of Salt Lake Theological Seminary and a former president and professor of theology and preaching at San Francisco Theological Seminary. The author of seven books, his writing has appeared in Christianity Today, Christian Century, and many other magazines and journals.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments.
PART ONE: Upside Down.
1. How Sweet the Sound?
2. Hanging on a Hair.
PART TWO: Upside-Down God.
3. Surprising, Not Predictable.
4. For Us, Not Against Us.
5. Near, Not Distant.
6. Revealed in Weakness, Not in Strength.
7. Rule Breaker, Not Rule Maker.
8. Passionate, Not Unmoved.
9. Therefore Risk Trust.
PART THREE: Upside-Down Self.
10. Set Free, Not Condemned.
11. Life, Not Death.
12. Death, Not Life.
13. Truth, Not Evasion.
14. Delight, Not Manipulation.
15. Giving, Not Getting.
16. Therefore Be Human.
PART FOUR: Upside-Down World.
17. Love, Not Self-Centeredness.
18. Affirmation, Not Condemnation.
19. Forgiving, Not Keeping Score.
20. Serving, Not Using.
21. Creating Community, Not Competing.
22. Peace, Not Violence.
23. Stewardship, Not Ownership.
25. Hope, Not Despair.
26. Therefore Bear Witness.
Notes.
The Author.