12 Steps for the Recovering Pharisee (like me) [Paperback]

John Fischer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2000

Breakthrough book provides life-changing insights for Christians trapped between the grace-killers of self-adequacy and self-righteousness.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Fischer has been mixing his unique combination of singing, speaking, and humor for a variety of audiences for over thirty years. His multifaceted talents of song writing, speaking, singing, and writing reflect the many avenues by which John carries on a spiritual dialogue with real life and real people.



John's books present a thought-provoking challenge to the Christian Church today, encouraging believers to pull the true essence of their faith from the trappings of the contemporary Christian subculture. John's debut into fiction, Saint Ben, received a Silver Angel award for fiction.



His other fiction books include Saint Ben, Saint's and Angel's Song, and Ashes on the Wind. Since l980, he has contributed a column to Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) magazine.



A graduate of Wheaton College, John and his family now live in California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (March 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764222023
• ISBN-13: 978-0764222023
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,693 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Fischer is senior writer for PurposeDrivenLife.com, specializing in a daily devotional that reaches an audience of over 230,000 people five times a week. John's career spans over 30 years, first as a singer/songwriter, recording artist, and pioneer of Jesus Music, then as a best-selling author, and currently as a nationally popular speaker at conferences, retreats, churches, and colleges/universities. John's body of work includes 12 albums, 15 books, and numerous articles for a variety of publications. His early songs, such as "Love Him in the Morning" ("All Day Song") and "Have You Seen Jesus My Lord?" have become standard youth and camp favorites. His books include the best-selling "Real Christians Don't[crossed out] Dance" and his popular novel "Saint Ben." For over 23 years, he was a clarion call for the growing Christian music industry from his regular award-winning monthly column in "CCM" (Contemporary Christian Music) magazine. In addition to his writing with PurposeDrivenLife.com, John also writes for Chuck Colson's Breakpoint.org and is a regular columnist in "Relevant" magazine. "Confessions of a Caffeinated Christian" is John's first book with Tyndale House Publishers. John graduated from Wheaton College, Illinois, in 1969. He studied the ministry under the leadership of the late Ray C. Stedman at Peninsula Bible Church, Palo Alto, California, during the 1970s, and has served as artist in residence at Gordon College, Seattle Pacific University, and Baylor University. He now resides with his wife, Marti, and their son, Chandler, in Laguna Beach, California. They also have two adult children, Christopher and Anne. For more information, visit John's Web site at www.fischtank.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There's a little (or a lot of )Pharisee in all of us, April 25, 2002

By 

Tom Hinkle (Tulsa, OK USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 12 Steps for the Recovering Pharisee (like me) (Paperback)

The single greatest pleasure of a Pharisee is to judge other people. A Pharisee devises rules that make himself look better than others, while others are unaware of what the rules are, and wouldn't care if they did know. The Pharisee makes righteousness attainable by good works that only a select few are able to accomplish. Pharisees forget that Jesus blew that whole concept out of the water by making observation of the Law totally unattainable, thereby opening the door for all by grace, a concept the Pharisee thinks is unfair.

If you struggle with Pharasaism, which puts you among the great Christian majority, don't miss this book. It's like looking into a mirror (at least it was for me), and it uses a somewhat tongue-in-cheek 12-step model for recovery from this spiritually deadly disease. When we realize that we truly are sinners, both pre- and post-conversion, and that the only way we can make it is by the grace and mercy of God, we will be quicker to show grace and mercy to others, and we will come a lot closer to rid ourselves of the judgementalism that keeps us looking down on those we deem spiritually inferior to ourselves. Another great book, like several I have read lately, that is hard to find at your local Christian bookstore unless you are looking for it. In fact, with the lack of the hype that is enjoyed by such bland offerings as the "Left Behind" series, you might not know this book even exists. Well, if you are reading this review, now you do. So order a copy today!

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Whether or not you should read this book? Answer this., March 17, 2003

By 

Neville G. Kiser "NGK" (Pasadena, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 12 Steps for the Recovering Pharisee (like me) (Paperback)

Do you look at the title and hesitate for a moment thinking, "well, i'm not really a PHARASIEE?" If so, get this book. I got it because Brennan Manning recommended it, thinking, "well, this isn't my kind of book because I'm not one of these people," and whoa, was I convicted. Read it, learn it, inhale it, consume it. Trust me, you'll be a much better person after devouring these 170+ pages. I know because I now am. :)

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Super book, but a title that will undermine sales., August 29, 2000

By 

dave mccarty (hatfield, pa United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 12 Steps for the Recovering Pharisee (like me) (Paperback)

We modern-day Pharisees won't buy books that tell us we're worse than we think. In this case, I hope I'm wrong. In fact, I'm adding the book to my prayer list, to pray for its success. We evangelicals believe our righteousness BEFORE regeneration was filthy rags, but that our righteousness SINCE becoming a Christian, is not too bad. It's ALL dung. There's nothing that any of us have ever done simply and ONLY because we love Jesus. The more we understand how rotten we are NOW, the more precious Jesus is to us NOW. He who has been forgiven little, loves little. The watching world knows only too well what poor lovers-of-others we are, especially of those who are very different from ME. Is it any wonder then, that the Church is so dismissed today? About as effective in reaching the lost as the Pharisees were in their day. We need Fischer's message if we are to be EFFECTIVE at what Jesus has called us to do.