Your Jesus Is Too Safe: Outgrowing a Drive-Thru, Feel-Good Savior [Paperback]

Jared Wilson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 18, 2009

A provocative new book that calls Christians to stop making Jesus so "convenient"

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

There are too many Jesuses running rampant in the world today.

Culture has introduced us to Hippie Jesus, Postcard Jesus, and Get-out-of-hell-free Jesus. There's also Grammy Award Jesus, Therapist Jesus, Role Model Jesus, and Buddy Jesus.

The question is: which one do you worship?

He may be the most popular, the most cited, the most admired, and the most controversial figure in all of history, but Jesus is more than a generic brand, a logo, or a pick-me-up. He has been fictionalized, humanized, satirized, and romanticized. And yet he still isn't recognized.

Author Jared C. Wilson cuts through the glossy, modern perceptions of Jesus to rediscover the original and raw person who confronted the religious status quo and changed the world. Sometimes controversial, sometimes humorous, but always truthful, Your Jesus Is Too Safe challenges readers to leave behind their feel-good Savior and embrace the true and living Christ.

Open this book and take a closer look at who Jesus really is.

About the Author

Jared C. Wilson is the pastor and cofounder of Element, a missional Christian community in Nashville, Tennessee. He has been a minister and a freelance writer for more than a decade. Wilson has received the Award for Excellence from the National Council of Teachers of English, and an honorable mention from the Conference of Christianity and Literature. He lives outside of Nashville with his wife and two daughters.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Kregel Publications (June 18, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0825439310
• ISBN-13: 978-0825439315
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 0.6 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #137,512 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jared C. Wilson is a pastor and an award-winning writer whose articles, essays, and short stories have appeared in numerous publications.

A minister for over a decade, he has become known for his passionate gospel-centered teaching and strong calls for missional Christianity.

Encounter his passion for the ongoing reformation of the evangelical church almost daily at www.gospeldrivenchurch.com.

"Jared Wilson writes with power."
-- Ray Ortlund, Jr.

"Those who have read his writing have vividly encountered his passionate gospel-centrism, and those who have benefited from his ministry have witnessed it firsthand. His voice is thoughtful and strong, pastoral and prophetic. And you ought to listen to it."
-- Ed Stetzer

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Popular Introduction to the Biblical Christ August 13, 2009

By D. Viezbicke

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Jared is not your standard, everyday, run of the mill, grits and butter sort of preacher/teacher. He's the former pastor of Element, a missional church in Nashville, as well as a blogger over at The Gospel Driven Church. And now, with the publishing of his first book, Jared is a first-class author. How do I qualify this? I mean, come on, how many authors of what is essentially a systematic theology include references to Strong Bad, Die Hard, The Kid, My Buddy, and the Grateful Dead? I mean besides Mark Driscoll, of course. Or Todd Bentley. If he ever decided to write a systematic theology. Which would probably look pretty wild.

The qualification for my above assertion comes in Jared's systematic presentation of the biblical claims about Christ. Unlike so many who have remade Christ to fit their message, Jared's innovation only extends as far as the presentation. The Christ of the Gospels is examined from twelve different perspectives (shepherd, promise, sacrifice, etc). As each is considered, a full picture of Christ's message and mission for His followers comes into view.

Content

The picture of Christ that Jared paints is robustly biblical with some hints of Reformed theology (which, in my view, makes it even more robustly biblical). NT Wright and George Ladd are definitely influences here, the former informing Jared's thoughts concerning Christ's mission and the latter shaping his view of the kingdom of God.

In the intro, Jared sets us up by surveying Christianity in America. Each subsequent movement, whether it be the prosperity gospel, the altar call gospel, or the guru gospel, has rewritten Christ to fit their message. As such, Christians that wish to proclaim the true Christ must know Who they are serving in the midst of so many counterfeits.... Enter this book.

The book could be a mash-up of Driscoll's Death by Love and Phillip Yancey's The Jesus I Never Knew (you can guess which of those two I recommend). This is definitely theology leading application. I'll highlight what I enjoyed the most, and then talk about a couple potential misfires.

Pros

Jared is at home talking about Christ. Each chapter opens with an examination of the historical background surrounding that aspect of the Savior's ministry. Thus, the chapter on Christ as shepherd examines what it meant to be a shepherd, or the chapter on Jesus as the promise looks at the Messianic expectations of first century Judaism (Messiah was to come in the wilderness, etc.). After conducting this initial foray into the history behind the theology, Jared examines the text of the Gospels, showing just how radical this Jesus was.

The conclusions he comes to, although not shocking to any orthodox believer, are still penetrating for us American Christians who have never known the kingdom life that Christ talked about in the Beatitudes: Jesus came to bring the reality of God's kingdom to earth. We're firmly in already/not yet territory here, which is refreshing to find serious theology at the heart of such a radical presentation of Christ.

His application is taken directly from Christ's person and work; this isn't nebulous application that gets pulled out of the sky somewhere. It's firmly theological, and shows our obligation in light of Christ's kingship and sacrifice. I was very much reminded of Death by Love, where Mark Driscoll examines the different pastoral applications of Christ's work on the Cross. This is similar, but expands the examination and application a bit.

His fresh way of writing also helps me understand theology. For instance, when we say that Christ was all God and all man, what we're saying is that He was fully God and really a man. He had BO, struggled with sexual temptation, etc. Or the way in which God's kingdom is explained will be helpful for those who are struggling with an overworked version of eschatology.

Cons

There's perhaps two misfires, and they're relatively minor... so I'm expecting a second edition. Planning on writing one, right Jared? He does well to fill in footnotes with all kinds of Scripture references; provides good backup for the rest of his arguments. What isn't so common are the footnotes that support his assertions concerning early Jewish life and other historical background. I remember when the reformed evangelical community lambasted Rob Bell for not providing proof for his points in Velvet Elvis concerning the Judaism of the OT and NT. I thought about this as I was reading... a bunch of backup citations will help those who are doubtful, especially those coming from a Jewish background. A second edition of Jared's book should include such footnotes.

Also, some of Jared's thoughts concerning the applications of Christ's kingdom were too abstract for me. He talks about the "already" gradually expanding into the "not yet". Partially because I'm weary of a Gospel that takes on more than Scripture mandates, and partially because I'm just too abstract for my own good, I would want to see more clarification of what our part in the ministry of reconciliation is. Are we part of God's redemption of Creation? How does that fit into Romans 8:19-23? Or are we part of His reconciliation between God and man alone, and He will redeem Creation Himself at His coming?

To summarize: Jared writes a great overview of the biblical Christ. Useful to have before stepping into Systematic Theology at school, or before trying to explain the Gospel's implications to a new convert. Or a congregation. Very practical and powerful; it'll likely be our helper to examine Christ at my church's small group this upcoming fall. There are other books that will dig deeper, but as a popular introduction to Christ I can't think of a better book. Read more ›

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Jesus for Dummies August 9, 2009

By Chad Estes

Format:Paperback

In a shopping mall in the Philippines a friend of mine found a Velvet Elvis styled painting of Jesus on a motorcycle. Though it didn't have a description the picture painted a thousand words of Son of God as a Harley rider and the Disciples as his biker gang. Depending on your point of view this could be gospel truth, heresy or just plain funny.

It seems that many people these days use Jesus as a commodity to help brand their own manufactured religion. We have social gospel Jesus, environmentally friendly Jesus, Republican Jesus, reformed Jesus, hippie Jesus, liberal Jesus, and bless-me Jesus. In his book, Your Jesus Is Too Safe, author Jared Wilson sets out to correct these imposters and get people back to roots of the historical, biblical Jesus. He does this by writing about twelve different biblical perspectives of the Son of God- the promise, prophet, forgiver, man, shepherd, judge, redeemer, king, sacrifice, provision, Lord, and Savior. It is an effective remedy for those who have missed a point or two along the way, reminding us that Jesus' roles and personality are very unique and diverse, purposeful and sufficient.

However, Wilson's book is not the definitive work on the life and times of Jesus. If you tried to describe anyone from 12 different perspectives you would invariably leave out some important things. For instance I could write about my dad as a father, son, friend, husband, artist, and sculptor and leave out many other important facets to his life. How these different traits interact with each other is also significant. Our roles do not stand alone like the hard sides of a diamond just touching at the edges, but are intricately woven together to tell a rich narrative.... It is a difficult task to present the whole when you are studying the parts, but Wilson does an admirable job trying, his own passion for Jesus serves as the glue both within and between his chapters.

Maybe a second, more useful purpose for this book is as an introduction to Jesus for those who haven't studied him before. Wilson's writing is easy to read, inviting and humorous (especially in his footnotes). Readers who do not have a background in biblical studies will follow the author's style with ease and without feeling judged. Most importantly, like a good teacher Wilson leaves his readers wanting more- in this case, more of the real Jesus. Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Dangerous Jesus for Comfortable Times August 25, 2009

By Trevin Wax

Format:Paperback

If you were to put the books of John Piper, N.T. Wright, and Mark Driscoll in a blender, what would you get? Jared C. Wilson's new book, Your Jesus Is Too Safe: Outgrowing a Drive-Thru, Feel Good Savior (Kregel, 2009). Jared has combined the best qualities from each of these pastors and given us a solid book on Jesus.

Full disclosure. Jared Wilson is a fellow blogger friend of mine. As a blogger myself, I am cheering him on, glad to see that the blogosphere is becoming a place for aspiring writers to hone their skills and try out new ideas. But don't think that I am recommending his book simply because he is a friend. Your Jesus Is Too Safe is a great book on Jesus for a number of reasons.

First, Jared brings together the passion of John Piper, the historical sensibilities of N.T. Wright and the irreverent humor of Mark Driscoll (without the crudeness). Early on in the book, it becomes clear that Jared reads widely and is willing to glean insights from the different streams of Christianity, and yet maintain a firm grasp on the gospel and the core doctrines of the faith.

Second, Jared relentlessly exposes the ways in which we try to tame Jesus:

Even the church itself is guilty when it comes to the marketing of Jesus. We've put our own gloss on him, our own spin. It's no wonder the world doesn't get Jesus, because we've spent decades selling a Jesus cast in our own image. Even our religious ancestors feared the stern taskmaster Jesus. This quasi-Puritan Jesus liked to smack you on the knuckles with a ruler when you got out of line. Later, we received Postcard Jesus - the Coppertoned, blond-haired, blank-stare Jesus of the gold-framed portrait, a bland, two-dimensional figure occupying moral tales that help us to be better people.... This flat portrait evolved in the Get-Out-of-Hell-Free Jesus, and this Jesus has inspired millions to say a prayer to get his forgiveness - and then go on living lives devoid of his presence. (13)

Jared sees the scholarly world as seeking to tame Jesus in more subtle ways:

In the world of biblical academia, the "Jesus of history" and the "Jesus of faith" are set against each other, as if never the two shall meet. The two shall meet here - in this book. The purpose of Your Jesus Is Too Safe is to remind us, for the glory of God and the hope of the world, of the original message of the historical person Jesus Christ, who was, in fact, God in the flesh. We're going to remove the gloss. We're going to venture beyond the hype and beneath the misconceptions to see the real, historical figure of Jesus Christ in his biblical and cultural context - and in this way to know God more fully, to see what God wants us to know about the revelation of himself is his son.

Jared offers a portrait of Jesus that is historically rooted. His Jesus is a flesh-and-blood man you could actually see walking on Galilean shores preaching to people about the kingdom. But Jared doesn't let the humanness of Jesus detract from Jesus' divinity. (One chapter is devoted solely to the picture Jesus' deity.) So what you end up with is a Jesus who fits into a particular historical context and is still gloriously worthy of our worship.

Jared's writing is Jesus-focused. The book lays out the different attributes and roles of Christ. Jared rejects superficial theology and therapeutic understandings of sin:

We're always passing the buck and this condition of denying our fallenness is part of our fallenness too. We are broken, messed up people. We are broken messed up no simply because of psychosis or issues or formative experiences in our childhood, although all those things compound and aggravate our real problem and to myriad expressions brokenness. No, we're broken messed up people primarily because we are sinners. He makes good theological distinctions. (65)

As a side note, the footnotes are wildly entertaining. Some of Jared's best one-liners come out in the footnotes.

Still, there are a few places where I wish he would have refrained from his usual jocularity. For example, in making a case for God's holiness, he recounts the story of Uzzah (who was struck dead for trying to keep the ark of the covenant from falling) and says:"...but as soon as he touched it...ZAP...home boy was toast. That's how serious God is about his holiness." Now, I admit that's a funny picture, but it is counterproductive to make a case for God's holiness in a glib manner. So there are a few places in the book where his humor might seem a little out of place.

Overall, Your Jesus Is Too Safe is a great book. I'm excited to see a fellow blogger getting published, and I'm even more excited to see the caliber of this book. May this be Jared's first of many. Read more ›