Book Review: The Lost Message Of Jesus, By Steve Chalke & Alan Mann

At the heart of this book is the message of hope the Church can offer the world. The message that God’s Kingdom is here, that it’s open to absolutely everyone through Jesus and that it’s good.

The book explores how Jesus’ life exemplified His message of hope that we need to both grasp for ourselves and hold out to others. Not a message of judgement, criticism, fear and pressure to conform but a message that speaks of shalom - “contentment, health, justice, liberation, fulfilment, freedom and hope, the equipping of a person so they can cope with life’s sufferings and sorrows while basking in the beauty and the joy that it brings.”

The book raised some uncomfortable questions for me - about how effectively I communicate this message, about my own feelings towards the marginalised in my community, about how much people would need to conform in order to fit into church and about how there can only be two directions of travel in my discipleship journey – towards Jesus or away from Him.

Reviewed by JC