About The Author

We believe a lot of false narratives about the nature of God, things like "God helps those who help themselves"; "God blesses the righteous"; "God might not be out for your good, and you might be missing something." But pastor and professor James Bryan Smith points us to the truth of who God is, revealed by Jesus: A God who loves to help the helpless. A God who doesn't play favorites, whether righteous or unrighteous. A God who is, in his essence, self-sacrificing--even to death--to save a people he loves.

In six short chapters, The Kingdom and the Cross zooms in on Christ's work on the cross and what it all means about who God is and how we're to live as his people. A soul training exercise is included for each chapter to help the new true narrative take root in our hearts. And a discussion guide at the end makes this complement to The Apprentice Series perfect for groups to work through together, especially during the season of Lent.

Understanding Christ's work on the cross is crucial for any apprentice of Jesus. Here is a resource to help you see--and believe--more fully, that you might live more faithfully in his kingdom.

The Good and Beautiful God
The Good and Beautiful Life
The Good and Beautiful Community

www.renovare.org

Just over twenty years ago Richard J. Foster, my mentor and friend, said to me, “Jim, I’m starting a ministry. It is time for the walls to come down that separate denominations. The church needs to do better at its primary job—making disciples. And people need to learn how to practice the disciplines not just as individuals, but within groups. We need to help the modern church connect to the ancient church. I’d like you to help me design it and help lead it.” I said yes. A month later we met for lunch and Richard told me he had come up with a name for this spiritual renewal ministry: Renovaré (ren-o-var-ay), a Latin word that means “to renew.” I knew right away we were in trouble: no one could pronounce it, and no one knew what it meant. But it sounded really cool, because from the very start it was already doing what nobody else dared to.

What I like about Renovaré is that it comes alongside churches, resourcing them, without pretending to do their ultimate job: namely, making disciples of Jesus Christ. Many people forget that the followers of Christ were disciples because they practiced the disciplines of Christ; yet it was those practices of prayer, morality, sharing the gospel, service, Communion and spiritual gifts that made the disciples’ lives so dynamic, and their spiritual lives so rich.

Renovaré is helping people and churches to rediscover these practices in order that we can be more like Jesus. I’ve worked with Renovaré for all these years (and partnered with them in the development of this book series) because they know that following Christ goes beyond denomination, even beyond the latest church program, and gives us tools to discover the with-God life in the very fabric of our everyday lives.

You may not immediately recognize it, but the book you have just read is very much a part of what Renovaré is all about—it has the same DNA as Renovaré, if you will. So I hope you don’t stop here, because Renovaré—both as an organization and as a community of the most Christlike people I know—continues the conversation and the journey you have begun in this book. Come and walk with us.

He’ll use you to change the world.

Churches. Through a ministry of discipleship and formation, God can radically transform the way your church community lives and works and loves.

Like-minded leaders, organizations and thinkers. Collaborate with us to archive, engage and expand the field of Christian spiritual formation.

Students. Through an undergraduate degree track and second major in Christian spiritual formation, you can begin a serious life transformation through your college experience.

Begin an “apprentice” journey today.