True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In - Softcover

Choung, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0830836098 ISBN 13: 9780830836093

Publisher: IVP, 2008

Synopsis

"Christianity seems like just another screwed-up religion!" Anna said. "Seriously, what has Christianity done for us--or for the world, for that matter? They're just a bunch of hypocrites, that's what I think! Are they good for anything?" "I don't know, Anna," Caleb said. "I just don't know." Caleb has been a Christian for a long time. But he realizes that he can't bring himself to share his faith with anyone because it doesn't sound like good news anymore. Christianity's truth claims come across as hollow, arrogant and intolerant. Christians have a bad track record of hating and condemning those they disagree with. Worst of all, it feels like Christianity is just about "saving souls," giving people an escape ticket to heaven while the world falls apart. Is it only about Jesus forgiving our sins? There must be more to it than that... In this engaging narrative, James Choung weaves the tale of a search for a Christianity worth believing in. Disillusioned believer Caleb and hostile skeptic Anna wrestle with the plausibility of the Christian story in a world of pain and suffering. They ask each other tough questions about what Jesus really came to do and what Christianity is supposed to be about. Along the way, they discover that real Christianity is far bigger than anything they ever heard about in church. And the conversion that comes is not one that either of them expects. Join Caleb and Anna on their spiritual journeys as they probe Christianity from inside and out. Get past the old clichés and simplistic formulas. And discover a new way of understanding and presenting the Christian faith that really matters in a broken world.

About this title

Review

"The book is amply 'storified' and is a huge, huge step forward in evangelism. Pastors and parents need this book; youth ministers and college ministers need this book."--Scot McKnight, on JesusCreed.org

"James has found a simple way to convey to both Christians and non-Christians that the good news is cosmically good--a diagram that does the best job I've encountered yet of placing our personal stories in the context of God's bigger story."--Andy Crouch, Editorial Director, Christian Vision Project

"Choung's 'napkin theology' and its 'four-worlds' diagram promise to be for evangelism in the twenty-first century what the 'Four Spiritual Laws' were for the twentieth century."--Leonard Sweet, author of The Church of the Perfect Storm;; podcaster of the weekly "Napkin Scribbles" podcast

"For a growing number of us Christians, the standard way we were taught to understand and share the good news message has felt inadequate. Choung's rethinking and recrafting of Christ's timeless call is exactly what we need today to present the gospel to a new generation of unconvinced people. His use of an engaging story to underscore the need for this fresh approach will motivate many Christians to learn this new approach."--Ken Fong, senior pastor, Evergreen Baptist Church of Los Angeles

"Is True Story a real-life drama or a simple diagram? I don't know, but I love it! James Choung has given us a gift that I suspect will greatly reduce the number of fidgety Christians and yawning skeptics out there. True Story reminds us that our news really is good, and helps us communicate that message simply and comprehensively using four simple circles. I love those circles and am already starting to use them regularly in conversations."--Don Everts, author of Jesus with Dirty Feet and (with Doug Schaupp) I Once Was Lost: What Postmodern Skeptics Taught Us About Their Path to Jesus

"James understands today's seekers and skeptics. He accurately describes their objections to Christianity and clearly addresses these objections in the Big Story. His invitation to join Jesus' missional community is both compelling and good news to all who hear it."--Terry Erickson, national director of evangelism, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship

"Amid the clutter of domesticated Christianity, Choung's book creatively reminds us all--academics, pastors, activists and grandmas--of the true revolution from which we come. Much of pop-Christianity is obsessed with the self-centered goal of finding our life, forgetting that Christ's call is to lose our life for others in order to find it. This book is an urgent cry not to settle for the dream of America over the dream of God, nor to allow cynicism to suffocate the hope that another world is possible. May True Story inspire us to continue to shout the Story with our lives--even in the most abandoned corners of the empire."--Shane Claiborne, lover, author, recovering sinner, founding partner of The Simple Way, author of The Irresistible Revolution

"True Story invites us into the great narrative of the Scriptures. Grappling with the tough questions, James Choung provides a blueprint that will challenge the unbeliever, the new believer and the longtime church member to discover the fresh and healing message of the gospel. This book calls us to a relevant and real faith that properly redefines the call to evangelism as an ongoing journey toward shalom."--Soong-Chan Rah, Milton B. Engebretson Assistant Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism, North Park Theological Seminary

"It's the task of every generation to articulate and create languages and forms that connect with their generation. James Choung does this beautifully in his book, True Story. I highly recommend this book as a fresh articulation and narrative of what is truly the good news! This good news is not just what we're saved from but what we are called to! It's more than a fire escape . . . it's a revolution of justice, advocacy and radical compassion. I'm in!"--Dave Gibbons, founder and lead pastor, NewSong Church, and CVO, Xealot Inc.

"Some conversations consist of shared ignorance or are simply surface exchanges. The conversation narrated by James Choung is neither. It is thoughtful, honest and authentic. It does not gloss over sincere and profound questions concerning the content of the gospel and the way it is lived out, but grapples with many issues that arise in the give-and-take of a discussion between friends. Here is to be found good news that relates to the here and now as well as to eternity."--Eddie Gibbs, senior professor, School of Intercultural Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary, author of ChurchNext and LeadershipNext

About the Author

James Choung has been in campus ministry for over twenty years, and currently serves as national director of evangelism for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA. He is the author ofTrue Story and Real Life, and he speaks frequently at campuses, churches, and conferences. Ordained with the Association of Vineyard Churches, he previously served on the pastoral staff of a Boston-area urban church plant, a megachurch in Seoul, and a house church in Los Angeles.

About this edition

• Publisher: IVP
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0830836098
• ISBN 13: 9780830836093
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 233