Jonathan Merritt - A Faith of Our Own: Following Jesus Beyond the Culture Wars

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Copyright 2012 by Jonathan Merritt

All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the authors intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the authors rights.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scriptures are quoted from The Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tynsdale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois. All rights reserved.

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First e-book edition: May 2012

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ISBN 978-1-4555-1927-9

Merritt represents a hopeful new current in evangelical America.

USA Today

By broadening evangelicalisms agenda, younger evangelicals like Jonathan Merritt are doing us a favor.

The Dallas Morning News

Merritts book provides a rare window into a youth spent in the upper echelons of the Christian Right, all the more illuminating because its from the hand of a thoughtful critic, which isnt to say a left-wing convert. The story of Merritts exit from a hard-edged political movement to a more centrist, more complex political place is a potent and timely symbol of the journeys of many young American evangelicals.

Dan Gilgoff, CNN.com religion editor

Being a follower of Jesus of Nazareth forces each person to make a choicewhich Kingdom and which King will you serve? You cant serve both Gods Kingdom and an earthly one. In this book, Jonathan Merritt forces the reader to choose this day whom you will serve. In choosing the right Kingdom and right King, we have the most effect on the one that is passing away. But in choosing the wrong Kingdom and King, we affect neither.

Cal Thomas, syndicated USA Today columnist and Fox News contributor

[Merritt] writes with humility and clarity. He addresses the political, cultural and biblical assumptions many of us hold.

Christianity Today

After a wearisome decade where younger Christians welcomed the downfall of the Religious Right, Merritt charts the way forwardhelping us imagine a new, constructive way to advance the common good in the public square. A Faith of Our Own provides a roadmap for how Christians can engage the future.

Gabe Lyons, author of The Next Christians and founder of Q

Research shows shifts among younger evangelicals, particularly in regard to their views of social engagement, yet polls and statistics have not told the whole story. Now, in this personal, provocative, and well-written bookpart memoir, part manifestoMerritt lays out his journey and his case. If you want to understand shifts in younger evangelicalism, this book is a must read.

Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research

In this provocative book, Merritt again and again challenges Christians to reconsider their comfortable lives and their easy acceptance of either right-wing or left-wing politics as Gods way of living their faith in the world. In an engaging, powerful manner, he shows why many young Christians are rethinking the political heritage handed down to them by their elders.

Steve Monsma, senior research fellow at the Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics at Calvin College and professor emeritus of political science at Pepperdine University

For what should it profit a man if he should win the election but lose his own soul? Probably more than anyone else, Jonathan Merritt has effectively tapped into the growing sense among young Christians that while political participation may be noble, overt partisanship can compromise your calling. A Faith of Our Own is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand a postculture war generation of Christians.

Matt Lewis, The Daily Caller senior contributor

A forceful but loving critique by a gifted young leader of the tragic failures of my generation of evangelicals. Plus a biblically solid, Christ-centered way forward. A must-read.

Ronald J. Sider, bestselling author of Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger and President of Evangelicals for Social Action

Jonathan Merritts A Faith of Our Own provides the American Church in the twenty-first century the optics and lenses for viable prophetic witness that replaces rancor with civility, animosity with love, and apathy with hope. Merritt represents an entire generation seeking to reconcile sanctification with service without embracing the extremes. This book provides a blueprint that if applied will replace the image of an angry, white evangelical in the public square with a compassionate follower of Christ in the heart of the community.

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference

Jonathan Merritt is part of a new generation of evangelicals seeking to be kingdom builders rather than culture warriors. He thinks Christians should be salt and light rather than fire and ice. We should listen to him.

Barry Hankins, author of Jesus and Gin: Evangelicalism, the Roaring Twenties, and Todays Culture Wars and professor of history and church-state studies at Baylor University

In my head, Jonathan Merritt will forever be a hybrid. With one foot on truths that are eons old and the other leaning into the future, he offers a combination of perspectives that is challenging, inspiring and difficult to resist.

Jonathan Acuff, blogger and author of Stuff Christians Like

With eloquence, wit, and experience, Jonathan illuminates the incongruence between Christian political partisanship and the Gospel of Jesus. Offering profound insight and vision, Jonathan inspires hope that there is a less divisive way for Christians to engage politics and culturea way that looks more like Jesus, marked by humility, grace, mercy, and respect.

Phileena Heuertz, author of Pilgrimage of a Soul: Contemplative Spirituality for the Active Life

Jonathan Merritt gives us a personal and intriguing guidebook for Christian participation in the public square. As a church leader involved in the moral causes of our time, he helps us all understand how political participation can be yet another way to exercise our faith in Christ. This is a fresh look from a young leader!