Kaltenbach - Messy grace: how a pastor with gay parents learned to love others without sacrificing conviction

Caleb Kaltenbach cuts through the confusion and talks about what it really means to love people and what is really means to follow Godand how theyre not mutually exclusive ideas. The answer the world is looking for is messy, and its full of grace.

R EGGIE J OINER , CEO and founder of Orange

There is no shortage of conversation on how Christians can lovingly and meaningfully engage their gay family members and friends. Caleb Kaltenbach has an important message for everyone who shares a commitment to both grace and truth.

J IM D ALY , president of Focus on the Family

No matter what your opinion is on the Bible and sexuality, this book provides a very worthwhile and refreshing look into a very amazing grace-filled story threaded with compassionate truth.

D AN K IMBALL , pastor of Vintage Faith Church and author of They Like Jesus but Not the Church

Calebs story crushes stereotypes and will make you think differently than you thought beforeregardless of your convictions. Anyone who loves Jesus and loves friends and family members who are LGBT is going to want to read this fascinating book. Okay, scratch the conditions. I think anyone is going to want to read this book.

C AREY N IEUWHOF , author of Leading Change Without Losing It, blogger and lead pastor of Connexus Church

There may be no greater mess for the church than the question of how to engage with the LGBT community. Messy Grace shows how grace can enter into the mess of life and draw people to the love and goodness of God.

D ARRELL L. B OCK , executive director of cultural engagement and senior research professor of New Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary

A story that will move you. A spirit that will inspire you. A pastors wisdom that will teach you. Questions that will challenge you. Kaltenbachs exhortation both to treat gay people lovingly and to hold true to ones convictions is winsome and challenging. His wisdom flows from life, being raised by two gay parents, coming to Christ, and sharing Christs love with his parents and loved ones.

J ENELL P ARIS , P H D, professor of anthropology at Messiah College and author of The End of Sexual Identity

This is an important conversation for the church today, and no ones story makes them better suited for it than Caleb Kaltenbach. In a world that tries to force everyone to take sides, Caleb speaks from the inside of both worlds. Gay or straight, Christian or non-Christian, everyone can learn from and be impacted by Messy Grace.

L ANE J ONES , director of Strategic Partners at North Point Ministries and co-author of Communicating for a Change

Messy Grace is a wonderful, well-written, and highly readable account of the authors remarkable journey being raised in the gay community and how he came to faith. Caleb provides insightful guidance to churches and families dealing with LGBT issues that goes beyond the worn-out platitudes that have characterized this discussion for some time.

S COTT B. R AE , P H D, dean of faculty and professor of Christian ethics at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University

With uncompromising conviction, Kaltenbach teaches each one of us to hear the heart of God and to be the face of Christ in a broken world. The call for mercy, love, grace, and compassion are written on every page and are both highly courageous and poignantly raw.

M ICHELLE A NTHONY , author of Spiritual Parenting and Becoming a Spiritually Healthy Family

Pastor Kaltenbach gives his readers much help on what to do and what not to do among LGBT people. At the same time, he recognizes and emphasizes that this is a messy world, and that God calls us to affirm Jesus in the midst of the messiness, rather than to expect a precise answer to every question.

Dr. J OHN F RAME , J. D. Trimble professor of systematic theology and philosophy at Reformed Theological Seminary

I loved Messy Grace! These pages are filled with humility, compassion, and powerful insights as Calebs story profoundly demonstrates that grace is both messy and beautiful.

M IKE F OSTER , People of the Second Chance

Whether you are straight or part of the LGBT community, a Christian or not a follower of Jesus, it will benefit you to read this book. Prepare to be challenged. Prepare to repent. Prepare to be changed. It will transform the way you look at and treat others. I couldnt put it down.

D ANIEL A KIN , president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

Real, relevant, and relationalMessy Grace steps right into the existing chasm between the Christian community and the gay community and provides the sound biblical direction about how the gospel is the grounds for how we can mend and connect in a Christ-honoring way.

B RYAN C ARTER , senior pastor of Concord Church, Dallas, Texas

Caleb Kaltenbach has seen both sides of this controversial and complex topicfrom his parents and from his pulpit. While its tough for everyone to agree on such delicate issues, Caleb takes us back to Scripture.

D AVE S TONE , senior pastor of Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky

The church needs to get this issue right. Messy Grace is an outstanding book that every Christian needs to read. Not only will you enjoy Calebs casual and humorous writing style; you will be challenged to live in grace and truth, just like Jesus.

S EAN M C D OWELL , P H D, professor at Biola University, popular speaker, and the co-author of over fifteen books, including Same-Sex Marriage

Caleb shares his story with a leaders wisdom, a preachers convictions, and a pastors tender heart. When I talk with families (and churches) wrestling with how to love someone who is gay, I will put this book in their hands.

M ATT P ROCTOR , president of Ozark Christian College

I have known Caleb for many years and know of no one more imminently qualified to address the single most controversial subject of our day and to do so with love and grace. Sharing his challenges as a son of gay parents and his convictions as a servant of Christ will keep you engaged to the very last page.

B ARRY C AMERON , senior pastor of Crossroads Christian Church

Caleb fluently speaks both the language and the emotion of both sides of the issue. And he desperately wants to help us stop picking sides and learn to love like Jesus. He is a great leader, writer, and friendas well as a walking example of how messy grace works.

Dr. T IM H ARLOW , senior pastor of Parkview Christian Church

Finally a book on a divisive issue that is handled with grace and truth. Caleb has seen both sides of the issue firsthand, and his counsel is something the church today needs to hear. This is a must-read for pastors and church leaders.

D ON W ILSON , senior pastor of Christs Church of the Valley

Pastor Caleb Kaltenbachs story is one of pain and alienation, pride and determination, brokenness and eventually the healing love of Jesus Christ. This powerful book is a must-read for both Christians and non-Christians alike.

F RANK S ONTAG , host of The Frank Sontag Show on 99.5 KKLA

Few books will challenge your head and your heart like Messy Grace. It embodies a rare combination of grace and truth and serves as a beautiful reminder that Jesus died for all people. It is poignant, practical, and personal.

J ON W EECE , author of Jesus Prom