Yancey - Vanishing Grace What Ever Happened to the Good News?

Its a lot to expect authors themselves to live up to the magic of their words, and its very special when they do. Philip Yancey has a way about him that can only be described as Graceful. Not vanishing at all... very present.

Bono, lead singer of U2 and co-founder of ONE and (RED)

Every Philip Yancey book is worth reading. In the decades (!) that I have followed Philip, I have never been disappointed in his work. Just the opposite; each book has sharpened my thinking and touched my heart. He is a gift to our generation.

MAX LUCADO, pastor and author

For decades now, Philip Yancey, our finest journalist, has provided an accurate evangelical voice at the interface between Christian witness and secular assumptions. Vanishing Grace given the contentious times in which we live is critically needed. Yancey at his best. In his words, A heartfelt plea to my tribe, mostly evangelicals, to recover the mission and the spirit that Jesus left us. On page after page he goes from strength to strength... full of grace and truth.

EUGENE H. PETERSON, Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology Regent College, Vancouver, BC

Theres not much Id rather read about than grace. And theres no one Id rather have tell me about it than Philip Yancey. Years ago, reading his book on the streets of Calcutta, I was introduced to the Jesus I never knew. Now hes written a manifesto to awaken the church that he loves but is very concerned about. He knows that Christians are meant to give off the aroma of Christ, but weve often smelled like something else. Allow his words to embolden you to recommit yourself to love the way Jesus did... after all it is by our love that he said the world would know that we belong to him.

SHANE CLAIBORNE, author, activist, lover of Jesus, www.redletterchristians.org

Philip Yanceys books are like dinner parties where you meet people you never would have known otherwise. In Philips latest, Vanishing Grace, youll meet Henri Nouwen, Francis Collins, Thomas Bruce, Joanna Flanders-Thomas, Dr. King, Craig Detweiler, Barbara Brown Taylor, Jrgen Moltmann, George MacDonald, Kathleen Norris, and so many more. Bringing everyone together is Phillip, an ever-gracious host. Youll leave the party exhilarated and inspired, charged up with hope and a call to action.

BRIAN D. MCLAREN, author of We Make the Road by Walking

In Yanceys book Vanishing Grace, I was immediately drawn into a complex issue brought to light in an uncomplicated narrative. Yancey uses his masterful writing to lead readers into a place of understanding how volatile the good news feels to many outside of our faith. Yet he moves the reader into a place where we can all gently deliver the Good News to the world.

CARLOS WHITTAKER, author of Moment Maker

Also by Philip Yancey

The Bible Jesus Read

Church: Why Bother?

Disappointment with God

Finding God in Unexpected Places

Grace Notes: Daily Reading with a Fellow Pilgrim

I Was Just Wondering

The Jesus I Never Knew

Meet the Bible (with Brenda Quinn)

Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?

The Question That Never Goes Away

Reaching for the Invisible God

A Skeptics Guide to Faith

Soul Survivor

The Student Bible (with Tim Stafford)

Whats So Amazing About Grace?

Where Is God When It Hurts?

By Philip Yancey and Dr. Paul Brand

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

The Gift of Pain

In His Image

In the Likeness of God

ZONDERVAN

Vanishing Grace

Copyright 2014 by Philip Yancey

ePub Edition September 2014: ISBN 978-0-310-33935-9

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Drive, SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Yancey, Philip.

Vanishing grace : whatever happened to the good news? / Philip Yancey. 1st [edition].

pages cm

ISBN 978-0-310-33932-8 (hardcover)

1. Christianity United States Public opinion. 2. Christianity and culture United States. 3. United States Church history. 4. Witness bearing (Christianity) I. Title.

BR517.Y37 2014

277.3'083 dc23

2014010695

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Published in association with Creative Trust, Inc., www.creativetrust.com

Front cover image: Chris Hackett / Getty Images

Back cover and interior image: Potapov Alexander / Shutterstock

Cover design Belinda Bass

Interior design: Katherine Lloyd, The DESK

First Printing September 2014

CONTENTS

See to it that no one misses the grace of God...

HEBREWS 12:15

I set out to write a book on the endangered state of grace and ended up writing four short books, all related and bound inside the same cover.

I began with a concern that the church is failing in its mission to dispense grace to a world thirsty for it. More and more, surveys show, outsiders view Christians as bearers of bad news, not good news. ()

Next I looked for models of how we could do it better, settling on three: pilgrims, activists, and artists. From their examples we can all learn what communicates best to a culture running away from faith. ()

Then I sensed a need to step back and ask a basic question that Christians may take for granted: Is the gospel truly good news? And if so, how does it stand up in light of alternatives offered by science, New Age, and other beliefs? ()

Finally, I returned briefly to one of the main stumbling blocks of faith, the confusing role of Christians in a diverse world. For many people, Christians involvement in politics has drowned out our message of good news for all. How can we avoid being dismissed as one more lobby group? ()

All four sections have roots in a book I wrote almost twenty years ago. Originally, I had titled it Whats So Amazing About Grace and Why Dont Christians Show More of It? until the publisher persuaded me to drop those last eight words. The question, though, has only grown more urgent in recent years. Like a sudden thaw in the middle of winter, grace happens at unexpected moments. It stops us short, catches the breath, disarms. If we manipulate it, try to control it, somehow earn it, that would not be grace. Yet not everyone has tasted of that amazing grace, and not everyone believes in it.

In a time of division and discord, grace seems in vanishing supply. Why? And what can we do about it?

In the novel The Second Coming one of Walker Percys characters says about Christians, I cannot be sure they dont have the truth. But if they have the truth, why is it the case that they are repellent precisely to the degree that they embrace and advertise the truth?... A mystery: If the good news is true, why is not one pleased to hear it?