Hugh Halter - Sacrilege: Finding Life in the Unorthodox Ways of Jesus

2011 by Hugh Halter

Published by Baker Books

a division of Baker Publishing Group

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.bakerbooks.com

Ebook edition created 2011

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-4412-3746-0

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

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Sacrilege is a refreshing book for those of us who want to know Jesus and who want to make Jesus known. Hugh Halter lives this out himself, and in this book he shares with us how to remove the barriers of religion and let people meet Jesus in us. Sacrilege is a handbook for living more than a missional life, but a truly incarnational life. I recommend this book for every Christ follower.

Dave Ferguson, lead pastor, Community Christian Church;
spiritual entrepreneur, NewThing

I cant say anything as clever or thought-provoking as this book that Im trying to endorse. All I can say is that Hugh, in his fabulously engaging way, accomplishes the release of Christian theology from its church-centric focus back onto the streetswhere it got its start and where it belongs. Its like opening a window in a musty room to let in some fresh air.

Reggie McNeal, missional leadership specialist, The Leadership Network

Hugh Halter has written a carefully constructed theological Molotov cocktail, which explodes false myths while it fires up the Christian imagination for truth, beauty, and goodness.

Leonard Sweet, bestselling author and professor at
Drew University and George Fox University

This book is Hugh Halter the man: irreligious, forthright, honest, fun, insightful, creative, adventurous, and compassionate. And so it is an insightful, practical, missional guide to the sacrilegious life of those who want to follow Jesus in the way he wants to be followedsacrilegiously.

from the foreword by Alan Hirsch, author of various books including
Untamed ; Right Here, Right Now ; and The Faith of Leap

I know Hugh Halter. He is a nonconformist, a dissenter, an iconoclast, and a rabble-rouser. Hes also a deeply compassionate man who has opened his home, his life, and his heart to the lost, the lonely, the disillusioned, and the infuriated. Here is a book about the sacrilegious Jesus written by a humble man who knows him, really knows him, and who has sought to emulate his work in our broken world. He must be listened to.

Michael Frost, author or coauthor of ReJesus ,
The Faith of Leap , and The Road to Missional

I love Hugh Halters sense of adventure and living in the moment. That is exactly what Sacrilege is aboutliving in the moment, following Jesus, letting our relationship with Jesus push the boundaries out. Hugh is not an ivory tower writer but a trekker out on the range who goes from descending into the hot, sweaty, dense jungle to climbing high in the dry cold to summit mountains. Its time to shake up our notions about what a disciple is and what it really means to follow Jesus. Hugh is one of the few who does just that.

Bob Roberts, pastor and author of Transformation and Glocalization

Yet again, Hugh tips the sacred cows that need tipping and ruffles the feathers that need ruffling. This isnt done through hyperbole or distortion but through a genuine examination of Jesuss life. Some will decide this is a controversial book, but in fact, Jesus was a controversial Savior. This is simply an honest retelling of Jesuss unruly story with a simple call to be like him in a world where most prefer their cows untipped and their feathers unruffled.

Jen Hatmaker , speaker and author of nine books,
including Interrupted and Seven

Every once in a while someone comes along who seems to speak your personal language. They give words to things you have struggled to articulate yourself. My friend Hugh Halter is one of those people, and Sacrilege is one of those books that makes you want to read one more chapter though the clock says its time to go to bed. If you think you have heard all that Hugh has to say to the body of Christ, you are wrong. This is another gutsy and entertaining book by a genuine Jesus guy.

Lance Ford, coauthor of Right Here, Right Now

Halters done it with Sacrilege . Hes somehow managed to write a book that brings everything into alignment for those who are trying to follow Jesus without all the mess. This riveting book will give you a fresh vision for your life and the world.

Carl Medearis, author of Muslims, Christians, and Jesus ;
Tea with Hezbollah ; and Speaking of Jesus

In Sacrilege , Hugh Halter attacks our spiritual sensibilities with a jarringly honest appraisal of the church. He also (to use even more street slang) takes us to churchspecifically the church Jesus would attend. Halter is a missional apostle cut out of the same cloth as Saint Patrick. He is wild about Jesus, bullish about outsiders, and, despite numerous misgivings, still willing to stay connected with the church. Given Hughs low expectations (he only needs to convince three of us in order to feel successful), he only needs two more of you to sign up.

Jim Henderson, author of Jim and Casper Go to Church
and coauthor of The Outsider Interviews

Every generation God compels a handful of courageous leadersprophetsto call the church back to its Jesus movement essence. Hugh Halter is such a leader. In Sacrilege , Hugh compels the church to ask a very dangerous question behind everything it does: Why? For the sake of Christ and all those he lived and died and lived again to save, I dare you to step into that space, read the book, and do as God and his Scriptures leadnothing more, nothing less.

Jim Mellado, Willow Creek Association