Philip Yancey - Vanishing Grace: Bringing Good News to a Deeply Divided World

CONTENTS

S ome books take shape more easily than others. Writing this one, I felt I was trying to corral and tame a herd of small wild animals, each of which was scratching and clawing against my best efforts. I was motivated by my concern about Christians stance and reputation in the modern world, but how could I express that in a way that didnt sound like scolding? To complicate matters, I felt a need to take a close look at my own beliefs and to examine how they measure up in a culture that often scorns them. I needed help, and I got it from trusted friends who werent afraid to tell me to start all over again with a new approach.

My computer hard disk holds many megabytes of early drafts of the book, and now that the process is over I look back with nothing but gratitude for those skilled and honest enough to offer the feedback I needed. Joannie Barth, Laura Canby, Dr. David Graham, and Brenda Quinn all chipped in with enough encouragement to keep me going and enough correctives to keep me reworking. John Sloan, Kathy Helmers, Tim Stafford, and Dr. Kirk Quackenbush suggested major changes that pointed me in new directions. Bob Hudson, Joannie Barth, and Melissa Nicholson shepherded some of the most thankless tasks, such as copy editing and tracking down other sources I quote here and there.

Meanwhile, my wife Janet embodied the grace I commend in these pages while sharing the life of a distracted, obsessed, and sometimes confused writer. As it happens, I am writing this on Valentines Day, full of appreciation for her sustaining love.

Some of this material has appeared in a different form in Christianity Today, Books & Culture, First Things, The Beliefnet Guide to Evangelical Christianity, and the ebook Christians and Politics, as well as in a few stray blogs on my website. Truly this has been a work in process, and Im enormously grateful for all who helped along the way.

ZONDERVAN

Vanishing Grace

Copyright 2014 by Philip Yancey

Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Drive, SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546

ISBN 978-0-310-35154-2 (softcover)

ISBN 978-0-310-33937-3 (audio)

ISBN 978-0-310-35155-9 (ebook)

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. ChristianityUnited StatesPublic opinion. 2. Christianity and cultureUnited States. 3. United StatesChurch history. 4. Witness bearing (Christianity) I. Title.

BR517.Y37 2014

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 of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com. The "NIV" and "New International Version" are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

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 meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

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Cover design: Kristen lngebretson

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Printed in the United States of America

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 Gracegiven the contentious times in which we liveis 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

In general the churches... bore for me the same relation to God that billboards did to Coca-Cola: they promoted thirst without quenching it.

JOHN UPDIKE, A MONTH OF SUNDAYS

A s a Christian, I have deep concern about how we represent our faith to others. We are called to proclaim good news of forgiveness and hope, yet I keep coming across evidence that many people do not hear our message as good news.

I decided to write this book after I saw the results of surveys by the George Barna group. A few telling statistics jumped off the page. In 1996, 85 percent of Americans who had no religious commitment still viewed Christianity favorably. Thirteen years later, in 2009, only 16 percent of young outsiders had a favorable impression of Christianity, and just 3 percent had a good impression of evangelicals. I wanted to explore what caused that dramatic plunge in such a relatively short time. Why do Christians stir up hostile feelingsand what, if anything, should we do about it?