Owen Strachan - Risky Gospel: Abandon Fear and Build Something Awesome

PRAISE FOR RISKY GOSPEL

Some Christians are paralyzed by fear or indecision or constant second-guessing or by the blur of activity in their lives. In this book, Owen Strachan points out whats immobilizing you right now, and to give you the gospel coaching to run the race again. Read this book to stir up courage in yourself, or to equip you to do so for a brother or sister in need.

RUSSELL D. MOORE, PHD, PRESIDENT, ETHICS AND RELIGIOUS
LIBERTY COMMISSION, SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION

Owen Strachan takes us through a journey of the struggles of the ordinary Christian life. Refreshingly honest, he shares about his own current and past temptation to fear and shrink back all while challenging the reader to look to Gods Word and the gospel for the strength to take risks. In his words, Jesus came to embolden us not to anesthetize us. With humor and wisdom, Owen casts a vision for a risky life in our faith, marriages, work, churches, and culture. In the end we see that risking it all for the gospel isnt risking at all.

TRILLIA NEWBELL, AUTHOR OF UNITED:
CAPTURED BY GODS VISION FOR DIVERSITY

My favorite books are those that lead me to want to thank the authors for writing them. This is one such work. Owen Strachan clarifies a compelling vision for fruitfulness and faithfulness in light of the work of Christ, but he does not stop there. He exhorts us to reach our full potential in Him by embracing the call to risk and shows that we can boldly live out this gospel calling no matter our walk of life. Thank you, Owen, for such an encouraging book.

JOE CRISPIN, FORMER PROFESSIONAL
BASKETBALL PLAYER; WRITER AND SPEAKER

Could it be that the safest place in the world is in risking everything for the gospel? Risky Christianity is Christianity, argues Strachan. And so he calls us to give what we cannot keep to gain what we cannot lose. Many popular books and leaders will lead you down a risky and wrong path. But Strachan offers a reliable and readable account of what it means to risk everything for the gospel in lifes major arenas. Please read, Christian, and learn to think and live well.

JONATHON LEEMAN, AUTHOR OF REVERBERATION AND THE
CHURCH AND THE SURPRISING OFFENSE OF GODS LOVE

Heres a book that would have done me a lot of good in my teens and twenties. But even a little later in life Im grateful for how Owen impressed upon me the privilege of risking a life thats secure in God. Read this book and embark on a life of empowered dependence and winsome courage.

COLLIN HANSEN, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
FOR THE GOSPEL COALITION

This is a different kind of book from those around it. Whether youre a tired parent or a wide-eyed millennial (or some combination of both), Owen is writing to you. The vision of God in these pages is so glorious and the grasp of the practical so relevant, that you will be compelled to live bold for the fame of Jesus. There is no shortcut to Christian maturity, but Risky Gospel touches all the bases. Read it. Trust God. Build something.

JONATHAN PARNELL,
CONTENT STRATEGIST, DESIRINGGOD.ORG

Risky Gospel isnt a book for perfect Christians who have it all together. Nor is it for those seeking merely to numb the pain. With humility and humor, as a friend, Strachan shows us the awesomeness of God, reminding us that Jesus came to emboldennot anesthetizehis followers. Risky Gospel is a rock inviting readers to take a flying leap of faith.

ERIC TEETSEL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
MANHATTAN DECLARATION

Theres a rumbling, thunderous joy rolling through the pages of Risky Gospel. Owen candidly describes how the Christian life is to be one of boldness, conviction, and intentionality. The kind of zeal hes talking about isnt haphazard and reactionary, but it flows from living in light of the joy-inciting gospel of Jesus Christ. What a timely message for the Church around the world!

GLORIA FURMAN, CROSS-CULTURAL WORKER,
AUTHOR OF GLIMPSES OF GRACE

I love this book. I love this book because it calls you to risk and do things that matter. I love this book because it calls you to risk with the strength available in Christ. And I love this book because it not only tells you what to accomplish and how, but it actually gets you excited about doing it. Im excited about sharing this book with those in my ministry. You should be too.

HEATH LAMBERT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF NANC,
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BIBLICAL COUNSELING AT THE
SOUTHERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY/BOYCE COLLEGE

2013 by Owen Strachan

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Nelson Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson. Nelson Books and Thomas Nelson are registered trademarks of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.

Published in association with the literary agency of Wolgemuth & Associates, Inc.

Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from THE ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION. 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version (public domain).

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the NEW KING JAMES VERSION. 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Strachan, Owen.

Risky gospel : abandon fear and build something awesome / Owen Strachan.

pages cm

ISBN 978-1-4002-0579-0

1. Spiritual formation. 2. Christian life. I. Title.

BV4511.S76 2013

248.4--dc23

2013017252

Printed in the United States of America

13 14 15 16 17 18 RRD 6 5 4 3 2 1

To R. Albert Mohler Jr., whose teaching and courageous example have encouraged a generation of Christians to live boldly for Christ

CONTENTS

by Kyle Idleman, author of Not a Fan and Gods at War

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU DID SOMETHING THAT was a little bit risky? I dont mean use the bathrooms at the local fast-food taco place risky, I mean something truly risky. Rapid heartbeat, sweaty palms, shortness of breaththat kind of risky. When was the last time you did something that was both exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time?

The combined tonic of excitement and terror seems to be a favorite of my brothers-in-law. They are always building a too-tall deer stand or preparing to hunt down wild boar and wrestle them unarmed. If you ask one of my brothers-in-law about his hobbies hell tell you about rappelling out of helicopters and lighting marijuana fields on fire. Occasionally when I am with them, theyll be getting ready to go out on one of these adventures and theyll look at me with farmland fire in their eyes and say, Kyle, you gotta come with us!

I typically pass on those kinds of outings. My in-laws may be deer hunters and boar wrestlers, but me? Not so much. Im not what you would call a risk chaser. Im a book reader. Im a web surfer. Im a sushi eater. I dont take risks with wild animals. It goes against my nature, my character, my life experience. See, I didnt grow up on a farm, I dont own a pair of cowboy boots, and the only pet I had growing up was a goldfish (an especially tame goldfish, I might add).