John Hambrick - Move Toward the Mess: The Ultimate Fix for a Boring Christian Life

What people are saying about

Move Toward the Mess

I highly recommend this book for those who are willing to live out a wildly different and somewhat dangerous kind of Christianity.

Rick Bundschuh, author of Soul Surfer and pastor of Kauai Christian Fellowship

John Hambrick challenges Christians to move toward the messiest people and situations in life.

Carey Nieuwhof, author of Lasting Impact and pastor of Connexus Church

Move Toward the Mess moves the reader out of apathy and staleness to the messiness of life where we find ourselves engaged and energized in our faith.

Betsy Duffey, author of The Shepherds Song

John Hambrick cuts through the complacency and clutter that cripple our attempts at changing the world, offering clear and accessible ways to make our faith actionable and our lives remarkable.

Dr. Bill Donahue, professor of pastoral theology at TIU and author of The Irresistible Community

John Hambrick helps us hear Jesuss invitation to follow him in new ways and to jump into the messy, life-giving adventure of becoming a part of Jesuss work in our world.

David Rohrer, pastor of Emmanuel Presbyterian Church and author of The Sacred Wilderness of Pastoral Ministry

What makes Move Toward the Mess so compelling is that it reflects Jesuss life, which was an approach to life that brought life.

Bill Willits, executive director of Ministry Environments at North Point Ministries

This book will prepare your heart, soul, and mind to move into the dangerously fulfilling territory of life to the full the life Jesus lived and the life he offers us right now.

Seth Condrey, music director at Woodstock City Church

John Hambrick challenges us to love God and to love people by buckling our seat belts and following Jesus toward the mess.

Tom Haugen, chaplain at Gordon College

A fresh perspective on shedding religion and finding the Jesus way.

Erin Johnson, success coach

This book will be a mentor to you, filled with stories and questions that will lead you.

Scott Cormode, Hugh De Pree professor of leadership development at Fuller Seminary

To Patty, John, and Carrell

Words fail. Your love doesnt. I am so grateful.

In memoriam

Steve Hayner

(19482015),

who joyfully embraced a life
of moving toward the mess.

MOVE TOWARD THE MESS

Published by David C Cook

4050 Lee Vance View

Colorado Springs, CO 80918 U.S.A.

David C Cook Distribution Canada

55 Woodslee Avenue, Paris, Ontario, Canada N3L 3E5

David C Cook U.K., Kingsway Communications

Eastbourne, East Sussex BN23 6NT, England

The graphic circle C logo is a registered trademark of David C Cook.

All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes,

no part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form

without written permission from the publisher.

The website addresses recommended throughout this book are offered as a resource to you. These websites are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement on the part of David C Cook, nor do we vouch for their content.

All Scripture quotations are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

LCCN 2015953326

ISBN 978-0-7814-1337-4

eISBN 978-0-7814-1429-6

2016 John Hambrick

Published in association with the literary agency of The Blythe Daniel Agency, P.O. Box 64197, Colorado Springs, CO 80962-4197

The Team: Tim Peterson, Keith Wall, Amy Konyndyk, Nick Lee, Lori Jones, Helen Macdonald, Susan Murdock

Cover Design: Jon Middel

Cover Photo: Thinkstock

First Edition 2016

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

012616

Foreword

Every once in a while a phrase comes along that covers a lot of territory with just a few words. Move toward the mess is one of those phrases. John Hambrick coined it a few years ago. When I heard it, I realized that it captured an essential aspect of the way we do things at North Point Ministries. Our organization has a reputation for being an exciting place. One of the ways we try to sustain that excitement is by encouraging people to practice the lifestyle represented by this deceptively simple little phrase. When we get that right, things happen. Theres not much time to be bored.

Im excited about this book. Im excited that you have a chance to read it. In the opening chapters youll discover that this idea of moving toward the mess is based on some of the things Jesus taught in the Gospels. There are six chapters about people and organizations such as Jim Rayburn and Young Life or Patrick Donnelly and Habitat for Humanity, Belfast. They illustrate what can happen when folks get serious about engaging with the messy situations that exist across the street, across town, or across the world. The tactical advice John gives at the end of the book makes moving toward the mess an actionable idea for pretty much everybody. This last part is particularly important. Heres why.

Public opinion polls show that Christians are not highly thought of in our country these days. But if everybody in the American church started to move toward the mess, our nation may start to change its mind about us. They might never believe what we believe, but theyd want us for a neighbor. Theyd want to work for us or have us work for them. Theyd want their sons and daughters to marry our sons and daughters. The moral and spiritual chaos that seems to dog our countrys every step would begin to shrink. People would begin to rethink their views about God and the church. Its happened before. It can happen again.

I hope you find that to be a compelling idea. If so, then reading Move Toward the Mess is just what you need to help you plan your next steps. And while its true that this will chase off the boredom that may hover around the edges of your spiritual life, theres something even more important at stake. We have a chance here to help suffering people. God can use you to make a difference in their lives. If you choose to get involved, God will be honored, people will be helped, and your life will take on a sense of significance that you never thought possible. Thats just too good a deal to pass up.

Andy Stanley

Acknowledgments

It takes a village to raise a child. In this case, the child is a book. There is certainly a villages worth of people to thank. To begin, thanks go to Allison Holley, who, a long time ago, started pointing people toward my phrase move toward the mess. And thanks to Fred Hadra for some great marketing guidance. Bill and Betsy Duffey, Rodney Anderson, Bill Willits, and Megan Springer were kind enough to read the early versions of several chapters and make helpful comments. Their encouragement was key in moving things along. Additional thanks go to Betsy for suggesting that I attend the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. That proved to be a pivotal experience. Alton Gansky, Bob Hostetler, and Edie Melson provided some crucial guidance and feedback while I was there.

It was at that conference that I met Blythe Daniel and her wonderful colleague Jessica Kirkland. Blythe is the head of the Blythe Daniel Agency. She is a literary agent extraordinaire and had the courage to take me on board. She has been a phenomenal mentor and guide. Additionally, Blythe knows how to be a pastor to her authors. She, her husband, Art, and their family have become our friends.