Lisa Sharon Harper - The Very Good Gospel: How Everything Wrong Can Be Made Right

Praise for

The Very Good Gospel

Lisa Sharon Harper has presented the gospel, the good news, as it was meant to bewhole and complete. Our world has compromised so many elements of the good news that we are left with a divided gospel. We need to recover the whole Christian gospel, the wholeness of the church, the wholeness of relationships. Lisa has unleashed the whole-ism of shalom. Her application of the good news for America, for our culture, in the world, reminds us that God is bigger than our problems. My wish is that Christians and non-Christians alike read this book.

D R . J OHN P ERKINS , co-founder of the Christian Community Development Association, founder of the John and Vera Mae Perkins Foundation in Jackson, Mississippi, and author of Let Justice Roll Down

Lisa Sharon Harper is so smart and interestingshes a wonderful leader. I respect her immensely and am passionate about the message of this book.

J EN H ATMAKER , speaker and best-selling author of For the Love

For anyone who has ever wondered if we were meant for more, Lisa Sharon Harpers The Very Good Gospel provides a resounding yes, revealing Gods eternal vision of shalom for all creationpeople, families, genders, races, and the nations. Our gospel has long been presented in a shallow wayand unattractive in its narrowness. The Very Good Gospel declares the breadth of Gods Word, reconciling social justice and personal salvation, and inviting readers to share the rich message of shalom for all people, as it was intended.

M ICHAEL E RIC D YSON , political analyst, professor, and best-selling author of The Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America

For many decades, both mainline Christianity and the evangelical church have been captive to competing, shallow, and thin understandings of what the good news of the gospel really is. In The Very Good Gospel, Lisa Sharon Harper masterfully presents the case that the very good news God brings to us is about the restoration of shalomthat is to say peace, well-being, wholeness, and abundancewhich conquers the false dichotomy between social justice and personal salvation. Lisa shows us that Gods creation is emphatically, even forcefully, good, and it is the duty of every human being to responsibly steward Gods creation. Lisas clear, evocative prose blends scholarly theological insights with moving life experiences to show the clear applications of the gospel to our cross-gender relationships, our struggle against racism, how we care for the environment, our relationships with ourselves, and much more. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who seeks to understand Gods true purpose for the world and for our lives.

J IM W ALLIS , New York Times best-selling author of Americas Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America, president of Sojourners, and editor-in-chief of Sojourners magazine

There are lots of gospels out there competing for our affectionthe gospel of the Kardashians, of Trump, of American exceptionalismbut Lisa Sharon Harper dives into the one true gospel, Gods very good news. On these pages, the Garden of Eden meets the world we live in. Harper stirs up an ancient, radical vision of shalom, whereby God heals all the wounds that sin has createdin our hearts, in our streets, and in our world.

S HANE C LAIBORNE , activist and author of Executing Grace

To speak of the gospel as good news, it has to be good news for the oppressed, the impoverished, the brokenhearted. To embody Gods shalom is to embrace and restore the image of God in all humanity no matter who or where they are. Chapter by chapter Lisa Sharon Harper builds the case for reading, understanding, and living the gospel as the life-giving, freedom-bringing, shalom-infused reality it really is. There are new, exciting voices coming from a new, younger generation of evangelicals, and they are turning the traditional meaning of that word around. Lisa Sharon Harper is such a voice and well worth hearing.

A LLAN B OESAK , South African human-rights activist and the Desmond Tutu Chair of Peace, Justice, and Reconciliation Studies at Christian Theological Seminary and Butler University

Lisa Sharon Harper writes in a fresh and personal way, combining rich theology with deep experience working with contemporary issues to inspire us not to settle for a thin gospel but a thick gospelthe fullness of the good news of Gods reconciliation and shalom that touches all aspects of life. The Very Good Gospel is for all of us struggling with how the good news of Jesus should impact not just our own lives but also speak to the injustices in our world. This book brings all the threads together and weaves a glorious picture of Gods redemptive work in creation.

K EN W YTSMA , president of Kilns College and author of Pursuing Justice and Create vs. Copy

Exposing racism, sexism, and exploitation as a direct assault on God, The Very Good Gospel weaves its wisdom around Gods shalomthe blessed web of creation, where the flourishing of one is a flourishing of all. It is beautiful and true. Thank you, Lisa!

D R . M IMI H ADDAD , president of Christians for Biblical Equality, www.cbeinternational.org

Part mountaineer, part miner, Lisa Sharon Harper has somehow ascended the mountain of Scripture to survey its entirety while also digging deep into its core to extract raw truth of immense implication and conviction. Lisas revealing stories, scriptural depth, and prophetic voice make The Very Good Gospel a very good readone you wont want to miss.

D AVID D RURY , chief of staff for the Wesleyan Church World Headquarters and author of nine books including Transforming Presence

One can scan across the landscape of the church and not find a better articulator of the essence of the gospel in the twenty-first century. Lisa Sharon Harper follows a rich tradition of reformers and iconoclast theological practitioners who deeply love the gospel and Gods people. She has made it her lifes project to challenge lethargic and cynical people to live love and practice justice. Our world is richer and more vibrant because of her compassionate and strong voice.

R EVEREND D R . O TIS M OSS III, senior pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ and author of Blue Note Preaching in a Post-Soul World

In a world that has legitimate reasons to question the possibility of a good God, Lisa Sharon Harper reminds us what is in fact not only good but beautiful about the God who loves us more than we want to be loved. Her winsome words wash over the reader with gentleness, while simultaneously striking out with a fierce love that is corrective and healing. The Very Good Gospel is more than just a social activists field guide; it is a road map to a better worldone marked by faith, hope, and love.

C HRISTOPHER L. H EUERTZ , author, activist, and founding partner of Gravity: A Center for Contemplative Activism

T HE V ERY G OOD G OSPEL

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ( NKJV ) are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.