Matt Heard - Life with a Capital L: Embrace a Bigger Gospel, Experience a Bigger Life

Praise for
Life with a Capital L

The Christian churchs first theologian, second-century Irenaeus, coined what remains the most accurate and penetrating definition of a Christian: The glory of God is man fully alive. Matt Heard has taken that brief sentence and expanded it into this marvelous book, telling by story and observation, and using vigorous language (there is not a dull sentence in what he writes), to get us to embrace what has been given to us.

E UGENE H. P ETERSON , translator of The Message

Matt Heard is a fresh new voice with a literally life-changing message. Life with a Capital L is a call to each of us to embrace our own humanityjust as God does. Heres a book that will deepen your walk with God and elevate your life to the level of Life.

M ARK B ATTERSON , author of The Grave Robber and All In

This is Praise with a capital P for Life with a Capital L. What does it mean to be alive? and What does it mean to be human? are two of the most important questions any human being can ask. They are questions that all Christians share with all of humanity. Matt Heard reflects on them with a warmth and honesty that will be welcomed by all who ask the questions.

J OHN O RTBERG , author of The Life Youve Always Wanted

For years, Ive treasured St. Irenaeuss words, The glory of God is man fully alive. The quote rests on a shelf above my computer, and hardly a day goes by that I dont ask God to help me live out that enigmatic statement. Well, I now have a book to guide me. My friend, Matt Heard, writes winsomely and compellingly, answering that quiet aching so many people haveyes, even Christiansthat there must be more to life. Trust me, the book you hold in your hands will awaken in you a deep desire to be all that God intended. I highly recommend Life with a Capital L!

J ONI E ARECKSON T ADA , Joni and Friends International Disability Center

The problem of pain may be one of the greatest challenges to faith in God, but the problem of pleasure can be more precarious. Disappointment in pleasure gives rise to emptiness, and sometimes not just for a moment but for life. Yet God created us for a purpose, and as Matt Heard writes, for so much more than we often recognize. Matt challenges us to look deeper into the mirror and to God who knows us fully and loves us intimately. Life with a Capital L is rich in encouragement, illustration, scriptural insight, and pastoral wisdom, and offers readers fresh insight and lasting hope.

R AVI Z ACHARIAS , author and speaker

I know Matt Heard to be a thoughtful, humble follower of Christ. Those qualities are evident in Life with a Capital L. This book is a clear and powerful call to rediscover the depth and breadth of Life as God intendedto embrace the longing we all have to really Live as humans made in Gods image.

J IM D ALY , president of Focus on the Family

Matt goes to the heart of our need for Jesus. He makes us hope for heaven in a way that marks the everyday. Hes a pastor, a leader, and a friend, and none of that is lost in these words.

J ENNIE A LLEN , author of Restless and founder of IF: Gathering

Your world can be full of color, adventure, and discoveryLife with a capital L. Let Matt guide you on a journey to your full humanityempowered, equipped, and inspired by the One who created you to live abundantly. Read this book and get ready to come alive in new ways!

L EE S TROBEL , best-selling author of The Case for Christ and professor at Houston Baptist University

This is what its all about. Literally. Unless Gods people understand whats in this book, we cannot be Gods people. Its that important. Please read this book and rejoice that Matt Heard has written it!

E RIC M ETAXAS , New York Times best-selling author of Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy and Miracles: What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change Your Life

Matt Heards new book is a deep well of resource for the soul. In Life with a Capital L, we have an invaluable resource to live the abundant Life of God, a map toward cultural life around us, and a blessing to re-humanize our world. Matts approach toward beauty grows my heart as an artist and nourishes my creativity. His stories stir within me a deeper longing to create, love, and worshipwith passionour Savior-artist who pours grace into my heart.

M AKO F UJIMURA , artist, author, and culture-care catalyst

Matt Heard is a master storyteller, and peeking through all his stories is the Life Giver. I was struck by the intellectual depth of this book, but even more I was embraced by the personal Savior revealing himself through its stories. This book helped me see God not just in its pages but in my everyday experiences. Matt Heard ushers me into the greater Life.

D R . J OEL C. H UNTER , senior pastor of Northland, A Church Distributed

An essential part of the gospel is often missed by Christians and left untold by churches: Christ didnt come to save us from our humanity but to return us to it! Matt Heard has skillfully preached and taught this for years, and now he skillfully articulates this truth through this book. Like me, I suspect readers will find themselves asking What if? What if this is actually true? and find their imaginations running wild with the Good News.

J OHN S TONESTREET , speaker and fellow at Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview

Life is a journey more than a destination. Matt Heard demonstrates and exemplifies this as one who seeks to be fully alive and longs for any who are interested to join him in that journey. This book is charged with all the stimulus and struggle that authentic human life must engage. Matts artful portrait of Life is honest and hopeful, assured of Gods love in Jesus Christ, but never glib or reductionist. This book awakens our thirst for Life as the real thing and nothing less.

M ARK L ABBERTON , president of Fuller Theological Seminary

Part Francis Schaeffer, part Max Lucado, and part Rick Steves, Life with a Capital L is one of those rare books that is both a page-turner and yet deeply contemplative. Matt Heard dives heart-first into Jesuss promise of a full Life and shows through biblical insight and hard-won experience how this promise is alive and well and meant for each of us. Matts joyful engagement with art, music, food, conversation, travel, the Bible and LIFE gives hope that God is actively restoring our humanity. Reading Life with a Capital L was a highlight of my year.

J EFF M YERS , P H D, president of Summit Ministries

Life with a Capital L will breathe new energy, new excitement, and new purpose into the life you are living. This is a challenge to all of us to go full tilt, be all in, and make it our ambition to embrace the fullness of what Life can and should be in relationship with Jesus. Being fully alive and fully human means we experience the eternal now. Im fired up after reading this book!

B RAD L OMENICK , former president and key visionary of Catalyst, and author of The Catalyst Leader

Matt Heard does not want to say something new but something old, only in a new, fresh way. And that he does well. Matt tells just the right story at just the right time. He writes with a pastors heart and experience. He has read good books and learned from the masters. And he writes in a winsome, accessible style. His point is clear, compelling, and significant: we long for real Life, real Life can be ours, and real Life is available in Jesus Christ. This truth never grows old. Matt Heard knows this in his soul. This book is not simply about Life with a capital L. It actually conveys that Life.