J. Kevin Butcher - Free: Rescued from Shame-Based Religion, Released Into the Life-Giving Love of Jesus

One of the great challenges of being a Christian is learning to live into the freedom that Jesus offers us. In theory, it is an easy concept to grasp, but its a difficult one to live out. Kevin Butcher so masterfully teaches us how we can take concrete steps toward that path. This book will leave you feeling inspired and empowered to break free from bondage as you fall into the loving arms of our Father.

P ETER A HN, lead and founding pastor of Metro Community Church in Englewood, NJ

There is love that sets you free from the need to perform, achieve, strive, and earn. Such unapologetic love is found in Jesus. In the pages of Free, the veil between author J. Kevin Butchers words and the love of Jesus is so thin; you will be overwhelmed, reader, by Butchers nurturing invitation into your own belovedness. In these pages, your soul will be nourished and compelled to love God, others, and yes, even yourself freely.

A UBREY S AMPSON, church planter and pastor at Renewal Church, West Chicago, IL; speaker; and author of The Louder Song and Overcomer

Kevin is a master storyteller who beautifully articulates the transformative power of Gods liberating covenant love. He helps move theology from the head to the heart and provides examples and pathways to genuinely live free.

R OBERT L EE, president and CEO of Pioneer Circuits

Defining a thing creates opportunities to see the thing through new lenses, strategize, and move accordingly. In this revelatory offering, Pastor Kevin unpacks the multilayered stronghold of shame while guiding us to the pathway to freedom. Free is an authentic, transparent conversation on the front porch with Kevin. It is heart-level communication from the Father, through Butcher, to his beloved. Free is an invitation to see, wrestle, and win. Each page creates space for the ah-has, tears, and screams necessary to move out of bondage and live FREE.

R EV. W ILLIAM M ACK, pastor of Grace Community Covenant Church in Louisville, KY

Kevin Butcher understands better than anyone that Christians can drift from the love of Jesus into shaming religiosity. He writes about the love of Jesus so well that its hard to believe that he, too, was rescued from the prison of performance Christianity. I was there. Its all true.

E D U NDERWOOD, president of Recentered Group, author of When God Breaks Your Heart and Reborn to Be Wild

Ive met a lot of people who know a lot about Jesus. I dont know nearly as many who truly know Jesus. Kevin Butcher is most definitely the latter. Through this book, allow him to be your gentle, experienced guide away from just do it Christianity and a life of shame and into the freeing, healing embrace of Jesus extravagant love.

A NGIE W ARD, P H D, assistant director of DMin at Denver Seminary, author of I Am a Leader

This book is for those searching for more than just help in their spiritual growth. It is a practical guide for followers of Jesus who desire to enter the amazing freedom offered us in Christ. Kevin clearly describes this freedom and provides practical help in its pursuit. He reminds us that this freedom is found in embracing the love of Jesus and continually abiding in his love. Youll be helped and transformed as you read and apply what Kevin has explained for us all.

T OM Y EAKLEY, author of Growing Kingdom Character and Growing Kingdom Wisdom

If youve never sat down and had a conversation with Kevin Butcher, youre about to. His deep love for God overflows and touches every person he meets, and that love flows through every word on the page. Hes a passionate and skillful storyteller, and through this book, he graces us with a deeper experience of Gods love. Its a timely message for those of us whove grown weary on the road of faith. Kevin speaks as one who doesnt just know about Jesus; he knows Jesus. And that is a gift to us all.

L EEANN S HAW Y OUNGER, writer, speaker, cofounder and lead pastor of Cityview Church in Pittsburgh, PA

Kevin Butcher has penned a winner on how we practically experience and live out what it means to abide in Christ and his incredible love for us. This is not a dry theology book or another how-to book filled with suggestions for trying harder and being more disciplined. Butcher, with incredible authenticity, soaks us in the love of God for us that ignites a divine reaction in our hearts. Reading this book will be a spiritual experience for you.

B ILL T ELL, Navigator representative, author of Lay It Down

Too many of us are still trying too hard, still making too many commitments, and still starving on the same table scraps. Thank God for Kevin Butcher, who introduces us to a God who sets us free from religious performance by simply loving us.

S TEVE W IENS, pastor at Genesis Covenant Church, Robbinsdale, MN; author of Shining Like the Sun

I have known Kevin for over thirty years. He is the real deal, and this book is the real deal. Every story and every point in this book is rooted in rugged and raw experiencedoing real life with a real God. The shackles truly can be loosened, and freedom in Jesus can be a reality. This book will show you how.

J AMIE R ASMUSSEN, senior pastor at Scottsdale Bible Church, Scottdale, AZ; author of How Joyful People Think

Kevin Butchers passion for God and his word led him, through his own journey of faith, to discover the beating heart of Gods unconditional love for each one of us. Free is a spring of fresh water that falls on the parched ground of rules-based Christianity. It will quench the thirst of everyone who has believed the lie that they must earn Gods love. Theologically and historically grounded in Scripture, Kevin, with gut-honest truth, shares his own journey, as a follower of Jesus and pastor, into the freedom that comes from intimacy with Christ. Kevin Butcher has written a book about Gods love that is a love letter to the church.

P AMELA E. P ANGBORN, DM IN, pastor of Hope Community Church in Detroit, MI

When I was twenty, Kevin Butcher led me out of a just do it brand of Christianity and into a real relationship with Jesus. For thirty-six years, Kevin has passionately and faithfully pointed me back to Jesus, again and again. His transparent journey and personal insights into the surrendered life of living in Jesus love, described in these pages, will point you back to Jesus for the freedom and life he longs for you to experience. Back to Jesus deep heart of love for you and his beautiful invitation to abide in that love. Kevins insights and personal journey are like a treasure map from a trusted guide.

M IKE F ANNING, pastor of Idaville First Church of God, Idaville, IN

In a world shackled with shame, chained to contempt, and held hostage by hatred and guilt, we need to be Free. We all need the truths of this book! Butcher has a profoundly simpleyet simply profoundway of sharing the power of Gods love and the freedom that comes when we wholeheartedly embrace it! If I could pour the truths of this book into every human being I know, I would! Why? Because we all need to be Free!

R EV. L AWRENCE C. G LASS, J R., pastor of El Bethel Baptist Church, Redford, MI

NavPress is the publishing ministry of The Navigators, an international Christian organization and leader in personal spiritual development. NavPress is committed to helping people grow spiritually and enjoy lives of meaning and hope through personal and group resources that are biblically rooted, culturally relevant, and highly practical.