Larry Osborne - A Contrarians Guide to Knowing God: Spirituality for the Rest of Us

This book will speak to everyone who has ever felt left out spiritually. Larrys insights cut through the commonly accepted, guilt-induced world of religion as he captures the raw essence of New Testament relationship.

Reading this book feels like a conversation with Jesus over coffeesimple, profound, biblical, yet completely opposite of what Ive learned from Americas polluted version of Christianity.

Every year one book grabs my attention and speaks to my soul. A Contrarians Guide to Knowing God was one of those books.

C RAIG G ROESCHEL , senior pastor of Life.Church in Oklahoma City

What a great, fun book! Larry Osbornes A Contrarians Guide to Knowing God made me cringe at certain intersections; at other times I felt the thrill of someone putting into words what Ive always felt. He takes the cookies off the top shelf and puts them where we all can enjoy them, as he finishes our incomplete sentences and makes us feel like geniuses.

Its a quick read thats filled with brilliant, disturbing insights. He may not change stodgy theologians, but he may just annoy them closer to Jesus.

W AYNE C ORDEIRO , senior pastor of New Hope Christian Fellowship in Hawaii

Larry Osborne has mapped out a brand-new path for spiritual formation in A Contrarians Guide to Knowing God. This is one of the only books I know that takes you on the path to God without insisting that you be more disciplined and more structured and that you read a lot more. Finally, a book for the rest of us!

D AVE F ERGUSON , lead pastor of Community Christian Church and visionary for NewThing Network in Chicago

Rich wisdom brilliantly communicated by a very talented writer. Takes the blinders off and opens your eyes to some strange and unique ways God works.

S TEVE A RTERBURN , founder and chairman of New Life Ministries and radio host of New Life Live!

Larry Osborne hits it out of the park with A Contrarians Guide to Knowing God. Practical and engaging, this book calls each of us to a new way of thinking about what it means to build a great relationship with God.

It does what every great book has always done: it causes some of us relief, it causes some of us great consternation, and it causes all of us to stop and think about what were doing and why were doing it.

The concepts Larry shares have blessed and encouraged me as a follower of Christ and a leader in his church. I will definitely move this book to the top of my must-read list for our church family.

T OBY S LOUGH , lead pastor of Cross Timbers Church in Argyle, Texas

Ive known Larry for years, and he always mentors me personally with his insights into following Jesus. For the first time, hes captured those simple lessons in this great book.

A Contrarians Guide to Knowing God brings fresh insights from the Bible to help us conquer the nagging fears and doubts we have about our walk with Christ. This confident work, clearly illustrated by Scripture and life stories, helps leaders and believers realize that the key essentials in a growing relationship are not what we think.

D AVE T RAVIS , CEO of Leadership Network in Dallas, Texas

Ive heard all my life that God created each of us uniquely. Larry opened my eyes to the truth that God desires us to know and follow him as an expression of that uniqueness.

With a keen mixture of wit, wisdom, and Gods Word, A Contrarians Guide to Knowing God provides a refreshing and insightful look at how the average guy can enjoy a meaningful, guilt-free relationship with God.

C HIP H ENDERSON , senior pastor of Pinelake Church in Brandon, Mississippi

This is another amazing book by my favorite author. I have no idea how he does it. One classic right after another. It must be a result of his stellar upbringing.

C AROLYN O SBORNE , Larrys mom

Finally! In the midst of all the left-brained spiritual growth strategies available, Larry has written a guide for the rest of us. If your soul is yearning for practical, real-time help that works on Monday as well as Sunday, this book is for you.

J IM D ENISON , founding president of the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture

Larry Osborne puts into words what many of us have wondered about for years but never had the courage to voice publicly. This book affirms us as individuals with unique personalities, learning styles, and gifts while offering sound counsel on the importance of deepening our relationships with God and with each other.

A Contrarians Guide to Knowing God gives us permission to trade our feelings of spiritual inferiority for the confidence to pursue a life with God at the very center of who we are and how we choose to live each day.

L INDA S TANLEY , vice president and team leader of Leadership Network in Dallas, Texas

I read the book in one sitting. It is engaging, convicting, maddening, and encouraging. I hope it is widely read to correct spiritual abuses and encourage the majority of everyday Christians (whom Osborne calls cobblers in Corinth).

When I finished A Contrarians Guide to Knowing God, I felt free and relieved. Osborne took off weight after weight of spiritual churchy expectations for someone who sincerely wants to be godly. I felt like singing Trust and obey, for theres no other way

Larrys book opened my eyes to ways I have distorted the simple New Testament picture of godliness because of my zeal to motivate. My congregation should thank Larry for saving them from me.

B RUCE M ILLER , senior pastor of Christ Fellowship in McKinney, Texas

This is a refreshingly helpful book for everyone who loves Jesus but has struggled with tidy formulas for spiritual growth.

M ARK D RISCOLL , pastor of Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Arizona

If youve ever thought you were the only one challenging a cookie-cutter approach to faith, you need to read this book. Thank God! Osborne shows us how our relationship with God is not a one-size-fits-all approach.

B ILL E ASUM , founder and president of the Effective Church Group

Larry challenges current notions of spiritual development in a healthy and thoughtful way. Whether you are beginning your journey with God or have been at it a long time, this book will be a powerful blessing and guide.

B OB R OBERTS J R ., senior pastor of NorthWood Church in Keller, Texas, and founder of Glocal.net

A C ONTRARIANS G UIDE TO K NOWING G OD

All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Italics in Scripture quotations reflect the authors added emphasis.

Trade Paperback ISBN9780735290976

Ebook ISBN9781601422682

Copyright 2007, 2018 by Larry Osborne

Cover design by Kelly L. Howard

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States by Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

M ULTNOMAH and its mountain colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.