Tired of Outrage?

Christians in the Age of Outrage by Ed Stetzer belongs are your list of books to read next. When I first heard of this book, I knew I wanted to read it. So, when I won an ecopy via GoodReads, I was very excited. I was not disappointed, and I know you won't be either.

Stetzer organizes Christians in the Age of Outrage into three parts. Part 1 "Why the Age of Outrage?" describes the reasons behind our current culture of outrage. Stetzer provides research describing what has created the outage but does not point fingers or cast blame. After laying this foundation, Stetzer moves on to unpack four "Outrageous Lies and Enduring Truths." These lies include both items Christians believe about secular society and those that secular society believes about Christians. Stetzer carefully describes each untrue belief and then provides the truth. After dispelling these lies, Stetzer moves on to "The Outrageous Alternatives to Outrage." Readers are reminded of how they should be living and encouraged to take additional steps to move away from outrage to outrageous love.

As expected, Ed Stetzer wrote an incredibly well-researched book. He references research conducted by the Billy Graham Research Center where he is currently employed and Lifeway Research Center where he was previously employed. Stetzer also references numerous news stories and other research which are noted at the end of each chapter. Although well-researched as an academic work should be, Christians in the Age of Outrage is also accessible to everyone and an engaging work. While reading, every other sentence seemed to include an amazing quote or thought.

While reading Christians in the Age of Outrage, I felt like I was sitting down with a trusted friend or colleague. Stetzer anticipates every question that comes to mind and answers it in the next paragraph. While reading this book, it is important to remain open-minded. It is easy to approach the book and think that it applies to other people. However, Christians in the Age of Outrage can function as a mirror where you examine yourself (some planks in your eye perhaps?) and discover the changes you need to make, if you let it. I highly recommend Christians in the Age of Outrage for everyone. This book would be an excellent resource for a small group study or the basis of a Sunday School class. Believers everywhere need to get this book and take it to heart!

Speaking of small group studies, Christians at Our Best: A Six-Week Guide to Living in the Age of Outrage is scheduled to be published in February. Obviously, I haven't read it yet, but from the table of contents it look to be a wonderful study focused on part 3 of this title.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the book, Christians in the Age of Outrage, free from GoodReads. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”