Jefferson Bethke is one of the many who found the sweet spot on YouTube. Jeff created a video in the form of Spoken Word, a modern style art of poetry. Basically the structure of the video is Jeff’s poem about how Jesus is greater than religion and some crafty special effects to enhance the viewing experience. The video struck a chord across the web and the video went viral. Take a look at the video that started it all.
READ JEFF’S NEW BOOK “It’s Not What You Think“
Now that you have a pretty solid context of some background info, we can begin to discuss his new book Jesus > Religion Why He Is So Much Better Than Trying Harder, Doing More, and Being Good Enough.
I was able to be part of his Street Team to help promote the book and get a pre-released copy to read prior to the launch. October 7, 2013 is the official release date. You can pre-order the book and there are some really great freebies for pre-orders. During launch week Jefferson will be continuing some special, giveaways and other cool stuff. It might be wise to add him on Twitter and Facebook.
Other content you might want to check out the Street Team Live Shows with members of the Street Team discussing the book for a total of 5 episodes.
“3 Reasons NOT to read Jefferson Bethke’s Jesus > Religion Why He Is So Much Better Than Trying Harder, Doing More, and Being Good Enough.“
1. After reading this book, it will require fight or flight. Something that I have grown to appreciate in life is a good message. I have sat under hundreds of speakers, pastors and teachers who bring great messages on a regular basis. While it is a privilege to hear what they have to say, it always requires a choice after the fact. The choice is you have to change your mindset or ignore the message. The message is Jesus is simply greater than religion.
When you distinguish Jesus the God-man from the religion that developed around him, people investigate the person of Jesus rather than the rules of Christianity.
If you are not willing to change when the Holy Spirit is communicating with you, you may not want to read this book. This book will work on you. God will speak to you through this message. If you are afraid of confrontation this book will challenge you to deal with imperfections, misunderstandings and flaws in your own life.
2. If you believe Jesus has not been Americanized. Jesus may not be the picture you have always believed him to be. In fact, in America specifically Christianity has become rather watered down and user-friendly. After reading chapter one it will challenge your perspective on who Jesus is. The main challenge is are you following the person Jesus or the idea behind him?
I grew up in the church. I am thankful for my background. But it took me 21 years to FINALLY get the light bulb to turn on. For so many years I thought I was saved. I thought I was following Jesus. I wasn’t. I was following the idea behind him and was doing what every Christian should be doing. I was completely fooled by how the American church presented Jesus Christ.
Once I began to realize the packaged Christianity I grew up with didn’t tell the whole story, I began to see this dangerous Jesus everywhere in Scripture.
You wanna know how I met God? It wasn’t through a book, a sermon or great worship music experience. It was through God himself, revealing himself to me and me listening. It wasn’t by means of human effort or a well organized evangelistic outreach. God of the universe reached out to me. It was him, just man-to-man. I heard his voice and from that point (January 2005), I followed him. Life has never been the same.
If you read this book, you will be faced with your perception of Jesus. Which Jesus do you follow?
3. If you believe Christianity is exclusive. Do you believe homosexuals are going to hell? Do you believe that you must be either republican or democrat to be saved? Do you have to read a certain version of the Bible? Do you believe God only has favor with Christians?
Have you ever had the thought, “There is no way a gay person can be saved or live a Christian life?” I’ll be honest I used to hold that position. It wasn’t even that long ago when that mindset tainted my perspective about people and their relationship with God. But how can I cherry pick what sins are more righteous than another? The truth is I am just as dirty, filthy and habitual sinner as the next person. What makes my sin any more less than another? Christians claim sin is sin, but somehow we have made certain sins “worse” than the others.
Am I justifying sin? Absolutely not.
Jefferson does a fabulous job of discussing one of the main issues of how religion makes enemies and Jesus makes friends. Often times we forget the passage of scripture founds in Ephesians 6 that we do not fight against people, we fight against an unseen enemy that is powerful.
Religious people see “them” as the problem; Jesus-followers see “us” as the problem.
If you cannot see yourself as the problem, this book will challenge you to face your worst enemy, you.
Final thoughts
In all reality this is a book I believe everyone needs to read. Whether you’re a Christian or not, it is a challenging book. Jefferson walks the reader through his history with religion and Jesus. He communicates a strong message of how Jesus is greater than religion. The resounding theme of the book is everything is about Jesus, it’s a message of the love of God through his Son.
The book doesn’t beat around the bush, Jefferson doesn’t hold back. It is message this generation needs and actually deep down wants to hear. This is your chance to take your faith to a whole new level! I encourage everyone to pick up a copy and when you are done reading, pass it along to someone else. But this is your warning…you will be challenged, you will have to make a choice to face fears and your perspective of people and sin may need altered.
While the book does discuss some heavy topics it is a VERY encouraging book. Many times are I was reading I was laughing, smiling and literally having a good time with the book. I felt as if my life was interacting with the words written. The message is a message of life! You won’t regret reading this book. It is worth the time, the money and investment. It is a message you will want to share with your loved ones.
Happy reading!
