How Far Is Heaven? Rediscovering the Kingdom of God in the Here and Now
Ebook
In How Far is Heaven? Ronnie McBrayer explores the "kingdom parables of Jesus" and finds in them an urgent challenge for Christians to reassess the gospel they believe and the role their professed faith plays in the world today. He argues that the gospel cannot be reduced to apocalyptical escapism, whereby the true believers will one day be rescued from the sufferings of planet Earth; nor can faith be used as a type of benefits program, providing the individual with the privileged comfort of membership. Instead, the gospel audaciously enters the sufferings of this present world with transforming love, as Jesus can never be locked away "in our hearts." He, his message, and his followers break defiantly free to renew and reshape not only tomorrow, but also the here and now. Thus, the gospel according to Jesus is not just about a harp-playing, cloud-riding, pie-in-the-sky heaven. It is holistic, all-encompassing, redeeming deliverance for people today, not tomorrow. And the follower of Jesus is called to live out the active, participating presence of Christ in the world of now--right here where we live, work, love, and serve--because heaven is far closer than we think.
"Ronnie McBrayer uses parables--ancient and new--to reveal the
'thin places' in our world, the places where the partition between
heaven and earth is translucent, where the kingdom of God bleeds
into this world. . . . To read this book is to be re-commissioned
in that great enterprise of being sent into the world, to bear the
image of God, and to announce to everyone that his reign is
peaceable, just, and beautiful. And near!"
--Michael Frost, author of The Road to Missional, The Shaping of
Things to Come, and ReJesus
"McBrayer challenges us to implement Jesus' words every day.
Waiting until one dies for some heavenly ever-after makes a selfish
mockery of Christianity."
--Morris Dees, Founder of Southern Poverty Law Center
"Ronnie McBrayer writes with wisdom, passion, and humor. He
punctuates his theological insights with lively stories, bringing
into contemporary focus the parables and the biblical good news.
This book is a compelling invitation to readers to discern the
heart of their belief--and to act boldly on their
convictions."
--Joyce Hollyday, author of Clothed with the Sun: Biblical
Women, Social Justice, and Us
"Ronnie McBrayer challenges us to earnestly and actually do what
Jesus did so God's kingdom can come and his will can be done on
earth as it is in heaven. Reading this book makes one realize that
heaven dwells close to home--really close."
--Linda Fuller Degelmann, co-founder of Habitat for Humanity
International and The Fuller Center for Housing
"Having seen God's new reality in Christ, we are called to be part
of his new creation and to be light to the world. Ronnie McBrayer
makes this insight come alive in the here and now with How Far
Is Heaven? What a delightful and inspiring read. I encourage
you to let your soul soar--as mine did--with the practical,
life-changing insights Ronnie offers in this book."
--Rubel Shelly, President and Professor of Philosophy and Religion,
Rochester College
Product Details
- Title : How Far Is Heaven?: Rediscovering the Kingdom of God in the Here and Now
- Author: McBrayer, Ronnie
- Publisher: Wipf and Stock
- Publication Date: 2013
- ISBN: 9781621897071
Ronnie McBrayer is a pastor, author, and columnist. His weekly column "Keeping the Faith" is nationally syndicated in more than seventy print and online outlets with a circulation of more than six million readers. He leads A Simple Faith, a congregation in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, and is the author of multiple books and publications including Leaving Religion, Following Jesus (2009) and The Jesus Tribe: Following Christ in the Land of the Empire (2011).