Rankin Wilbourne and Brian Gregor to Release "The Cross Before Me"

Pastor and award-winning author Rankin Wilbourne and Christian philosopher Brian Gregor, Ph.D. release The Cross Before Me: Reimagining the Way to the Good Life Sept. 1, 2019 from David C Cook. This unique book offers a provocative perspective on God's design for the cross and explores how the way of the cross is the path to life, happiness and being human.

Drawing on biblical truths, historical writings and modern examples, Wilbourne and Gregor challenge readers to think of the cross not only as the instrument of their eternal salvation, but as the way to a good and beautiful life here and now.

Written for anyone who wonders what the shape of Jesus' life has to teach about finding the life he promises, The Cross Before Me is meant to help readers reimagine the good life as they learn to embrace the life-giving weakness of the cross as the only path to true fullness and abundance in Christ.

"Finding strength in weakness and victory in surrender is not something that comes naturally to us," says Wilbourne. "Instead, we've come to believe that the path to joy is hard work, success in our endeavors and the favor of God. The call of discipleship, to take up one's cross and follow the suffering Savior, feels out of date and vague.

"We believe the cross has something to teach us, all of us, about what it means to live a fully human life here and now," continues Wilbourne. "The cross is God's wisdom for human flourishing. Not only is the cross an instrument for our salvation, it also sets a pattern for the art of living."

Gregor adds, "In the ancient world, the cross of Christ was a scandal to Roman, Greek and Jewish minds. It was foolishness to believe that almighty God would reveal himself in such a humble fashion. Part of our burden in this project is to recover this scandal for an audience that has domesticated the cross or reduced it to merely the private place where Jesus died for your personal sins."

The goal of the book is to make the theology of the cross accessible and practical for a broad audience. Wilbourne and Gregor provide perspective on how the call to Christ's cross is in fact a call to joy, not just for eternity, but for life today. Filled with useful ideas for how to integrate life and work, reinterpret life's goals through Jesus' example and embrace the only outlook on life that will satisfy, The Cross Before Me focuses on the cruciform way, giving readers the opportunity to experience God's way to the good and beautiful life based on Isaiah 30:21, which says, "This is the way, walk in it."

About Rankin Wilbourne:

Rankin Wilbourne is senior pastor of Pacific Crossroads Church in Los Angeles, a growing church with multiple locations, which has planted and is planting churches around the city of Los Angeles. With a passion for bringing together great historical theology with modern cultural concerns, he is the author of Union With Christ, winner of the 2017 Christian Book Award for New Author and named one of the top books of 2016 by John Piper's Desiring God ministry. As a former commercial banker, Wilbourne understands the "gap" between the gospel preached on Sunday and the world people face on Monday, and he's concerned with drawing connections between what we believe and how we live. Growing up near New Orleans, training at Princeton Theological Seminary and spending time as the Minister of Teaching and Missions at First Presbyterian Church of Chattanooga, Wilbourne now resides with his wife, Morgen, and their three children in Los Angeles.

About Brian Gregor:

Brian Gregor (Ph.D., Boston College) is associate professor of Philosophy and teaches courses in philosophy, philosophy of religion and religious studies at California State University, Dominguez Hills. He is the author of numerous articles and books, including A Philosophical Anthropology of the Cross: the Cruciform Self and just finished a book on Paul Ricoeur's philosophy of religion, Ricoeur's Hermeneutics of Religion: Rebirth of the Capable Self. His research concerns the relation between religious faith and human subjectivity. Originally from Canada, Gregor lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Meg, and their two children.

About David C Cook:

David C Cook is a leading nonprofit resource provider serving the global Church with life-transforming, Christ-centered materials. Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with offices in Illinois, Canada and the United Kingdom, David C Cook's resources are published in over 150 languages and distributed in more than 170 countries. Originally founded in 1875 as a curriculum publisher, today David C Cook publishes numerous bestselling fiction and non-fiction books from a variety of award-winning authors. It is also a leading provider of worship music through its Integrity Music label, which produces over one-third of the top 500 praise and worship songs sung around the world. Additional information can be found atwww.davidccook.com.

 

 

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