Jesus' Radical Message [Hardcover]

Traditional preaching, along with the mainline churches in which it has been most prevalent over the years, is losing its appeal for growing numbers of people who are caught up in the dangers and confusion of our fragmented world. Many are hungering for a more powerful and challenging message rooted in Jesus' life and teachings, seeking clues about how to live faithfully amid the destructive social and personal pressures created by our nation's exploitation of its position of global dominance. The sermons in this volume emerge from the conversion story of a Southern, white, Presbyterian pastor who was transformed by the civil rights struggle and who has chosen to live on the boundary between mainstream and marginalized people. Rooted in an understanding that Jesus' gospel message is subversive of many of the dominant values and practices of our culture and our world today, they are intended to be disturbing sermons. But they disturb for the sake of healing and hope, always pointing to Jesus' good news of the liberating possibility of beloved community, inclusive of us all. Z Holler's collection of sermons, Jesus' Radical Message, are exegetical models, faithful to their texts, but highly disturbing. He has taken familiar stories of Jesus and let them speak to modern readers as they spoke to the disciples of old, threatening their prejudices and challenging their deepest commitments. They grow out of Holler's own experience--as all good sermons should do--are well-written, and to the point. --Charles Cousar Columbia Theological Seminary I share with my friend and elder Z Holler two deep convictions: that the gospels call us to radical discipleship, and that the Beloved Community Center of Greensboro is truly carrying on the work and witness of Martin Luther King. Z's journey of following Jesus and standing in solidarity with the BCC is remarkable for a white southern preacher of his generation, reminiscent of Clarence Jordan and Will Campbell. His memoir anl~