I read Josh’s book and then realized I would be in Nashville where he pastors, so I wrote to him to see if we could have coffee or lunch together, and then he told me he would be attending (and speaking at) the conference I was attending in Nashville. Small world. We met up, chatted several times, and had lunch together. I wish we had more time.

This book is a gentle call by example to a missional life. Instead of giving stats on how wealthy we are, on how lazy we are, and of how selfish we are, Josh’s book just brings up one example after another — in story form — of what missional life looks like today. From the inside out. From missional work in the underbelly of Detroit to the homeless taking up space in his own home and learning about forgiveness from others … dotted with characters and stories and solid readings of the Gospels and the Bible …  

One of his themes is “eat this book,” an expression from Eugene Peterson about the proper stance toward Scripture. Josh quotes this before or after citing a text from Scripture and it calls us to ponder anew what we read. His expositions lead us into that pondering.

Pastors would benefit from this book for the stories. But I hope college student after college student buys this book and reads it with other college students so the word catches on that kingdom living begins now … and kingdom people make a difference.