Meeting Jesus
Meeting Jesus, Common People, Uncommon Stories is the result of a pastoralexperience linked with cultural Biblical knowledge. The book was really written for one person, thus it is a very personal endeavor. Maggie LIechty was an elderly woman who was housebound because of health issues. Regular pastoral visits grew to include serious faith conversations about Biblical persons whose lives were changed by their encounter with Jesus. Maggie was not about to accept simple, easy answers. These were real people struggling with real issues that complicated their lives. Maggie felt with them because of her own situation and she wanted to know more these persons and what their life was like before meeting Jesus. She felt that these persons were important and they deserved more than the brief encounter recorded in scripture. For her, they were persons struggling with a life that was not of their own doing.
The Goodnews According to Jesus
The book is a biblical study that traces how Jesus understood his mission by looking at what Jesus said about who he was and how he saw his mission. The book sees Jesus saying that his mission was to proclaim the presence of God’s New Way. Thus the book focuses on the life and teachings of Jesus, not on his death. The book is a very positive analysis of who Jesus was and how he saw himself by looking at his life and ministry. The Jesus message of how God would have us live together threatened Rome’s control and they tried to silence the Jesus message by executing the messenger. But the resurrection is God’ response that affirms everything that Jesus said and did. Rome could kill the messenger, but they could not silence the message. This sees the Jesus message of being a God message of hope, of peace, and new life for all who choose to follow Jesus.
Pastor and Professor
Pastor and Professor is one pastor’s story of a rich life filled with experiences that tested his faith and demanded growth that was both exhilarating and painful. It is the personal story of moving from faith as right doctrinal belief to faith as a liberating response to a loving God—a God who is always with us, continually drawing us into the future. This dynamic understanding of faith is based on the belief that the kingdom of God is a present reality where followers of Jesus are to be pastoral in spirit while prophetic in living.