It's no secret that we are addicted to control. We work to
control our time, our TVs, our weight, and even our faith lives. We
strive for efficiency and quantifiable results. But all that
control, we soon find out, is exhausting. And it is contrary to
God's plan for us. In Chaos and Grace, Mark Galli offers
readers freedom from the need for control and order by
reintroducing them to the mysterious work of the Holy Spirit.
In this insightful book, Galli exposes our individual mistakes and
the church's foibles and points the way to grace--which, as it
happens, usually lies through chaos and crisis. Through Scripture
he shows us that this problem is not unique to modern believers and
helps us learn from the stories of God's people through the ages as
they gave up and gave in to the transforming work of the Holy
Spirit.
"To my knowledge, Chaos and Grace is the first
story-framed study of the wonderful themes of the liberating
presence of God's Spirit--from Genesis to Revelation we get Spirit,
Spirit, Spirit, and where the Spirit is, there is freedom."--Scot
McKnight, Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies, North Park
University; author of One.Life: Jesus Calls, We
Follow
"Galli calls the church to awake to the Spirit of God--the Spirit
who cannot be programmed, coerced, or manipulated. This book will
challenge the way you think about the church in America."--Margaret
Feinberg, www.margaretfeinberg.com; author of Scouting the
Divine and The Organic God
"Mark always makes me think and wrestle with issues--generally
mine! Biblical, solid, and honest--Chaos and Grace will
force you not just to think but to examine yourself."--Bob Roberts
Jr., senior pastor, NorthWood Church; author of
Transformation and Glocalization
"Chaos and Grace shows the crucial value of the Holy
Spirit's 'power of disorder' as contrasted to the comfortable and
easy life of many modern churches. I highly recommend it."--Vinson
Synan, dean emeritus, Regent University School of Divinity
"Mark Galli has had it with the idea that life can be controlled or
in any way managed. He's yearning for Jesus to really mean freedom.
Call this a 'theology of liberation' for evangelicals!"--Paul F. M.
Zahl, former dean and president, Trinity School for Ministry;
author of Grace in Practice: A Theology of Everyday
Life
"Disturbing, upsetting, and disrupting. I finished this book
shaken; the more I ponder what I've read, the more I suspect that
the things it left rattled are my chains."--Carolyn Arends,
recording artist and author
Mark Galli is senior managing editor of Christianity Today. A former Presbyterian minister, he is the author, coauthor, or editor of several books, including Jesus Mean and Wild, A Great and Terrible Love, Beyond Smells and Bells, and Francis of Assisi and His World. Galli lives in Illinois.