<b>God’s operation</b> If Out of Control challenges us not to be individually overwhelmed by the world, <b>Living the Resurrection: The Risen Christ in Everyday Life</b> by Eugene H. Peterson challenges the church not to let the world overwhelm the faith. A former pastor and theologian, Peterson is best known as the translator and author of <i>The Message</i>, which retells the Bible in modern language. With <b>Living the Resurrection</b>, Peterson calls for the church to refocus itself on the resurrection of Christ as the central transformational mystery that sets every purpose and guides every step. Peterson argues that the church has been lulled into treating faith as a self-help project, defined by techniques and goals and programs. Christians are trying to manipulate, define and control something and someone who is completely outside their control. Resurrection is not available for our use, says Peterson. It’s exclusively God’s operation. With this book, he calls readers back to allowing God to transform them, rather than making feeble efforts to effect change the other way around. <b>Living the Resurrection</b> is worth reading and worth pondering, an eye-opener to a way of thinking and living that returns to the redemptive power of Christ.
<i>A writer in Franklin, Tennessee, Howard Shirley is the author of</i> Acts for God: 38 Dramatic Sketches for Contemporary Services<i>, as well as Christian video and devotional materials.</i>
