Saving Jesus from the Church: How to Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus

Many Christians today are concerned by what they see as a combination of bad theology and bad behavior on the part of the Church. They seek another answer to their spiritual questions, but that answer might just be ... Christianity, albeit a Christianity with a new approach.

Pastor and author Robin Meyers argues that important doctrinal points must be rethought in more modern terms. According to Meyers, Christians needs to see Jesus as a teacher, not a savior. Prosperity is a dangerous condition, not a divine one. And Christianity itself has to do more with compassion than condemnation. Saving Jesus from the Church shows us what it means to be a Christian in the twenty-first century.

Robin Meyers, Ph.D., is the senior minister at Mayflower Congregational UCC Church in Oklahoma City and professor of rhetoric in the Philosophy Department at Oklahoma City University. He is a syndicated columnist and award-winning commentator for National Public Radio. He was featured in the HBO documentary, "The Execution of Wanda Jean," for his efforts to save the life of the first woman to be executed in Oklahoma. Meyers writes regularly for The Christian Century and is the author of four books. He and his wife, Shawn, have three children. They live in Oklahoma City.

"Every once in a while, a book comes along that changes everything. This is the book. It is scholarly, pastoral, prophetic, and eloquent - all in equal measure. The invitation to follow Jesus instead of worshiping Christ could not come at a more important time, or be issued by a more credible source. Robin Meyers has spoken truth to power, and the church he loves will never be the same."

- Desmond Tutu