I just finished reading Jesus Loves You… This I Know by Craig Gross and Jason Harper and the first word that comes to mind is WOW. I’ve read other books that preach a similar message but none were so authentic, so real. Craig and Jason aren’t content to stay in the safety of their churches – they spend much of their time in the gutter (as Craig calls it) being the hands and feet of Jesus, showing His love to the world. So, on to the review.
First, a little history. Craig Gross is a co-founder of XXXchurch which exists to help those struggling with addictions to porn and also those in the porn and sex industry. They’re known for their X3 Watch software (which, unlike many web filters is completely free), showing up at porn conventions to pass out Bibles with covers that read “Jesus Loves Porn Stars” and more recently their porn debate tour with porn star Ron Jeremy. Just last year Craig & his family, along with a few friends, moved to Las Vegas to start The Strip Church. As you can imagine, Craig has seen a lot. I’ll get back to him in a moment.
Jason Harper’s story is a bit more traditional. He works on staff at a megachurch and is a published author. In the book he recounts how, after one of his messages where he challenged the audience to “get into the gutter and share Jesus with love and kindness to every person”, a woman confronted him over the fact that because he worked in a church he didn’t know what it was like to confront people in the secular workplace, or the world. He was stuck in the same Christian bubble he had been warning the audience about. As Jason wrote, “Maybe church leadership across America has gotten so busy ‘doing the ministry’ that we forgot the main point of ministry.” So he set out to change that by getting a part time job. But not just any part time job; one of the most hated jobs in America: a door-to-door cable collection agent. The guy that knocks on your door, asks for payment on a delinquent cable bill and if you don’t pay he takes your equipment and cuts the cable line. So Jason spent a year working one day a week as a collection agent. I don’t want to put any stories here since the whole point of this review is to inspire you to read the book for yourself, but I will share one thing Jason shared which really impacted me. He once heard a pastor (Clint Brown) speaking about the the thief who was crucified next to Christ and asked Him to “remember me” (Luke 23:39-43). Most of us have read that passage before, but this pastor saw it from a different angle; he thought there was more to the thief’s request of remembrance.
Re-membered. Was the crook asking for Jesus to have a fond recollection of him in heaven? Or, where the circumstance of life had dismembered him, was he asking the carpenter to re-member him? Was he asking to be put back together?
Back to Craig’s story. Again, I don’t want to put too much here because you really need to read this book for yourself, but I will share one thing that, you could say, stepped on my toes. You see, most (if not all) of Craig’s opposition has come not from those he is ministering to, but from the church itself. He receives countless letters and emails each week from Christians who do nothing but discourage and hate. At every porn convention, debate and pride festival he is blasted by Christians just for associating with sinners. The problem Craig found in himself, and the same problem I found in myself, was that he forgot Jesus doesn’t only love sinners; Jesus loves the religious. Craig wrote about how, upon searching his heart, he discovered he had become the one thing he despised the most: judgmental. He had become judgmental towards the judgmental. This chapter really spoke to me because I found myself in the same position. I strive to love people where they’re at, regardless of their beliefs, lifestyle or background, but upon searching my heart I found I had no love or tolerance for the religious. But Jesus loves them too.
So, there you go. Hopefully I’ve inspired you to check out Jesus Loves You… This I Know, without giving too much away. Believe me, it’s a great book – you won’t regret reading it.
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