Following a 22-city, sold-out The Gods Aren't Angry speaking tour and the best-sellers Sex God and Velvet Elvis, postmodern preacher Rob Bell has teamed with Don Golden for Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile.

Bell, who founded Mars Hill Bible Church near Grand Rapids, Mich., turned to a series he taught at his church with lead pastor Golden for inspiration for the book, which compares the modern-day church to the Israelites in Egyptian captivity. American abundance, they argue, is something to be used to enrich the lives of others and, in not being part of the solution, the complacent become part of the problem.

"What if churches tackled the greatest needs in our world the same way churches tackle a building program?" Bell said. "What if the same passion and entrepreneurial excellence was put into the ones who are most neglected?"

In the book to be published by Zondervan this month, Bell and Golden document statistics about American abundance, while not shying away from possible controversies that may arise. Bell may be used to it, as segments of the church have criticized his theology through the years. Unfazed, he said: "I don't follow the controversy."

"Nothing I've ever said was really new or groundbreaking," he added. "There is a deep orthodox Christian stream available to everybody, and people have been wrestling with what the Bible says for a thousand years, concerning salvation, repentance, loving our neighbors, care for the Earth. Whatever the controversy, I'm swimming in a stream that's been flowing for a long time."

Zondervan has launched an alternative reality game called Citizens of Virtue (COV), www.citizensofvirtue.com, to promote Bell's book. An organization that claims to do good, COV features a "Virtual Virtues" campaign.

"People who get involved in this online experience can choose for themselves how they will act, and if they will help," Karen Campbell, director of public relations for Zondervan, said. "Throughout the experience, players will have to solve puzzles, help each other and make real choices as to where they stand in the world. Players will even get a chance to do actual good in the real world over the course of the experience."

Read more in the Oct. 13 issue of Christian Retailing.

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