Max Lucado calls believers to ‘relax’ as they learn to lean into Christ

TITLE: Grace

AUTHOR: Max Lucado

PUBLISHER: Thomas Nelson

ISBN: 978-0-849-92070-7

PRICE: $24.99

RELEASE DATE: Sept. 18

With more than 80 million books in print, Max Lucado already has the attention of Christian retailers. But his latest trade release, Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine, addresses his favorite subject—grace.

Having written on the subject in Grace for the Moment and In the Grip of Grace, Lucado now expounds on it further.

“This particular book grew out of an increased awareness of not wanting to limit grace to an event that happens on the moment of salvation in the life of a believer, but beginning to see that grace is God’s commitment to us, His radical commitment not just to save us, but to change us,” Lucado told Christian Retailing. “In the Grip of Grace really focused on the salvation moment and why the cross of Christ is essential for salvation and what’s unique about it, and this one does that as well, but I really tried to unpack if a person is not just saved by grace, but living in a state of grace, what does that look like? And what does God’s grace have to do with the rest of my life?”

In the book’s 12 chapters, Lucado offers stories and scripture that illustrate grace at work. In “Grace on the Fringe,” he examines how God takes the mess of life and makes it into a masterpiece, and in “Fear Dethroned,” he shows how sustaining grace meets us at the point of need.

To Lucado, grace has become very personal—and he thinks his experience in that regard is not unique.

“I find the grace in the Gospels and the grace that Paul described to be so radical, so unnerving, so feisty that it stuns us—it stuns me—I may just be speaking out of my own experience, but I went a long time in my life and was long into the mystery before I really realized how the idea that God lives inside me, to be able to say it’s no longer I live, but Christ who lives in me,” he said.

Regarding many who profess Christ, he believes “it’s been a long time since they were stunned by the thought that Jesus took their old heart out, and He put His heart in, and that this heart of divinity is beating inside us and it will change us. … It’s not that it might or it could, but it will, and we can believe that that’s going to happen.”

His vision for the book is to “move the reader into a place where they are living grace out in their own lives,” he said. “This book tries to answer the question, what happens when grace happens? When a person lives in a place of grace, what happens to them? Well, they begin doing the things that were done to them. They begin giving grace to people who are hard to forgive, they begin demonstrating generosity instead of stinginess, they begin living with less anxiety because they are convinced that God died for me, apparently He’s going to care for me. I can trust Him with my soul, I can trust Him with my Monday as well and my electric bill.”

Grace is active in the Christian’s life after getting saved.

“There’s a sentence in the book that says that God is not just about getting us into heaven, but getting heaven into us and changing us so that we really look more and more like Jesus,” he said.

Addressing more than the “technical transaction between heaven and earth that took place with Jesus when He died on the cross,” Lucado wants the reader to see that the same sustaining power involved in that transaction is “going to be waiting on us tomorrow when we have the next challenge, waiting on us in the next chapter of life when we have kids grown up, empty-nesters, and waiting on us at death when it’s our time.”

His message to believers is to rest in Christ and His work.

“I want people to relax a bit, rest in His grace and know that God is going to give them that strength,” he said. “It’s so unique, this Christian grace, you don’t find it in any other world religion, you don’t find it in any other philosophy. Everybody else says dig deeper, you’ll find it inside you. Christianity says no, you won’t find it in you, but you’ll find it in God. You’re a sinner, you need forgiveness. Start leaning into Him instead of trying to dig into yourself.”

Coinciding with the book’s release, Lucado will embark on an international conference tour, including appearances at Women of Faith and Women of Joy events. The book will also be featured in a worldwide, two-hour simulcast hosted by in:caste events Sept. 22.

To order Grace, contact Thomas Nelson at 800-251-4000, or visit the Web site www.thomasnelson.com.

One of author Joey Bonifacio’s favorite toys is Lego, but not just because the bricks are fun to play with; rather, it’s because the world-famous toys provide an object lesson of how God builds His church through joining His people together for a unified purpose. It is this meaning the senior pastor expounds on in The Lego Principle: The Power of Connecting to God and One Another (978-1-616-38677-1, $14.99), releasing Sept. 18 from Passio, an imprint of Charisma House Book Group.

Love God and love one another—Jesus called these the two most important commandments. Using the example of LEGO, a company that has been transforming the way people play for more than 50 years, Bonifacio—senior pastor of Victory Fort in Metro Manila, Philippines—shows readers how to make a difference for the kingdom of God, one connection at a time. 

For more information, visit www.charismahouseb2b.com. To order, call Charisma House at 800-283-8494.

As a young woman and a single mom, Pattie Mallette had a fight on her hands to rise above her painful past of abuse, addiction and poverty. Mallette, mother of pop music star Justin Bieber, shares her story in Nowhere but Up: The Story of Justin Bieber’s Mom. Published by Revell (Baker Publishing Group) and written with A.J. Gregory, the hardcover book releases Sept. 18 with a foreword by Justin Bieber. It retails for $21.99.

David D. Ireland, founding and senior pastor of Christ Church, a 6,000-member multiracial congregation in New Jersey, believes the practice of reconciliation is key to being a bona fide disciple of Christ. His new NavPress book, The Skin You Live In: Building Friendships Across Cultural Lines, encourages readers to be at peace with their own cultural identity and learn how to connect across the racial divide. Releasing Sept. 14, the softcover book retails for $14.99.

Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and best-selling author Tullian Tchividjian takes on a challenging topic in Glorious Ruin: How Suffering Makes You Free, releasing Sept. 1 from David C Cook. Tchividjian addresses some of the pitfalls Christians fall prey to when faced with pain and reminds readers that suffering is not about what we get out of it; rather, it is about God. The jacketed hardcover book retails for $17.99.

GRAMMY-nominated and Dove Award-winning recording artist Ricardo Sanchez shares the story of his family’s personal tragedy in It’s Not Over: How to Keep Moving Forward When You Feel You’re Losing the Fight, releasing Sept. 18 from Passio, an imprint of Charisma House Book Group. After Sanchez wrote the song of the same title, his son had an accident that saw his life hanging in the balance. The softcover book retails for $15.99.

Bible teacher Joyce Meyer asserts that every word a person speaks has power, and it is this power of speech she considers in Change Your Words, Change Your Life, releasing from FaithWords on Sept. 11. Meyer helps believers cultivate talk that is constructive and healthy in her latest hardcover release, retailing for $22.99. 

In Touch broadcaster and New York Times best-selling author Charles Stanley has learned the power of prayer in his own life and ministry. In The Ultimate Conversation: Talking With God Through Prayer, he considers topics including how one’s perception of God’s will characterizes his or her prayer life, how to listen to God and overcoming obstacles through prayer. Published Sept. 4 by Howard Books, it retails for $24.

Lead pastor of the multi-campus City Bible Church in Portland, Ore., Frank Damazio is a respected church planter. In Strategic Church: A Life-Changing Church in an Ever-Changing Culture, Damazio calls on congregations to refocus on their vision and build a spiritually transformative faith community. He shows ministry leaders how to apply Jesus’ teachings on the church in their local context. Releasing this month from Regal, the softcover book retails for $15.99.

Psychologist and New York Times best-selling author Kevin Leman continues his “What a Difference” titles with What a Difference a Mom Makes: The Indelible Imprint a Mom Leaves on Her Son’s Life (Revell/Baker Publishing Group). With his signature humor, Leman shows moms how to lay a solid foundation to help her son grow into a good man, and offers guidance on discipline, respect, sexuality and more. Releasing this month, the hardcover book retails for $17.99.

From unspeakable memories to undaunted faith

Latest project: Undaunted, written with Cristóbal Krusen (Tyndale House Publishers).

Why did you choose this particular time in your life to write a memoir? I never intended to write a memoir, but over the last 10-15 years, scores of people have said you need share your life story. And I said, well, I don’t feel that I have the authority to do that. They said, “It will help so many people in their walk with Christ and coming to know Christ.” This seemed to be the time when the movie came to reality and the right man to write it, Cristóbal Krusen, so usually you don’t see a movie like this until after a person has died. And often a book like this doesn’t come out until afterwards. But maybe while I’m still alive, it will give me a greater platform to impact more for Christ.

Followers of your ministry know that you set out to disprove the Bible. That didn’t work out so well, did it? The simple answer is no. The reason it didn’t work out is that I was ignorant. Like most people, I never knew there was evidence, abundant evidence on the reliability of the Scriptures. I never knew about the abundance of manuscript evidence. So when I set out to write Evidence That Demands a Verdict against Christianity, I was persuaded against my will. I had to struggle because my mind told me it was true, but my heart wanted to go another way. I didn’t want to become a Christian, but the evidence became so dominant that I had to make a decision.

What surprises are there in this book—things we don’t know about Josh McDowell? I think that there are a number of surprises. One, most people never understood the extent of my background with sex abuse—I call it homosexual rape—with a background of violence in the family, which is so prevalent among so many people today. And then most people didn’t realize the extent of alcoholism in the McDowell family. I think people are going to identify. Ninety percent of people identify with the sex abuse, alcohol or the violence. And I think people are going to walk away with the new surprise, saying, “Wow, it doesn’t matter what my background is, I don’t have to be a victim. I can be more than a survivor, I can be a victor.” Another big surprise they’ll find is how “I needed more than Jesus.” All these people that teach, all you need is Jesus, that’s heresy. When it comes to salvation, all I needed was Jesus, but [for] everything after that, I needed the body of Christ, which is biblical. … God wants to use other people in your life for the healing process.

What do you hope readers take away from reading Undaunted? I hope that they walk away with hope. That no matter what my background is, this is the principle I would like them to walk away with: “There’s nothing too great in my life for God’s power to deal with, nor anything too insignificant for Him to be concerned about.” It they walk away with that … that will free up so many people.

How did the movie tied to this memoir come about? It’s very logical that when you release a movie of this type of the background of an individual, to release the book [as well] because one would promote the other. The book would promote the video, and the video would promote the book. And it was also logical that once we were going to do the book, to see the movie come out because as people read things from the manuscripts, they kept saying, “You’ve got to put this into a movie.” And so it just naturally came out of a flow. It’s a good marketing concept to help bookstores and all. And usually the movie will take people to the book because you have so much more of the detail and answers in writing. So we started a website; we started a book to go with the movie. And I think what is going to surprise people is that we have now learned that in every culture of the world, there are three main crises in people’s lives, in young people’s lives: 1. Sex abuse: At least … 30-40% of all the children in the world have been sexually abused. In the United States, at least a third in the best of churches. In some countries in South America, it is 80%; in some other countries, 90% of boys have been sexually abused. 2. Alcohol. It’s hard to find many young people in the world that have not had the negative affects of alcohol; and then 3. Family violence. These are the trinity of problems facing people in the world, and when we started out with the movie, we never realized that it was going to hit on all three major areas.

How can Christian retailers best convey the import of your message? I would say the best way to do that is that in the three areas of alcohol, violence and sex abuse, this book, this video, can give you answers and give you hope. And second, every person who walks into every bookstore has relationships, whether the person has been sexually abused, alcohol-abused or [has experienced] violence and abuse. And this will give a very practical, understanding way to minister to someone who has been affected in these three areas. This is a book that will have a direct effect in the purchaser’s life or through their life to other people. That is probably the biggest story, and part of the theme would be if you learn one thing out of this book that you’ll never forget, [it] is that there’s nothing too great in your life for God’s power to deal with, nor anything too small or insignificant for His love to be concerned about.

Read more of this Q&A online at www.christianretailing.com/undaunted.

ASK THE AUTHOR: Annie Wald

LATEST PROJECT: Walk With Me: Pilgrim’s Progress for Married Couples (September).

PUBLISHER: River North Fiction (Moody Publishers).

When did you first become acquainted with The Pilgrim's Progress and has it been a well-loved classic in your life? I first read the story to our children, using the beautifully illustrated “Dangerous Journey” version. I also enjoyed Cheryl Ford’s wonderful retelling in contemporary English.

Was there something in particular that inspired you to rework it for married couples? As our daughters became adults, I wanted to share with them the hard, but good lessons I had learned about living out the gospel in marriage. Since I’m a fiction writer, telling a story seemed the best way for me, and Bunyan’s classic, with its focus on God’s Word, was an ideal pattern to follow.

Where do you see you and your husband in this book? In our own marriage, we visited many places in the book. We were stuck in the Swamp of Selfishness for a long time and struggled through the Plains of Distance. However, we eventually experienced the Healing Springs and the Warming Hut of Revelation. Thanks to God’s grace, we are now enjoying the Highlands.

Could you reflect on one or two of your favorite passages or lessons of the book for our readers? Peter’s courageous act of obedience when he leaves the Honey Woman by the River of Unfaithfulness and returns to Celeste is a key turning point in the journey to the King’s City. Later, Celeste has to make her own difficult sacrifice when she climbs to the top of Skull Hill to give up her expectation of being loved by Peter. Yet we see how these painful choices brought them closer to the King.

Do you see this as a book that will benefit engaged couples on up to long-married couples? Absolutely. Many engaged couples think they will be the exception to the rule, while couples who have been on the marriage journey for a while can doubt whether change is possible. Wherever we are, we need to be continually reminded of what it looks like to love like Jesus.

Did you have a connection with Eugene Peterson before he wrote the foreword to your book? The Message has been instrumental in making God’s Word alive and active in my life. It was also a significant inspiration as I wrote Walk With Me so Peterson was the natural choice to ask to write the foreword.

How would you encourage Christian retailers in selling Walk With Me? Sooner or later a married person’s hope for ideal love meets the disillusioning reality of daily living. Christians are stunned to discover how selfish they can be (and their spouses too!). But they also believe their faith can make a difference, and they are hungry for encouragement to help them persevere. Walk With Me applies the wisdom of God’s Word to the heartfelt struggles of married couples.

Finally, is there another classic to adapt in your writing future? There are so many treasures from the past that deserve a fresh telling to a new generation. But I may return to Bunyan’s classic again and follow Peter and Celeste’s children as single Christians.

Influential leader Billy Wilson sees the lack of fathers’ interest in their children as a wound that can lead to a spiritual revolution. In Father Cry: Healing Your Heart and the Hearts of Those You Love (Chosen/Baker Publishing Group), he tells his personal story along with biblical examples, revealing how older and younger generations can turn the pain of parental wounding into a place of ministry. Releasing this month, the book retails for $12.99.

With a foreword by William Paul Young—author of The Shack—The Shack Revisited (FaithWords, $14.99, Oct. 2) examines the theology behind the international best-selling novel. Written by C. Baxter Kruger, Ph.D., a Trinitarian scholar and director of Perichoresis Ministries, the new book aims to “depict the mystery of God in a way that ultimately leads to a better understanding of His great love for humanity,” Kruger said.

David Jeremiah—best-selling author, senior pastor and Turning Point Bible teacher—reexamines one of the Bible’s most profound but basic truths, titling his latest book God Loves You: He Always Has—He Always Will. Releasing this month from FaithWords, the book also addresses God’s actions that can be perceived as negative, including His prohibitive commandments, and shows how they can only be understood by viewing them in the light of God’s love. God Loves You retails for $23.99.

Sheryl Brady—who serves as pastor of The Potter’s House of North Dallas under the leadership of bishop T.D. Jakes—believes that God has empowered His children to do the impossible. Like many in the Bible who didn’t understand the truth about their identities until it was revealed by God, Christians today must reconsider the way they see themselves. Brady aims to inspire in the believer a new perspective on the past and a new strength to succeed. You Have It in You! (Howard Books) goes on sale Oct. 2 for $21.99. 

Ron Phillips inspires readers not to settle for the ordinary Christian life, but to make radical steps to take God at His Word just as many Bible figures did. As the leader of a Southern Baptist congregation that has experienced Spirit-driven renewal, Phillips aims to impart a passion for supernatural change in A God-Sized Future. The book, which has a foreword by Perry Stone, releases this month from Charisma House and retails for $14.99.

Having sold more than 200,000 copies with A Grace Disguised, which told the story of how he lost his daughter, wife and mother in a car accident, Jerry Sittser follows now with A Grace Revealed, published by Zondervan this month. Retailing for $19.99, the new hardcover reveals God’s redeeming work in the midst of tragic circumstances, helping readers see that God is writing their beautiful story, too.

Scott Stapp, GRAMMY-winning frontman of the multi-Platinum rock band Creed, struggled with drugs and alcohol, which led to his divorce and a suicide attempt. Now, from his fundamentalist upbringing to his renewed relationship with Christ, Stapp tells his story in Sinner’s Creed, a memoir from Tyndale House Publishers. On sale Oct. 2, the hardcover book retails for $24.99.

Danielle D’Souza, daughter of Dinesh D’Souza, addresses 34 pressing questions asked about God by believers and skeptics alike in Y God, a Regal Books October release retailing for $19.99. Written in conversation style, Y God invites readers—millenials and anyone who has doubts about the Scriptures’ portrayal of God—to engage in an intelligent discussion about the relevance of faith.