The Watered Down Gospel

Hi Tyler,

I read chapter 5, about Fear. I found that your words carried great insight, as well as a deep understanding of the human condition, alongside some sparkly knowledge concerning the teachings in the Bible. The arguments were versatile, and your way of cross-referencing provided a very good overview. You dealt with an aspect of 'religion' versus 'faith' which I found inspiring and very relevant. I can see that your teaching is grounded in practice and you employ honesty to examine truth.

I enjoyed reading this as, despite the strong and definite claims which your writing entails, I did not experience a single word of condemnation coming from within the text. And I didn't feel bombarded with scripture to make me feel insignificant either. Instead, I walk away refreshed and a tad more confident that I'm on the right track, even if I feel the roaring floods pushing and jostling around my ankles.
Your writing has uplifted me and given me the courage to continue as I am, a child of a loving God who will watch out for me, knowing that my weaknesses are my strengths as God will continue with his special plan. Thank you for the encouragement. I shall back this book.

Ame
Wolfmother

I just read a little of this, but it is AMAZING. It is easy to read and understand.
It gets to the heart of the matter and it DRIVES it in good and hard.
The title and pitch are excellent!
Best wishes with your book.

Shelby Z./Driving Winds

I love, love LOVE what you've done here. Your call to place Christ a tthe center of your life and to do so in a very real, very intense sort of way is exactly the sort of message that I have been wanting to here. To be, in your words, "little Christs, Jesus freaks" as opposed to diluted His message and ending up a tepid, limp faith is exactly what the church needs to hear. Very well done!

Tyler,

I was really moved by the first chapter of Watered Down Gospel. You have a gift of speaking the truth so plainly.

I especially could relate to the three guys’ responses to following Jesus at the end of the chapter. I could see myself in each of them at certain points in my life.

I am twice your age and have followed Jesus since I was seven . The crazy thing is, I still don’t get it right. I bet a day doesn’t go by that I don’t fail at least in my thoughts, if not in my actions. But I keep praying and trying to work it out. “Jesus, help me to love you with a all my being, help me to be obedient. Help me to love my neighbor like you tell me to.” I’m at the point AGAIN where I am laying my heart open to His will. I’ve said, “Take me, I’m yours” countless times, but still, when I read something like what you’ve written, it makes me feel so underutilized and so underemployed. I am willing, but it seems God is saying wait. That is a very difficult place to be. My pastor says the wilderness or that “Land in Between” is a place where our faith either go to dies or a place where our faith can grow. I want my faith to grow despite this drought of utility.

I took encouragement from your teaching today and I know God knows my willing heart. I’d sell everything and even lay down my life if He asked. If you address that “land in between,“ could you direct me to the book and the chapter? I’d really like to read it. Thanks.

Here’s some other things you wrote that I really liked.

“Jesus naturally generates two responses and neither of them are moderate”

“Love is not a happy song from a big purple dinosaur. It is a raw and dynamic force to be reckoned with.”

“I love the Krispy Kreme illustration and how the church has made Jesus convenient - a tickling of the ears, so to speak…”

“I love how you say our motivation for coming to Jesus is His love for us. You speak so clearly and genuinely. “

“I’m saying exactly that. Jesus is a part of our lives, and that is the problem. He’s supposed to be all of it.”! I added the exclamation point for me.”

Six stars and a promised backing.

Dianna Lanser
Nothing But The Blood

Tyler,

I would love to know if I have over-diluted my Christian message.

Keith
Peppermint

captivating, powerful, inspiring. You mix a strong call to action with a dynamic challenge. Very motivating. The church needs more of this

Opening para: You swing between "He was" and "He is"... I think "is" is the better choice. Same para: you write, "... about Jesus plans..." need an apostrophe after Jesus.
Second para: "Jews would prized ..." (who)

I would love to read this book ... I think once you've "cleaned it up" it could be a great book ... especially for young adults who would relate to the casual language. However, you need to go back and proofread it for obvious errors like those listed above, before you can expect to be picked up by a publisher.

Hi Tyler,

I read chapter 5, about Fear. I found that your words carried great insight, as well as a deep understanding of the human condition, alongside some sparkly knowledge concerning the teachings in the Bible. The arguments were versatile, and your way of cross-referencing provided a very good overview. You dealt with an aspect of 'religion' versus 'faith' which I found inspiring and very relevant. I can see that your teaching is grounded in practice and you employ honesty to examine truth.

I enjoyed reading this as, despite the strong and definite claims which your writing entails, I did not experience a single word of condemnation coming from within the text. And I didn't feel bombarded with scripture to make me feel insignificant either. Instead, I walk away refreshed and a tad more confident that I'm on the right track, even if I feel the roaring floods pushing and jostling around my ankles.
Your writing has uplifted me and given me the courage to continue as I am, a child of a loving God who will watch out for me, knowing that my weaknesses are my strengths as God will continue with his special plan. Thank you for the encouragement. I shall back this book.

Ame
Wolfmother

Hi, Tyler--what a powerful and moving book. What resonates especially with me is The Pendulum Swing. I'm 51. When I was a child, church was all about ritual and following rules and fearing God. I love how this younger generation of ministers has risen up to challenge the old ways and encourage believers to walk with Jesus.

Sometimes I think we didn't water down the Gospel, but we just shared the parts we knew or understood. And because we seldom knew about the love God has for each and every one of his children, we failed to show that to others.

I also like your section on putting Jesus first. Even though we believe we have put Jesus first, we're often just fooling ourselves. My pastor likes saying that he can tell what a person values by looking at their check register. I imagine he seldom finds Jesus in there. He is indeed not a decoration we can put on display at our convenience.

Do you check in on Authonomy often? Would you like to join one of our Christian Crit Groups? In one group, members all read the same book each fortnight and post their reviews to the thread. You’ll find it at http://www.authonomy.com/forums/threads/90961/christian-lit-forum/ In the other forum, members choose a book from the membership list to review with a goal of reading one per month. It’s at http://www.authonomy.com/forums/threads/84425/christian-critique-and-review-group/.

Blessings to you
~AudreyB
Forgiveness Fits

Hi Tyler, A simple but powerful book title!

I think you need a couple of commas and a paragraph break in your long pitch. Love was not the major theme, <--comma) merely the proverbial ..etc .. New para " Out of fear ..etc .. church that was love, <--comma) has been, <-- comma) and is often viewed ..etc .. Hope those commas are right! ... Your sentence, "Love is like dynamite" is powerful!

Chapt 1; You grab the reader's attention with your dynamic descriptions of Jesus! It does need proof reading to correct several typos, add commas. Some of the sentences in the 1st part came across a little choppy to me.

Chapt 2; not sure about "hillbillies" .. maybe instead .. local yokels? afraid some may take offense with hillbillies but then you're talking about the disciples so it's actually a compliment

You've got a unique way of giving an important message that needs to be heard! Your writing is insightful, filled with knowledge, inspirational and energized! And, please feel free to ignore any ideas/suggestions! Lots of Stars!

Jane Lawry
The Genealogists: On Holy Ground

I like your book so far. I will try to comment more later.

After reading this I'm going to check out all your books on here. So interesting. I love the conversational style, relatable tone, strong conviction, and focus of your writing. Some grammar stuff to work on in your manuscript but you have some really solid info. I hope to see this one in bookstores soon.

Fantastic book, I was reading through a bit of it and really felt challenged. I am so used to reading the 'do it yourself' type books that are all about getting a better life now. This really drove towards more than just a silly 'be the best version of yourself' stuff. I love the challenge and conviction of this book.

Happily recommended!

I love your message Tyler - I have read several chapters of your book and your direct style and challenging way of writing are most appealing. I agree with much of what I have read - e.g. if you reduce standards to make something easier to access you also reduce the demands. That is often our problem as Christians - we want an easy life! If only we all made a REAL commitment to Jesus as you suggest we would see significant changes!

I particularly liked chapter 5 about fear and the devil's tactics.

Two things I would like to mention which may help your writing. Firstly, I was distracted by the errors in the writing - which could easily be corrected with a quick proof read. E.g.‘This sort of statement would scandalize Jews would prized themselves on not eating food that was ‘unclean’. Should be 'Jews who would have prized' or 'Jews who prized' or similar. And 'Jesus is love or hate sort of guy' should be 'Jesus is a love or hate sort of guy'. Small points I know, but distracting from an excellent read.

Second point is where you say Jesus was not gentle. I could see what you meant but you have to be careful I think when you directly contradict what He says about Himself! See Matt 11.29 and Matt 21.5. Perhaps this needs a bit more explanation to show why you say it as Jesus called Himslef gentle.

Hope that helps a bit because I love the book and it will spend some time on my bookshelf.

Margaret Weston - How do I know I know God

I just read a little of this, but it is AMAZING. It is easy to read and understand.
It gets to the heart of the matter and it DRIVES it in good and hard.
The title and pitch are excellent!
Best wishes with your book.

Shelby Z./Driving Winds

I love, love LOVE what you've done here. Your call to place Christ a tthe center of your life and to do so in a very real, very intense sort of way is exactly the sort of message that I have been wanting to here. To be, in your words, "little Christs, Jesus freaks" as opposed to diluted His message and ending up a tepid, limp faith is exactly what the church needs to hear. Very well done!

Tyler,

I was really moved by the first chapter of Watered Down Gospel. You have a gift of speaking the truth so plainly.

I especially could relate to the three guys’ responses to following Jesus at the end of the chapter. I could see myself in each of them at certain points in my life.

I am twice your age and have followed Jesus since I was seven . The crazy thing is, I still don’t get it right. I bet a day doesn’t go by that I don’t fail at least in my thoughts, if not in my actions. But I keep praying and trying to work it out. “Jesus, help me to love you with a all my being, help me to be obedient. Help me to love my neighbor like you tell me to.” I’m at the point AGAIN where I am laying my heart open to His will. I’ve said, “Take me, I’m yours” countless times, but still, when I read something like what you’ve written, it makes me feel so underutilized and so underemployed. I am willing, but it seems God is saying wait. That is a very difficult place to be. My pastor says the wilderness or that “Land in Between” is a place where our faith either go to dies or a place where our faith can grow. I want my faith to grow despite this drought of utility.

I took encouragement from your teaching today and I know God knows my willing heart. I’d sell everything and even lay down my life if He asked. If you address that “land in between,“ could you direct me to the book and the chapter? I’d really like to read it. Thanks.

Here’s some other things you wrote that I really liked.

“Jesus naturally generates two responses and neither of them are moderate”

“Love is not a happy song from a big purple dinosaur. It is a raw and dynamic force to be reckoned with.”

“I love the Krispy Kreme illustration and how the church has made Jesus convenient - a tickling of the ears, so to speak…”

“I love how you say our motivation for coming to Jesus is His love for us. You speak so clearly and genuinely. “

“I’m saying exactly that. Jesus is a part of our lives, and that is the problem. He’s supposed to be all of it.”! I added the exclamation point for me.”

Six stars and a promised backing.

Dianna Lanser
Nothing But The Blood

Great read, really convicted me on some things in my life I need to be doing differently.
thanks

the take sounds good and it is true many have watered down the gospel, i will read more later and i will also back it God bless