The original gospel proclamation that the Lord of the nations was a crucified Galilean raised from the dead and that salvation was found in vowing allegiance to Jesus of Nazareth unleashed a shock wave that turned the Roman Empire upside down. Early Christianity was subversive and dangerous—dangerous for Christians and a threat to the keepers of the old order. Most of all Christianity was countercultural. But what about contemporary American Christianity? Is it the countercultural way of Jesus or merely a religious endorsement of Americanism? In his provocative book, Postcards From Babylon, Brian Zahnd challenges the reader to see and embrace a daring Jesus-centered Christianity that can again turn the world upside down."In a bold and daring articulation, Brian Zahnd has sketched a 'Theology of the Cross' for our time and place in the United States of the twenty-first century. He does so in a way that deeply resonates with the primal claims of evangelical theology. He sees that the Gospel is inherently and inescapably countercultural because the God of the Gospel is in particular and passionate solidarity with the 'left behind.'"--Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary"If I had miraculous powers, I would interrupt the programming of every religious broadcast in America, then, as Jesus replaced water with wine, I would substitute the message from Brian Zahnd that you’ll read in this book. Read it and you’ll see why. I recommend that you buy two copies of this book. Immediately read one—underline it and extract quotes from it to share on Facebook and Twitter, and refer to it in sermons and casual conversations. Send the other to that friend or relative who likes to talk about God and country. Include a note asking if they’d be willing to talk with you about it after they read it. Then see what happens as these Postcards from Babylon do their work in you and in others."--Brian D. McLaren, author of The Great Spiritual Migration"This love letter from a concerned pastor will enrage contemporary Pharaohs and their false prophets who blaspheme by blessing everything that Christ came to free us from. Postcards from Babylon diagnoses the diabolical and invites us to become pilgrims on Christ’s narrow road that delivers us out into life."--Jarrod McKenna, pastor, founder of First Home Project for refugees in Australia

Postcards from Babylon: The Church In American Exile

Religion & Spirituality

Zahnd, Brian

Christian Books & Bibles

Spello Press

Why would the pastor of a large and successful church risk everything in a quest to find a richer, deeper, fuller Christianity? In Water To Wine Brian Zahnd tells his story of disenchantment with pop Christianity and his search for a more substantive faith. “I was halfway to ninety—midway through life—and I had reached a full-blown crisis. Call it garden variety mid-life crisis if you want, but it was something more. You might say it was a theological crisis, though that makes it sound too cerebral. The unease I felt came from a deeper place than a mental file labeled “theology.” I was wrestling with the uneasy feeling that the faith I had built my life around was somehow deficient. Not wrong, but lacking. It seemed watery, weak. In my most honest moments I couldn’t help but notice that the faith I knew seemed to lack the kind of robust authenticity that made Jesus so fascinating. And I had always been utterly fascinated by Jesus. What I knew was that the Jesus I believed in warranted a better Christianity than what I was familiar with. I was in Cana and the wine had run out. I needed Jesus to perform a miracle.” –Water To Wine

Water to Wine: Some of My Story

Peri Zahnd walked the Camino de Santiago, an ancient Christian pilgrim route that stretches five hundred miles across Spain, in the fall of 2016 with her husband, Brian. They did this on a Sabbatical taken after thirty-five years pastoring Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Missouri. Every Scene By Heart is an honest and heartfelt spiritual memoir recounting the beauty and difficulties of the trek, the insights and personal transformations experienced, and the surprising gifts of the Camino de Santiago.

Every Scene By Heart: A Camino de Santiago Memoir

Biographies & Memoirs

Zahnd, Peri

Memoirs

We know Jesus the Savior, but have we met Jesus, Prince of Peace? When did we accept vengeance as an acceptable part of the Christian life? How did violence and power seep into our understanding of faith and grace? For those troubled by this trend toward the sword, perhaps there is a better way. What if the message of Jesus differs radically from the drumbeats of war we hear all around us? Using his own journey from war crier to peacemaker and his in-depth study of peace in the scriptures, author and pastor Brian Zahnd reintroduces us to the gospel of Peace.

A Farewell to Mars: An Evangelical Pastor's Journey Toward the Biblical Gospel of Peace

David C. Cook

"People don't abandon faith because they have doubts. People abandon faith because they think they're not allowed to have doubts." Too often, our honest questions about faith are met with cold confidence and easy answers. But false certitude doesn't result in strong faith―it results in disillusionment, or worse, in a dogmatic, overweening faith unable to see itself or its object clearly. Even as a pastor, Austin Fischer has experienced the shadows of doubt and disillusionment. In Faith in the Shadows, he leans into perennial questions about Christianity with raw and fearless integrity. He addresses contemporary science, the problem of evil, hell, God's silence, and other issues, offering not only fresh treatments of these questions but also a fresh paradigm for thinking about doubt itself. Doubt, Fischer contends, is no reason to leave the faith. Instead, it's an invitation to a more honest faith―a faith that's not in control, but that trusts more fully in its Lord.

Faith in the Shadows: Finding Christ in the Midst of Doubt

Fischer, Austin

This is a Christian devotional for the season of Advent.

The Anticipated Christ: A Journey Through Advent and Christmas

Product Description 
Is it possible to hold on to faith in an age of unbelief? 
Intellectual certainty has long been a cornerstone of the Christian faith. But in an age of secularism, skepticism, and cynicism, our worldviews have been shaken. Various solutions exist―some double down on certainty, while others deconstruct their faith until there is nothing left at all. But Brian Zahnd offers a third way: what is needed is not a demolition but instead a renovation of faith. 
Written with personal and pastoral experience, Zahnd extends an invitation to move beyond the crisis of faith toward the journey of reconstruction. As the world rapidly changes in ways that feel incompatible with Christianity, When Everything's on Fire provides much-needed hope. A stronger, more confident faith is possible when it is grounded in the beauty and truth of Christ. Zahnd permits us to risk the journey of deconstruction so that God can forge something more beautiful in its place. 
 Review 
"Pastor Zahnd's fluid voice, both tempered and animated by a mystical streak, creates a deceptively accessible work, especially given its intellectual heft and range of sources (Nietzsche, Derrida, and Dostoyevsky, among others): faith and reason both find common ground in Zahnd's writings. His followers will be glad to hear from him again, and Christian seekers new to his thinking will appreciate his passion and intellect." -- Publishers Weekly Review, November 2021 
 About the Author 
Brian Zahnd is the founder and lead pastor of Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Missouri. Known for his theologically informed preaching and his embrace of the deep and long history of the church, Zahnd provides a forum for pastors to engage with leading theologians and is a frequent conference speaker. He is the author of several books, including Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God, A Farewell to Mars, and Beauty Will Save the World.

When Everything's on Fire: Faith Forged from the Ashes

<div> The cross is the heart of Scripture Everything about the gospel message leads to the cross, and proceeds from the cross. In fact, within the narrative of Scripture, the crucifixion of Jesus is literally the crux of the story--the axis upon which the biblical story turns. But it would be a mistake to think we could sum up the significance of the crucifixion in a tidy sentence or two. That kind of thinking only insulates us from the magnificence of what God has done. In our ongoing quest to make meaning of the cross, we need to recognize that this conversation will never conclude--that there is always something more to be said. Brian Zahnd reminds us that the meaning of the cross is multifaceted and should touch every aspect of our lives. Just as gazing through the eyepiece of a kaleidoscope reveals a new geometric image with every turn, Zahnd helps us see that there are infinite ways to behold the cross of Christ as the beautiful form that saves the world. The Wood Between the Worlds is an invitation to encounter the cross of Christ anew. </div>

The Wood Between the Worlds: A Poetic Theology of the Cross

Literature & Fiction

Poetry

No one wants trouble to come.  But when it does (and it always does), you can recover... you can prevail.  "What do you do on the worst day of your life?"  Brian Zahnd turned to the Bible for answers and discovered in the life of King David an inspiring story of hope and a pattern for full recovery. In What to Do on the Worst Day of Your Life, he reveals the steps you must take to recoverand to recover all. In this audiobook you will hear about David, a man who wept but did not get bitter. You’ll listen in as David reorients his vision and regains his passion. Throughout this journey you will be reminded that God’s great work in David’s life was not an odd, one-off miracle but rather a pattern of faith for you when you face the worst day of your life.  Insert disc 4 into your PC to access a PDF of Bible verses to inpsire and instruct!

What to Do on the Worst Day of Your Life

Oasis Audio

Should we always forgive? Is forgiveness always even possible? Does forgiveness enable evil? Does it sacrifice justice? Are there ANY limits? In a world where the ugliness of rage and retaliation are driving the story line, Unconditional? offers the beauty, reconciliation, and total restoration of forgiveness the way Jesus taught us to live it. More than just another biblical exposition, this audio book begins with the horror of the Holocaust as it explores what forgiveness means—and how far it should go—in the real world of murder, rape, child abuse, genocide, and other atrocities. With unusual honesty, compassion, and depth, Zahnd incorporates some of the most compelling and difficult thoughts on the subject from history’s writers, philosophers, and theologians—always returning to the example Jesus gave us with his life and his death.

Unconditional?: The Call of Jesus to Radical Forgiveness

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