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God once declared everything in the world “very good”. Imagine.
A Vision of Hope for a Broken World
Shalom is what God declared. Shalom is what the Kingdom of God looks like.
Shalom is when all people have enough.
It’s when families are healed.
It’s when churches, schools, and public policies protect human dignity.
Shalom is when the image of God is recognized, protected and cultivated in every single human.
Shalom is our calling as followers of Jesus’s gospel. It is the vision God set forth in the Garden and the restoration God desires for every broken relationship.
Shalom is what our souls long for.
Shalom is the “very good” in the gospel.
What can we do to build shalom between nations, in our communities, and in our own lives? Through a careful exploration of biblical text, particularly the first three chapters of Genesis, in The Very Good Gospel Lisa Sharon Harper shows us what “very good” can look like today—in real time.
Because despite our anxious minds, despite division and threats of violence, God’s vision remains: Wholeness for a fragmented world. Peace for a hurting soul. Shalom.
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Endorsements
“This is a welcome read that invites a rethinking of faith and life that is much too much dumbed down to thin. Our preoccupation with “diet and exercise” might be good for thinning our bodies to health. But such thinning of faith is a recipe for chaos and death. Harper witnesses to the otherwise of a saving transformative, reconciling faith that is indeed “very good.”
Walter Brueggemann
Columbia Theological Seminary
“Lisa Sharon Harper has presented the Gospel, the good news, as it was meant to be— whole and complete. Our world has compromised so many elements of the good news that we are left with a divided Gospel. We need to recover the whole Christian Gospel, the wholeness of the church, the wholeness of relationships. Lisa has unleashed the whole-ism of shalom. Her application of the good news for America, for our culture, in the world, reminds us that God is bigger than our problems. My wish is that Christians, and non-Christians alike, read this book.”
Dr. John Perkins
Co-founder of the Christian Community Development Association, founder of the John and Vera Perkins Foundation in Jackson, Mississippi and author of Let Justice Roll Down
“Lisa Sharon Harper is so smart and interesting—she’s a wonderful leader. I respect her immensely and am passionate about the message of this book.”
Jen Hatmaker
speaker and best-selling author of For the Love
“One can scan across the landscape of the church and not find a better articulator of the essence of the Gospel in the 21st century. Lisa Sharon Harper follows a rich tradition of reformers and iconoclast theological practitioners who deeply love the Gospel and God’s people. She has made it her life’s project to challenge lethargic and cynical people to live love and practice justice. Our world is richer and more vibrant because of her compassionate and strong voice.”
Reverend Dr. Otis Moss III
Senior Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ and author of Blue Note Preaching in a Post-Soul World
