Slow start, great finish.

There's a reason why I almost put down 'Jesus Manifesto' by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola, the first 1/3 was kind of dull. Not because the information was boring, but it was kind of redundant, and 'obvious'. Mind you, I think that's the point, to me a conversation for three chapters on the centrality of Jesus to the Christian faith isn't necessary.

I can understand why it was crucial to include because their target market need to hear the obvious message because the foundation of Jesus has been lost in American churches.

With that being said, the final 1/3 of the book got me thinking about some important questions. For me personally, it forced me to explore some ideas in a way only an NT Wright publication could.... That's a tall order indeed and part of the reason I would recommend this book to the right person.

Jesus Manifesto is so obvious yet so crucial. Christianity today has been taken over by declining yet loud conservative and/or prosperity voice. Most churches in North America glorify only a few core things whether they know it or not: their lead pastor, money, the Bible.

The lead pastor is the CEO leader who gets all the face time. The Bible is set up on a pedestal that not even Jesus can supplant. Both are the wrong things to glorify. Lately, it seems the message coming out of Christianity are two things: do the right things to gain the favour of God and live in prosperity, and fight the moral cause to bash gays, ban abortion, and prop up creationism.

Something perhaps worthy to fight, but not cornerstones of the Christian faith.

In comes Jesus Manifesto which essentially points out the elephant in the room, or in this case the missing Jesus in our churches. We've replaced the CHRIST in CHRISTiaity with convenient truths that help pad the pews rather than seeking out a humble and authentic relationship with the creator of the universe.

The absolute foundation of the Christian faith is rooted in the person of Jesus Christ who, through his death and resurrection, rescued humanity while simultaneously leading his church and people to be part of the rescue plan of redemption here on earth. And this is only a glimpse of the grand revelation behind Christ (then and now).

Sweet and Viola could have lamented on the meaningless things that consume our time in church today, but rather, they focus squarely on the Jesus revelation, and how through Jesus we develop our identity and our response.

But this isn't just a 'be like Jesus call'.

I've been breaking down a paradigm of mine that believes the journey of a Christian is to 'be like Jesus'. It suggests that our job, or our pursuit, is to live a life more and more like Jesus Christ. I've been re-thinking this attitude namely because I don't think that's the whole story to the Christian life. Sure, you can construct a case to support the 'be like Jesus' clause, but I'm noticing something different when I read the New Testament. Here's where the book really come through for me personally.

The construct of 'be like Jesus' implies there's a) something you can do to earn 'more' of something from God, b) if we don't do 'enough' of whatever it is we're left with a sense of guilt and shame, c) the bible is clear that we cannot work towards anything, we're either saved by grace entirely or not, and most important d) to suggest we can 'be like Jesus' means we can individually pursue on our own strength, and gain enough knowledge, to know God.

Why is the last component so crucial? Because 'imitate Jesus' is a pursuit of knowledge. This is a stark contrast to what we find the gospels where Jesus lives in us and us in him. The former is an empty pursuit that leads to frustration, the latter outlines the incarnation of the gospel indwelt within the Christian.

We have received the fullness of Christ which leads to glimpses of the real Jesus for others. Those outside of the church will no longer see vain religion but Christ's love for them. Trying to 'be like Christ' is the tireless quest that breeds failure and relies on rules and regulations. This is the basis for formulaic (and empty) religion which people can also see.

When we opt to care more about rules sand regulations and morality over relationships and love of people, we no longer communicate the fullness of the gospel.

It's not about what cause (be it the abortion debate or daily devotions) you fight for, that's a vain pursuit, but how our Christian faith is rooted in the indwelling Christ which impacts the way we live.

Christians need to rethink whether they're seriously grounded in Jesus, or whether he's a fleeting expression that we've watered down to fit our empty and increasingly lifeless church and personal endeavors.

Jesus Manifesto gets 3.5 stars out of 5. This review was part of a free book for review program with Booksneeze.com.