The Sacred Overlap: Learning to Live Faithfully in the Space Between(Seedbed Resources)

The widening of political, racial, generational, and religious differences leads too often to an "us vs. them" mentality. The Sacred Overlap communicates a refreshing vision that embraces tension and shows us how to live in radical love and faithfulness between the extremes that isolate and divide people. The gospels display how Jesus was committed to crossing the either/or waters of the cultural and societal wars of his day. His miracles and parables often broke or ignored religious and political lines that seemed all important. He comforted the disturbed and disturbed the comfortable. Using Jesus' example, J. R. Briggs offers a fresh and relevant understanding of evangelism and discipleship in our present time of extreme polarization. Without sacrificing biblical integrity, The Sacred Overlap is a joyful exploration of the complexity of life in the peace of Christ. With careful discernment, Briggs: Shares creative ways to engage with God's mission of ministering to those who are intrigued by Jesus but turned off by church. Explores what it means to be joyful in the midst of heart-wrenching pain and earthly suffering. Models what it means to maintain a posture of convicted civility which emphasizes both grace and truth. The Sacred Overlap helps readers see how Christians are called to live with their feet firmly planted in two different worlds—in both heaven and earth—living naturally with both the sacred and the ordinary. Only then can a Christian be a faithful witness and disciple of Jesus.

About the Author :
Skye Jethani (@skye_jethani) is the executive editor of the Leadership Media Group at Christianity Today and also contributes regularly to Relevant, The Huffington Post, and radio programs around the country. His blog (www.skyejethani.com) was awarded 2nd prize for the best Christian blog by the ECPA. Skye earned his MDiv degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He and his wife live in Wheaton, Illinois, with their three children.

Review :
'If we have any hope of discipling the next generation in the way of Jesus, it's vital we release our fear of mystery and make a home in the sacred overlap. J.R. Briggs writes with thoughtful discernment about how the nuance and complexity of life can find resolution in the peace of Christ, even when we don't have all the answers. I am deeply grateful for this book.' 'In a day where the world, our culture, and the church are marked by a continual default to division and defensiveness, J.R. Briggs offers us a vision of an interconnected, integrated, and incarnated way of being in the world. In the engaging and entertaining 'both/and' character of this book, Briggs helps us to see God and reality in ways that are both deeply inspiring and profoundly uncomfortable, completely biblical and distressingly disruptive, breathtakingly spiritual and shockingly down-to-earth. This book should be read by all those who want to be formed into someone who can personally participate in crossing divides and working for a genuinely restorative common good--and are willing to have their assumptions challenged every step of the way.' 'In a time when our world, the culture, and the church are polarized like never before, J.R. helps us to explore 'Jesus in the both/and.' Not a middle-of-the-road faith that lacks conviction, but a bold, fresh way of seeing the brilliance of Jesus displayed in the tension of the opposites. Steeped in Scripture, classic thinkers, and storyful metaphors, The Sacred Overlap is a much-needed perspective and spiritual life reboot.' 'In the early days, it was a core Christian capacity to live in tension--in but not of the world. With agility, J.R. Briggs teaches those first-century Eastern Christian skills to twenty-first-century Western Christians. As we are stretched to hold these seemingly incompatible truths in our small minds and bodies, we, as individuals and a movement, may be transformed!' 'In The Sacred Overlap, J.R. explores some of the most complex aspects of discipleship by integrating the idea of paradox at the heart of theological truth, experiencing the world through a both/and frame, seeing the sacred in ordinary things. This is not just well-written book, it is also a very convincing one.' 'One of J.R.'s great gifts is his ability to ask unique questions in ways that help us all live more fully into kingdom realities. The Sacred Overlap is another such example. In a deeply divided world of either/or thinking, J.R. helps to chart a course that not only embraces the tensions of life but allows us to see that this is actually a better way. There is rich wisdom for those who desire to live the 'in between' faithfully.' 'The Sacred Overlap calls us out of a formulaic faith lacking fruit and vibrancy, and calls us to the experience and practice of a faith that is rooted in truth, intriguingly mysterious, authentically joyful, and abundantly practical. J.R.'s words will be humbly inviting and challenging for believer and seeker alike as he reintroduces the person of Jesus and the life of his followers.' 'The Sacred Overlap is a winsome push beyond the either/or to the both/and, a disturbing nudge that moves us beyond the tribal, an inspiring prod to the way of God at work in the world in Jesus Christ. I hope you'll read this book, written so well by an engaged mind, and let it challenge your imagination to become the kind of Christian our world is so desperate for.' 'This is a book I wish I could have written. The invitation to paradoxical mystery in the Christian life is not only something we desperately need to hear about, we couldn't hear it from a better teacher. Briggs has crafted something beautiful here worthy of our attention. Here's to entering the glorious mystery.' 'We live in a chaotic world where life is often messy, if not paradoxical. Such paradoxes saturate the Scriptures. In The Sacred Overlap, J.R. Briggs helps us to learn to live and thrive in the tension of the paradoxes of the Christian faith.'