Mud and the masterpiece : seeing yourself and others through the eyes of Jesus

John Burke is the author of No Perfect People Allowed and Soul Revolution , and the lead pastor of Gateway Church in Austin, Texas, which he and his wife, Kathy, founded in 1998. Since then, Gateway has grown to over 4,500 members, made up mostly of unchurched people who began actively following Christ at Gateway. John is also the founder and president of Gateway Leadership Initiative (formerly Emerging Leadership Initiative), a nonprofit organization working to help church planting pastors and ordinary Christians "raise the church out of the culture" around the world. John has spoken in fifteen countries to over 200,000 church leaders and Christians about reaching a postmodern, post-Christian culture. He and Kathy have been married twenty-three years and currently reside in Austin, Texas, with their two children, Ashley and Justin. Why were sinners so attracted to Jesus yet repelled by the religious? It had everything to do with the heart of Jesus. They sensed that Jesus was for them--not against them. When broken, sinful people feel repelled by Christians, we must assess whether our hearts reveal the heart of God or reflect the heart of the Pharisees. Through this engaging study of Jesus's encounters with imperfect people, combined with real-life stories of ordinary people having Christlike impact, readers will learn how to show unshockable love toward those around them. Seeing through the eyes of Jesus. A glutton, drunk, and friend of sinners -- Unshockable -- Restoring value -- Calling out the masterpiece -- Speaking truth in love -- Respecting freedom -- Sharing their pain -- Sharing Jesus' good message -- Hardened mud and the hammer of truth ; On mission with Jesus. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things -- Create relational momentum -- Serve your neighbors with your neighbors -- "Come as you are" learning space -- Everyone can develop someone -- Accelerate and multiply with worship and teaching Bestselling author and pastor invites readers to love and engage with the messy people around them in ways that disarms and moves them to real relationship with Jesus. REL012120,Christian life,Jesus Christ—Example,Interpersonal relations—Religious aspects—Christianity Invites readers to love and engage with the messy, or "muddy" people around them to see the same original work of art underneath that God created them to be and that Jesus saw in imperfect people Bestselling author and pastor invites readers to love and engage with the messy people around them in ways that disarms and moves them to real relationships with Jesus