The Cross Before Me: Reimagining the Way to the Good Life

by Rankin Wilbourne; Brian Gregor

Publisher:

David C Cook

, 2019

Winner of The Gospel Coalition 2019 Book Award for Popular Theology

In The Cross Before Me, award-winning author Rankin Wilbourne and co-author Brian Gregor offer a provocative perspective on why the cross is God’s wisdom about the way to a good and beautiful life. Drawing on biblical truths, historical writings, and modern examples they ask, “What does the cross have to tell us about the art of living a fully human life? What if the things we’re most afraid of are the pathway to freedom? What if the way of humility and suffering gives us peace in a way our successes never could?”
 
The Cross Before Me is for anyone who wonders what the shape of Jesus’ life has to teach us about finding the life Jesus promises. This unique book helps readers reimagine the good life as they learn to delight in releasing power and embracing the cross as the only path to human flourishing.
 

Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1. The Cross and the Art of Human Flourishing . . . . . . . . . . 29
2. The Scandal of the Cross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3. Cruciform Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4. Humility as the Heart of the Cruciform Life . . . . . . . . . 101
5. Cruciform Freedom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
6. Cruciform Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
7. Cruciform Suffering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
8. Cruciform Glory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
9. Cruciform Living . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Praise for The Cross Before Me

“An often-overlooked facet of Jesus’ ministry is that he taught the way of the cross long before he died on one. The Cross Before Me is a lucid, learned, life-changing guide along the upside-down journey to human flourishing. It will inspire and enlighten anyone who dwells in the words.”

“This is an urgent and challenging yet ultimately hopeful book. I know it’s going to help others the way it encouraged me to find life in the way of the cross. Wilbourne and Gregor know that Jesus’ way isn’t popular today. But I’m so thankful they’ve shown us the truth about abundant life.”

“Rankin and Brian have an uncanny ability to explain deep, complicated truths in a way that almost anyone can understand. The rare combination of intellect and accessibility that they possess shines in this wonderful book. They expand our vision for how the cross not only secures our pardon, but also establishes for us a pattern of life that will lead to freedom and flourishing.”

“In this extraordinarily perceptive and powerful book, pastor and philosopher show us how the way of the cross is, surprisingly, the way of life, happiness, and communion with God. I firmly believe that the faithfulness of everyday Christians, the renewal of the church, and the flourishing of humanity depend on taking the sorts of insights and examples found in this book with the utmost seriousness—by embracing them as a way of life.”

“There is a door that each person longs to walk through: the door to happiness. But that door has a lock. The key to that lock has a stunningly simple shape: the shape of the cross. This key was forged in the fires of Jesus’ suffering and death, and polished by the glory of his resurrection. This book explains how to take hold of that

“In a culture of self-expression and radical individualism, Wilbourne and Gregor offer a counterintuitive yet deeply meaningful message: God’s way of human flourishing is through a cross-shaped life. Christ’s death on the cross is not only the key moment of our conversion, but it has the power to reform all of life. This book is profound, practical, and provides a much-needed paradigm shift for followers of Jesus. I highly recommend it.”

“You won’t find slogans like ‘Happiness is following Jesus’ way of the cross’ in contemporary culture. The idea that to save our lives we first must lose them is as counterintuitive and countercultural in our time as it was in Jesus’. Wilbourne and Gregor rightly remind us that the cross is not simply the event at the end of Jesus’ story but the mark that characterizes his whole life, revealing God as self-giving, cruciform love. I’m delighted that a pastor and a philosopher have pooled their resources to make this compelling case for the wisdom of viewing all of life in light of the cross. This is an urgent appeal for rethinking everything we value through the lens of cruciformity.”

“The Cross Before Me heralds the upside-down wisdom of the cross—a paradox meant for settling into the marrow of our lives and forming us into the image of Jesus. But it’s not enough to think of the cross, the authors remind. Rather, if we’re to be led into God’s enduring joy, the glorious shadow of the cross must fall over every square inch of our longings and ambitions, hopes and dreams. Rarely do books cover as much important, theological ground as this one, which makes it a delight for me to recommend.”

The desire for happiness is universal. We all want happiness. And yet we just can’t seem to possess it.  Maybe it’s time to take another route, a cross shaped route.  Rankin Wilbourne and Brian Gregor winsomely point us to the only true way to happiness, a way that necessitates death in order to truly be fully alive, to be truly happy.”

“I love this book! The Cross Before Mebrings the reader on an extraordinary journey. Accessible yet deep, it invites readers into the wondrous caverns of Scripture and the Christian tradition in articulating a much-needed word to today’s church: if you want to flourish, pursue the way of the cross in Jesus Christ. The message is counterintuitive but true. Beautifully written, Wilbourne and Gregor make this case by drawing together a colorful tapestry of voices from literature, philosophy, theology, and popular culture. I give thanks to God for this book, and I plan to recommend it frequently.”

Product Details

• Title : The Cross Before Me: Reimagining the Way to the Good Life
• Authors:
  • Wilbourne, Rankin
  • Gregor, Brian
• Publisher: David C Cook
• Publication Date: 2019
• ISBN: 9780830778591

About the Authors

Rankin Wilbourne is senior pastor of Pacific Crossroads Church in Los Angeles and the author of Union with Christ. Rankin and his wife, Morgen, live in Los Angeles with their three children.
 
Brian Gregor teaches philosophy at California State University and is the author of A Philosophical Anthropology of the Cross. Brian lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Meg, and their two children.