Over the past couple of years since we at Bethel Church in Fargo, North Dakota, experienced a brief but important sermon series entitled, “Crazy Sex: Embracing God’s Best in a World Gone Crazy,” people have been asking if I might amplify that series in book form.
Well . . . the answer is yes. Crazy Sex: Embracing God’s Best in a World Gone Crazy, has just been released by CrossBooks Publishers, and is available in both book format and electronically. Let me take a moment and offer one of the primary reasons for this effort, quoting from the Introduction to the book:
Understandably, you may be wondering what in the world you are about to read. Perhaps you are even embarrassed a bit by the book’s title, hoping that no one will even notice. If you have a traditional copy perhaps you are tempted to hide the cover or rip it off. Or, maybe you are reading an e-book version, with much relief; for no one really sees what it is you have before you.
Perhaps the whole notion of this book has tantalized you. You came across it on the Internet or heard a friend mention it. You wondered just what juicy things might be found between the bookends. You are curious.
Anticipating.
Excited.
Scared.
The reality is a book like this seems a bit weird. There is so much noise today about sex and sexuality, what could one more voice truly offer? But because crazy ideas about sex and sexuality so dominate our world today, some book seeking to thoughtfully process these things is necessary. Trust me when I write that this effort is not about being weird.
It is about being weary. Bone tired, in fact.
I am weary of the greater culture owning the message about sex and sexuality. It is time for those of us who follow Jesus Christ to stand up and stop blushing and speak with courage and clarity about the raw realities of sex and sexuality and the ways our understandings of these things shape us. In the public square, in the market place, among families, and in academia, the distortions about sex and sexuality are beyond the pale. Meanwhile we in the church generally do one of two things. We either cater to the distorted notions of sex and sexuality, much like a number of the traditional mainline denominations have with regard, for instance, to homosexuality, or we do nothing but squawk and scream and point fingers, all the while refusing to honestly look inwardly at our own unaddressed waywardness. We sit idly on the sidelines while the world blows right by us on these matters, defining the rules and scripting the playbook. With so much at stake it is time for us to rise up and ask with boldness, “What does God say about these things?”
But answering that question is challenging. This is because we are so hyper-saturated with the world’s distorted message. We are like those at the carnival who walk into the fun house. There we see the mirror, but rather than seeing ourselves with splendor and dignity we see something distorted and warped; not even real. That is the “photoshopped” message the world communicates about sex and sexuality. We cannot escape it, and even when we try it does not take much to stimulate those ideas and images that wreak havoc on our souls. Indeed, it is time we said, “Enough!” It is time we embraced what is God’s best in a world gone crazy.
If you are inclined to do so, may I ask you to pray for the fruitfulness of the book? Pray that lives will be changed, shame will give way to honor, and joy will stand in the place of fear. Moreover, I would love to hear any stories you may have regarding how the book might be helpful, or, perhaps the sermon series. Let me know. In the meantime, if you are interested, you may order the book right here.
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