Jesus Mean and Wild: The Unexpected Love of an Untamable God | 
| Author: Mark Galli
Publisher: Baker Books
Category: Book
List Price: $17.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 173261
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 208
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 5.6 x 1
ISBN: 0801012848
Dewey Decimal Number: 232.903
EAN: 9780801012846
ASIN: 0801012848
Publication Date: July 1, 2006
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Condition: Same day shipping! Dust jacket perfect, no marks anywhere. Non-smoking
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Product Description
Many Christians are used to the idea of a meek and mild Jesus, the stereotypical "nice guy." Countering these all too prevalent notions, Mark Galli offers a unique study of seventeen troubling passages from the book of Mark to prove we should be anything but comfortable with Christ. Highlighting the incontrovertible fact of an untamable and often militant Messiah, Galli gives readers a training manual in spiritual growth to awaken sleeping believers and transform them into devoted disciples. Hinging on the compelling nature of the love of God, he explains how this mean and wild Jesus shows us truer love than our pleasant construct ever could. Striking and bold, but always rooted in Scripture, Jesus Mean and Wild will put readers on the road to true discipleship.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
 Whitewash September 10, 2007
0 out of 7 found this review helpful
What? Jesus curses a fig tree for not bearing fruit out of season or calls a mother seeking help for her child a dog? No worries. It's all good, a kindness don't you see. I believe a miracle is in order here. It's not so much turning water into wine, but the venom of brutish, nasty behavior into the milk of human kindness. Why start thinking now? To say it is to make it so!
Once you throw reason out the window, you can let pretty much anything in the door.
This is how faith evolves with time
And the sun turns even as your mind
 Need Help Smashing Your "God Box"? June 11, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Wow! So many things make sense when you get a more accurate understanding of Who Jesus is and how He views things. I got so much encouragement regarding the church in its seemingly impoverished state, and my involvement therein---(I was beginning to faint)...Not to lift up the man, but God speaks cutting, cleansing, healing truth through Mr. Galli. Anyone would benefit from this encounter!
Is a book you won't want to miss --- and really, you can't afford to June 5, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Jesus is often portrayed as meek and mild, but a thorough reading of the gospels reveals that the Son of God was anything but passive. Mark Galli, managing editor of Christianity Today and a former Presbyterian minister, takes a hard look at the real Jesus --- one whose actions, words and wisdom are anything but gumbylike.
In 17 short chapters, JESUS MEAN AND WILD walks readers the book of Mark, digging deep into bite-size portions of scripture. Galli writes:
"For those who truly want to know and love God as he is, the warm and friendly Jesus, although an attractive idea, is but an idol. And the fascist God will simply not do. To enjoy a full-orbed faith will require that our idea of God gain some unnerving texture, some dynamic energy, some subtlety and depth. It will require that we live into the love of God as manifested in the mean and wild Christ. This Jesus reveals not a one-dimensional, sentimental love --- a love that merely makes us feel good --- but a love capable of saving a desperate world."
Galli's writing is poised, thought-provoking, and at times tastes like Godiva. Not only does he manage to weave stories of himself and his experiences into the text, he also draws on a rich well of insights from theologians, writers and Christians from all ages who have displayed the mean and wild side of Christ. Stories of well-known believers such as Hudson Taylor and St. Francis of Assisi run alongside tales of saints scarcely heard of. The result is a compelling book that brings you deeper into the heart of God.
Tucked within the pages of this book, you'll find Galli exploring, explaining and tackling some of the pendulum swings of the modern church. He delicately raises hot-button issues and offers a balanced response to some of the more excessive trends in the church.
In his chapter "Love That Makes Enemies," he writes:
"To be sure, there is risk especially in loving the theologically or morally wayward. Out of mere sympathy, we may become tempted to compromise our values to be nice to them. But true love is robust. It includes compassion and confrontation, empathy and truth-telling, kindness and sternness. When we enter such relationships, we must enter them not with sentimentality but with full-orbed love. This takes not only compassion but courage. Yet it is that very combination that so often gets us in trouble."
Overall, JESUS MEAN AND WILD is one of the best books I've read this year. I had planned on a quick read, but instead I found myself savoring each chapter like fine chocolate --- enjoying a single piece a day in the hopes that the sweetness would last. Eventually the book came to a close, and I found myself wanting to read it again. With chapters short enough to read like a devotional, JESUS MEAN AND WILD is a book you won't want to miss --- and really, you can't afford to.
--- Reviewed by Margaret Feinberg
Too much of a stretch January 28, 2007
8 out of 15 found this review helpful
Mark Galli's book helps to shed light upon Jesus's character -- instead of the "warm and fuzzy" Jesus some people follow, Jesus is portrayed as "not always nice", "demanding", "fear and shame-maker", "forsaker", "desire unfulfiller".... Galli chooses to base each chapter on a different aspect of Jesus from 1-2 verses taken from the Gospel of Mark. Some of what Galli writes fits with the verses chosen, but more often than not found that what he writes was really out of context with the entire passage the verses came from.
Many of the chapters made me feel uncomfortable -- not because the book was doing it's job of changing my perspective of Jesus -- but rather the author's stretching of the truth. For example, he wrote "So we struggle with Jesus in such moments because he so willing employs shame and fear and physical intimidation to motivate people." His quote refers to Mark 11:15-17. None of the versions of the Bible mention this scenario with Jesus actually using "shame" tactics; it's the author's own interpretation.
My main concern is that someone who takes Galli's ideas to heart will become demanding, impatient, guilt-driven, mean followers of Jesus. And not in a good way.
Thought-Provoking! January 13, 2007
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Awesome! Couldn't put the book down. It's certainly changed the way I read the Gospels in the Bible. It made you think of just how multi-faceted Jesus is. The concept that has affected my total understanding of Jesus is that we can never fully know Him. There is always more 'mystery' to be discovered, so He is always new . . . every morning!
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