Messy Grace by Caleb Kaltenbach

This is an intriguing book. The author is a pastor who was raised by LGBT parents and experienced the hatred of Christians first hand.  As he grew older he was introduced to the Christian faith and became a follower of Jesus Christ. Not long after he became a Christian he went to Bible College and there felt called into fulltime ministry.

The book's title says it all. It is messy balancing grace and truth when we as Christians encounter those who live a different lifestyle than ours. There are many good points the author makes throughout the book about how to live our lives in this balance. One of these is to continue to love people even when they live a way which is contrary to what God says. The over riding theme of the book is to build relationships in love  and pursue people in the LGBT community in the same way God pursues us.

This is not easy or comfortable, but God may be calling us to get out of our comfort zone to share the gospel. We do not need to change our beliefs and values to be in a relationship with another person. This tension that we feel between grace and truth is love.  The author shares a lot of his own story and his relationship with his parents. This adds to the book and illustrates a lot of the principles he shares.

This is a thought provoking book and I highly recommend this to Christians who are serious about living out their faith in what the author would call a "messy" way and be a loving presence in the lives of those who are different than us.

I received this book from "Blogging for Books" for this review.