Hopecasting: Finding, Keeping and Sharing the Things Unseen - Softcover

Oestreicher, Mark

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0830836926 ISBN 13: 9780830836925

Publisher: IVP, 2015

Synopsis

Why are some people full of hope, while many of us struggle to get past the snooze alarm? Hope often seems elusive―both to explain and to experience. So we find ourselves instead clinging to lesser substitutes. From self-medication to lazy clichés, we apply these balms to our pain and experience little to no comfort. But we know, in our guts, that these replacements aren?t the hope-filled lives we long for, the lives we were made for. Mark Oestreicher gets it. Through hard-wrought experience and robust-bordering-on-desperate theological reflection, he offers here a fresh perspective on Hope, that virtue that God carries to us even as God carries us. Read Hopecasting and discover a good God casting hope your way.

About this title

About the Author:

Mark Oestreicher is a partner in The Youth Cartel and has worked in churches in roles ranging from junior high pastor to executive pastor. The former president of Youth Specialties, Oestreicher has authored dozens of books.

Scot McKnight (Ph.D., University of Nottingham) is professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lombard, Illinois. He is the author of The Jesus Creed, The King Jesus Gospel, A Community Called Atonement, Embracing Grace, The Real Mary and commentaries on James, Galatians and 1 Peter, and coeditor of the award-winning Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. He is also a widely recognized blogger at the Jesus Creed blog. His other interests include golfing, gardening and traveling.

Review:

"I'm a fan of happiness, and looking for the silver lining seems healthy. But I don't think most people―myself included―find "be happy" or "look for the positive" admonitions to be all that helpful when struggling with pain, sorrow, injustice or stuckness. Oestreicher redefines hope, or better yet, pulls us back to a workable set of postures for receiving hope. This book reminds us that hope is a beautiful gift, an influx of Jesus into our dark and dry souls." (David Crowder, recording artist)

"Mark Oestreicher offers deep encouragement for those of us who have ever struggled to cultivate transformative hope in hard places. Drawing on personal experience, he offers a practical path for pushing through fear and cynicism toward refreshing hope. I am grateful for the invitation Mark offers us here―an invitation into active, faithful confidence in the goodness of God." (Gary A. Haugen, president and CEO, International Justice Mission)

"What I love about this book is that it is not just a theory or a short-term fix for uplifting emotional feelings to try and gain hope. Mark writes from real gut-wrenching stories, not just happy or cliche ones, and does not avoid the reality of struggling to gain hope or admitting it is often difficult even as a Christian. It brings me joy thinking of all those who will read this and how uplifted they will be when they understand that real hope is possible." (Dan Kimball, pastor, Vintage Faith Church, author, They Like Jesus but Not the Church)

"What an honor to read this book―this honest, personal, universal, gob-smackingly buoyant book. Part memoir, part mentor, part prayer for the journey, Oestriecher stares down the cheap and cheesy 'hopes' that Christians fall prey to, in favor of the hard hope of death and resurrection―and channels his signature storytelling for anyone who has ever felt stuck. This book went straight to my heart. (Kenda Creasy Dean, Mary D. Synnott Professor of Youth, Church and Culture, Princeton Theological Seminary, author, Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers Is Telling the American Church)

"Using profound illustrations, engaging personal stories and a deep biblical framework, Oestreicher takes us on an exciting journey―a journey to rediscover hope and the life that it brings. Hopecasting's thesis is simple, but the implications for our lives are profound. Read this book; your life may never be the same again." (Jim Belcher, president, Providence Christian College)

"Hopecasting builds anticipation with each page while avoiding any hint of becoming a self-help, knowledge-based, or a principle-packed read. It is truly in its own class and incredibly easy to read. With Christians and ministry leaders as his main audience, Oestreicher draws out the contemplative traits in all of us to address something so simple and yet so profound as hope. . . . Hopecasting is a breath of fresh air and bursts with the things of God. I think it should be a featured and highlighted read for many months to come." (Jeff Tillson, YouthWorker Journal, May/June 2015)

"Hope, real hope, is not just an idea. It's a life force, a world-changing way of making an impact and living a better story. And in this book, my friend Mark Oestreicher teaches you how to invite such a force into your own life. May you read these words with a willingness to say yes to hope." (Jeff Goins, author, The Art of Work)

"This book showcases an author in full flight and at the height of his powers, extending our range of perception of the future and finding hope on every place of landing." (Leonard Sweet, best-selling author, professor, Drew University and George Fox University, chief contributor to sermons.com)

"If you're out of optimism, regularly frustrated, and at risk of falling into cynicism, you definitely need to read and re-read this book." (Sam Ross, YouthWork Magazine)

"The church world is full of agonizingly trite 'answers' to gut-wrenching internal questions. But in Hopecasting, Mark Oestreicher gives us a straightforward, no-garbage look at the virtue that is proclaimed by the New Testament as the 'anchor of our souls.' How do you grasp onto hope when your world is eroding beneath your feet? How do you cling to hope when your mind is bombarded with signals of hopelessness? Hopecasting is a no-nonsense primer for the virtue that will put oxygen in your spiritual lungs. Read it and expect to find life." (Jeanne Mayo, president, Youth Leader's Coach and The Cadre)

About this edition

• Publisher: IVP
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0830836926
• ISBN 13: 9780830836925
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 187