Firsthand: Ditching Secondhand Religion for a Faith of Your Own

Stop copying someone else's religion.
Start living out a faith that's all your own.
 
A “firsthand” faith is never what somebody tells you it should be, even if that person is a parent, friend, or pastor. “Firsthand” means you went after it for yourself and now it’s all yours. That kind of faith is changes everything, but most people only find it by facing tough questions. Like:
 
• If God is real, why does he feel far away?
• Can I ever get past the dos and don’ts of church?
• Why should I even try to follow God when I fail so often?
• How do I experience a relationship with Christ that’s more than surface level?
• Is it possible to have authentic faith when I have so many doubts?
• How can I connect with others who take firsthand faith seriously?
 
In these pages, Ryan and Josh Shook talk candidly about growing up in church only to realize that “how things are supposed to be” had stopped working for them. They set out to find what makes a young person’s faith stick—or not. 
 
Each chapter is designed to spark a discussion, and comes complete with personal inventories, Bible teaching, small-group discussion questions, and links to original video.
 
Now includes bonus “Looking Back from Here” Q&A with the authors

RYAN SHOOK is a filmmaker and blogger. A graduate of Baylor University, he is married to Sarah, and they live in Houston, Texas. JOSH SHOOK is a musician, a song writer, and a graduate of Belmont University. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee.