A Stranger in the House of God: From Doubt to Faith and Everywhere in Between - Softcover

Koessler, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0310274133 ISBN 13: 9780310274131

Publisher: Zondervan, 2007

Synopsis

Growing up the son of agnostics, John Koessler saw a Catholic church on one end of the street and a Baptist on the other. In the no-man's land between the two, this curious outside wondered about the God they worshipped---and began a lifelong search to comprehend the grace and mystery of God. A Stranger in the House of God addresses fundamental questions and struggles faced by spiritual seekers and mature believers. Like a contemporary Pilgrim's Progress, it traces the author's journey and explores his experiences with both charismatic and evangelical Christianity. It also describes his transformation from religious outsider to ordained pastor. John Koessler provides a poignant and often humorous window into the interior of the soul as he describes his journey from doubt and struggle with the church to personal faith

About this title

About the Author:

John Koessler has written for Discipleship Journal, Leadership, Moody Magazine, Decision, and Christianity Today. He has served as a pastor and currently is chair of the pastoral studies department at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. He is the author of several books including True Discipleship and God Our Father. He holds degrees from Wayne State University, Biblical Theological Seminary, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He has made numerous radio and television appearances. He lives in northern Indiana with his wife and sons.

Review:

'Honorable Mention - 2007 Book of the Year for the Preacher's Soul. In the ever-expanding sphere of spiritual memoirs, John Koessler's 'A Stranger in the House of God' deserves a special look. Koessler paints a portrait of his faith journey in courageously transparent strokes, inviting us to feel the pain of being an outsider looking in, the whiplash of failed prayer, the ups and downs of pastoral ministry, or the uncertainty of deciphering theology that seems just beyond grasp. From start to finish, we feel a subtle push to reflect on our own faith journey or simply to gather enough courage to take another trembling step.' -- PreachingToday.com

(PreachingToday.com)

'[John Koessler's] memoir, in which he proves himself a graceful writer, is a coming-of-age and coming-to-faith saga. The book is immediately accessible....Koessler is disarmingly self-revelatory, at first curiously observing people of faith as an outsider, then eventually gushing theological and spiritual insights while never positioning himself above his readers....In an age when the church faces disparities among right-wing conservatives, the emergent church, and even a Pope who claims the Catholic Church as the only true church, Koessler's quiet little memoir is instructive. 'A Stranger in the House of God' returns us to common roots -- to how churches and believers are viewed by outsiders, and to how the power of God unto salvation is still operative on middle America's Everyman.' -- Christianity Today

(Christianity Today)

About this edition

• Publisher: Zondervan
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0310274133
• ISBN 13: 9780310274131
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224