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Divine Gravity: Sparking a Movement to Recover a Better Christian Story
A movement manifesto for a more hopeful and Jesus-centered Christianity
Over five hundred years ago, the Western church underwent a period of massive recalibration that exposed abuses and theological blind spots and revived the historical foundations of Christianity. Today, signs suggest that we have entered another such religious reformation as new technologies, ecclesial scandals, and a crisis of biblical authority leave many Christians adrift or deconstructing the faith they once took for granted. The Christian story the church has been telling has become too small, and we are at a dead end.
?
There is hope. Author and pastor Meghan Larissa Good invites readers into a movement that is finding ways to tell a better Christian story—a movement that is already emerging spontaneously as a work of the Spirit in many different wings of the church. Along the way, readers will encounter core rediscoveries of this authentic, Jesus-centered through Christ, God is breathing life among us, restoring creation, and reconciling all divided things. In this better story, isolation, intolerance, polarization, and death have no grip. This story satisfies our deep spiritual hunger, beckoning us to renew the church for the coming centuries and reignite a world-changing global movement.
Over five hundred years ago, the Western church underwent a period of massive recalibration that exposed abuses and theological blind spots and revived the historical foundations of Christianity. Today, signs suggest that we have entered another such religious reformation as new technologies, ecclesial scandals, and a crisis of biblical authority leave many Christians adrift or deconstructing the faith they once took for granted. The Christian story the church has been telling has become too small, and we are at a dead end.
?
There is hope. Author and pastor Meghan Larissa Good invites readers into a movement that is finding ways to tell a better Christian story—a movement that is already emerging spontaneously as a work of the Spirit in many different wings of the church. Along the way, readers will encounter core rediscoveries of this authentic, Jesus-centered through Christ, God is breathing life among us, restoring creation, and reconciling all divided things. In this better story, isolation, intolerance, polarization, and death have no grip. This story satisfies our deep spiritual hunger, beckoning us to renew the church for the coming centuries and reignite a world-changing global movement.
- GenresFaith
224 pages, Hardcover
Published November 7, 2023
5 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 9, 2024
A thought provoking read that really stretches your perspective of the present by using the past as a lense to look towards the future. Melissa is a very intelligent writer that can present thoughts and ideas in an extremely readable way, never making the reader feel dumb.
May 11, 2025
I wanted to really like this book. And it began well.The book is tackling an important watershed moment facing Christianity: transform or lose relevance. Good begins by exploring the changes in the way we read Scripture--or rather in the ways we need to read Scripture. This is an important conversation about how Christians ground themselves.
She then goes on to look at eight "rediscoveries". And each one is pretty foundational in and of itself, but each is also pretty obvious (hardly a rediscovery?). And, as she proceeds, it becomes obvious that Good is contorting herself to avoid giving offence to the American religious Right. She uses metaphors that can be interpreted in many different ways when stating things plainly would be very salutary. I found this obfuscation off-putting. For example, she creates the image of a dartboard, in which she notes that we need to ensure that the bullseye is a shared seeking of the way of Jesus, but where we might disagree about things on the peripheral rims. Good. Fine. But she seems to let folks fill in the bullseye with whatever bull they see fit. She needs to call it out: if a political movement has replaced your Jesus commitment, you're aiming at the wrong dartboard. If your loyalty to an approach to news overrides your care for the poor and the marginalized, you're participating in an evil. At very best, she alludes to such things.
But, I suppose someone blithely dwelling in that right wing could create their own version of things without ever feeling called out. They could probably look at me on the progressive side of the church and simply reverse all the points I made above. And for sure the Christian movement could use some bridge-building between divides. I just don't see enough substance here to make that conversation happen. Likewise, I don't see enough fire here to spark a movement.
She then goes on to look at eight "rediscoveries". And each one is pretty foundational in and of itself, but each is also pretty obvious (hardly a rediscovery?). And, as she proceeds, it becomes obvious that Good is contorting herself to avoid giving offence to the American religious Right. She uses metaphors that can be interpreted in many different ways when stating things plainly would be very salutary. I found this obfuscation off-putting. For example, she creates the image of a dartboard, in which she notes that we need to ensure that the bullseye is a shared seeking of the way of Jesus, but where we might disagree about things on the peripheral rims. Good. Fine. But she seems to let folks fill in the bullseye with whatever bull they see fit. She needs to call it out: if a political movement has replaced your Jesus commitment, you're aiming at the wrong dartboard. If your loyalty to an approach to news overrides your care for the poor and the marginalized, you're participating in an evil. At very best, she alludes to such things.
But, I suppose someone blithely dwelling in that right wing could create their own version of things without ever feeling called out. They could probably look at me on the progressive side of the church and simply reverse all the points I made above. And for sure the Christian movement could use some bridge-building between divides. I just don't see enough substance here to make that conversation happen. Likewise, I don't see enough fire here to spark a movement.
May 4, 2024
This book is such a worthwhile read! It is so simple in its explanations and points, but so insightful and captures the complexity of broken people trying to follow a perfect God so well. It gives me such hope and does a wonderful job of recentering your focus on Jesus. This book challenges you to reevaluate the way you treat and think about everyone you encounter (both believers and non believers) and your purpose in this life. I will definitely be rereading this and recommending it to friends!
September 23, 2025
This book is GOLD!
I would even dare to call it a “prophetic call to the Church,” whatever that even means 🤣🤦🏼♀️.
Did I agree with everything she said, not necessarily. There were a few things I questioned, and that is something she even celebrates in the book; being able to disagree on disputable matters.
But overall it is a unifiying message to a polarized Church; a much needed course correction and reorientation to Jesus as the center of gravity.
It is SO good.
Please read it!
I would even dare to call it a “prophetic call to the Church,” whatever that even means 🤣🤦🏼♀️.
Did I agree with everything she said, not necessarily. There were a few things I questioned, and that is something she even celebrates in the book; being able to disagree on disputable matters.
But overall it is a unifiying message to a polarized Church; a much needed course correction and reorientation to Jesus as the center of gravity.
It is SO good.
Please read it!
November 19, 2023
This book did not disappoint. Thoughtful, conversational in tone, entertaining and well-written.
February 26, 2025
Inspiring, challenging, brilliant.
March 5, 2025
This book suggests rediscovering Jesus as the center of Christianity. All of the points were good, but I somehow had trouble really getting into the book.
May 15, 2025
A great summary and discussion of an emerging Jesus movement. Insightful. Well written. Compelling.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews