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Uncovered
Greg was homeless. As he walked through the park one day, he was surrounded by people. Good people. Caring people. Christian people. People doing ministry. But people totally oblivious to Greg. No one saw him, talked to him, noticed him, or tried to minister to him. The Christians were preoccupied—working hard on the ministry they were putting together—a ministry intended to provide help and healing to the most vulnerable in their city, a ministry designed to reach . . . the homeless!
How do Christians, benefactors of the overwhelming grace of an immeasurably generous God, fail so miserably at showing and distributing—of all things—grace?
In voice and style evocative of Donald Miller and Scot McKnight, yet with a message all his own, Rod Tucker explores how we Christians have become masters of self-deceptive and fake moral living. Just like Adam and Eve, we don’t want anyone to know we are spiritually naked. But covering up around God denies us the freedom of his grace. Until we can be honest with ourselves, honest with God, and honest with others, daily grace will continue to elude us, either as gift received or as gift given. We remain trapped in our Botox spirituality until we come to grips with exactly who we are.
How do Christians, benefactors of the overwhelming grace of an immeasurably generous God, fail so miserably at showing and distributing—of all things—grace?
In voice and style evocative of Donald Miller and Scot McKnight, yet with a message all his own, Rod Tucker explores how we Christians have become masters of self-deceptive and fake moral living. Just like Adam and Eve, we don’t want anyone to know we are spiritually naked. But covering up around God denies us the freedom of his grace. Until we can be honest with ourselves, honest with God, and honest with others, daily grace will continue to elude us, either as gift received or as gift given. We remain trapped in our Botox spirituality until we come to grips with exactly who we are.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 29, 2014
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287 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 26, 2017
Though the writing does get a bit repetitive, and the author tends to dwell on a couple of things that don't really seem to me to be pertinent to the topic, for the most part, I enjoyed reading this book.
Mr. Tucker writes about the need for honesty - with ourselves, in our relationships with others, and particularly, in the church. He believes that without complete honesty and transparency, there cannot be the complete grace that has been given us by our Creator. How can we extend this full grace to others, and accept it in our relationships, if we are not first honest with one another, for it is honesty that breeds trust.
There are questions at the end of each chapter for reflection/study.
This book is one that is sure to bring enlightenment and spiritual growth to those who read it. I know it did for me. Though the writing is a wee bit preachy at times, Mr. Tucker gets the point across clearly and concisely. In a world where there is so much secretiveness, so much hurting, and so much anonymity, we really do need to relearn how to be open and honest with one another. Reading this books is a step toward that goal.
Mr. Tucker writes about the need for honesty - with ourselves, in our relationships with others, and particularly, in the church. He believes that without complete honesty and transparency, there cannot be the complete grace that has been given us by our Creator. How can we extend this full grace to others, and accept it in our relationships, if we are not first honest with one another, for it is honesty that breeds trust.
There are questions at the end of each chapter for reflection/study.
This book is one that is sure to bring enlightenment and spiritual growth to those who read it. I know it did for me. Though the writing is a wee bit preachy at times, Mr. Tucker gets the point across clearly and concisely. In a world where there is so much secretiveness, so much hurting, and so much anonymity, we really do need to relearn how to be open and honest with one another. Reading this books is a step toward that goal.
April 7, 2014
Let’s be honest for a minute – on a scale of 1 to 10 – how honest and open do you think you are? How honest are you with yourself? Your own sins, your own baggage, your own issues, etc. How honest are you with others? Do you feel like you can share your mistakes, your shortcomings, and your junk with people at church? How does our lack of being honest with ourselves and our fear of being honest with other people hurt our relationships? These are all the sorts of the questions Rod Tucker addresses in Uncovered.
The Positive
Let me be honest with you – I loved this book. I loved Rod Tucker’s desire to see the church become more honest. I loved his desire to see the church become a haven of grace. I loved the fact that he points out that the gospel frees us up to be open. I love the fact that he challenges us to be more honest with ourselves and with our
church community. I especially loved how he tied honesty in with maintaining our image and focusing on the American dream; it’s a lack of authenticity and honesty that leads us to consumerism in order to cover up our shortcomings.
There are some great chapters in this book, let me just highlight a few of those for you:
➢ Chapter 2: Self Protection – Rod shares about how we use dishonesty to protect our self-image.
➢ Chapter 3: Sewing, Hiding, Blaming – We resort to these three tactics (just like Adam and Eve) to cover up the things we are ashamed of.
➢ Chapter 15: Being a Safe Place – “We need to treat people exactly how God, because of Jesus, treats us.” The keyword is grace!
➢ Chapter 16: Why Honesty Matters – We can use excess and stuff as a way of hiding. This hinders our relationships.
➢ Chapter 18: Mirrors - A brilliant short story about a girl who all of a sudden discovers her reflection.
➢ Chapter 20: Reconciliation – God is in the business of bringing people back to himself. If we want to be a part of that, we need to be honest with ourselves and admit that we were once in a position of need, just like all the lost people out there.
I could see myself using this book as fodder for sermons but I could really see myself handing this book over to some church small group leaders, telling them to open it up and read certain chapters as a form of training. In other words this is a much needed resource for the church. We need to listen to a lot of what Rod Tucker is saying in this book.
The Negative
Again I will be honest with you – I loved this book – but there were some parts I didn’t like or agree with. 1)The chapter on homosexuality – while there was nothing in this chapter that I necessarily disagree with or reject, it seems as disjointed from the rest of the book. The chapter doesn’t really “fit,” so I am not sure why he included it. More importantly though… 2)His idea that “honesty is the point.” He says “honesty is not something to move past.” He argues against people who want to move past “simply being honest and figure out how to quit sinning” (56). Although I would agree with him, that “quitting sinning” is not the goal of our faith, simply being honest isn’t the goal either. Our goal is to be Christ-like, yes that includes honesty but when it comes to spiritual growth, honesty is a major tool for bringing the sin to the light and allowing Christ to transform us. What is a bit disappointing about this book is that he builds it off the premise that “honesty is the point.” It almost seems that for Rod Tucker, honesty is the silver bullet that will solve most if not all of the Church’s current problems. However honesty in and of itself certainly will not solve any of our problems, only Jesus can do that, thankfully Jesus has given us the grace to be honest, and that will definitely help the church grow into becoming Christlike.
Overall
This book was a short read. It was both provocative and challenging. As I read I felt the desire to grow in honesty with people in my life around me. Rod’s goal was to show us how to cultivate honest within the church, having finished the book I can say that this book will certainly help in doing that.
(Note: I received this book from Kregel in exchange for an impartial review.)
The Positive
Let me be honest with you – I loved this book. I loved Rod Tucker’s desire to see the church become more honest. I loved his desire to see the church become a haven of grace. I loved the fact that he points out that the gospel frees us up to be open. I love the fact that he challenges us to be more honest with ourselves and with our
church community. I especially loved how he tied honesty in with maintaining our image and focusing on the American dream; it’s a lack of authenticity and honesty that leads us to consumerism in order to cover up our shortcomings.There are some great chapters in this book, let me just highlight a few of those for you:
➢ Chapter 2: Self Protection – Rod shares about how we use dishonesty to protect our self-image.
➢ Chapter 3: Sewing, Hiding, Blaming – We resort to these three tactics (just like Adam and Eve) to cover up the things we are ashamed of.
➢ Chapter 15: Being a Safe Place – “We need to treat people exactly how God, because of Jesus, treats us.” The keyword is grace!
➢ Chapter 16: Why Honesty Matters – We can use excess and stuff as a way of hiding. This hinders our relationships.
➢ Chapter 18: Mirrors - A brilliant short story about a girl who all of a sudden discovers her reflection.
➢ Chapter 20: Reconciliation – God is in the business of bringing people back to himself. If we want to be a part of that, we need to be honest with ourselves and admit that we were once in a position of need, just like all the lost people out there.
I could see myself using this book as fodder for sermons but I could really see myself handing this book over to some church small group leaders, telling them to open it up and read certain chapters as a form of training. In other words this is a much needed resource for the church. We need to listen to a lot of what Rod Tucker is saying in this book.
The Negative
Again I will be honest with you – I loved this book – but there were some parts I didn’t like or agree with. 1)The chapter on homosexuality – while there was nothing in this chapter that I necessarily disagree with or reject, it seems as disjointed from the rest of the book. The chapter doesn’t really “fit,” so I am not sure why he included it. More importantly though… 2)His idea that “honesty is the point.” He says “honesty is not something to move past.” He argues against people who want to move past “simply being honest and figure out how to quit sinning” (56). Although I would agree with him, that “quitting sinning” is not the goal of our faith, simply being honest isn’t the goal either. Our goal is to be Christ-like, yes that includes honesty but when it comes to spiritual growth, honesty is a major tool for bringing the sin to the light and allowing Christ to transform us. What is a bit disappointing about this book is that he builds it off the premise that “honesty is the point.” It almost seems that for Rod Tucker, honesty is the silver bullet that will solve most if not all of the Church’s current problems. However honesty in and of itself certainly will not solve any of our problems, only Jesus can do that, thankfully Jesus has given us the grace to be honest, and that will definitely help the church grow into becoming Christlike.
Overall
This book was a short read. It was both provocative and challenging. As I read I felt the desire to grow in honesty with people in my life around me. Rod’s goal was to show us how to cultivate honest within the church, having finished the book I can say that this book will certainly help in doing that.
(Note: I received this book from Kregel in exchange for an impartial review.)
May 3, 2014
I read Uncovered: The Truth about Honesty and Community by Rod Tucker, in exchange for honest review from Kregel Blog Tours.
The book teaches about how Christians can fake a moral living and can be self-deceptive. The back of the book says "we don't want anyone to know we are spiritually named, but covering up around God denies us the life he has meant for us."
One of the first things, which stood out in the book was "honesty is an introduction to something much more powerful and intimate: relationships bred by transparency" (p. 19). The next paragraph discusses how we should live in the light versus the darkness. Darkness hides things, which we don't want others (or ourselves to see). On the other hand, living in the light allows healing, transparency, and honesty.
For me, I am a usually blunt-honest person, but I don't like revealing everything to everyone. It takes a while for me to open up to people and be vulnerable. My pastor, last week in church, was talking about how we can't be vulnerable to everyone. Just a few intimate people. The wrong person can/will/may take advantage of the situation. I also struggle with trusting people with intimate details. Will they judge me? Still be my friend/acquaintance? Rub the information in my face?
The book also teaches how we need to be honest with ourselves and others about our sins. Instead of working around the truth, when talking to others--we can be open and honest about our flaws and sins. If you are struggling, say you are struggling with an issue. If you used to do something, say so. Tucker had said sometimes people say they have overcome an issue, while still struggling with the issue. One major struggle is sexual struggle, which is one of my weaknesses. Even though I am not having sex right now, I still struggle in other areas.
I also like chapter 3, which discusses sewing, hiding, and blaming. In Genesis, Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree. When they realized they was naked, they sewed some leaves together to hide nakedness; hid from God; and blamed each other and the snake. They lost their freedom and innocence. They lied to God. The couple was also banned from the garden and had to work harder until death. Tucker says people do the same thing. We sew leaves on our bodies to hide our shame and nakedness. We hide ourselves from others. We pretend we are ok, but we are not. Finally, we blame others for our mistakes to make ourselves still feel good.
To have a better relationship with God, we need to be completely open and honest with ourselves, others, and especially God. We can't fake and pretend anymore :-).
The book teaches about how Christians can fake a moral living and can be self-deceptive. The back of the book says "we don't want anyone to know we are spiritually named, but covering up around God denies us the life he has meant for us."
One of the first things, which stood out in the book was "honesty is an introduction to something much more powerful and intimate: relationships bred by transparency" (p. 19). The next paragraph discusses how we should live in the light versus the darkness. Darkness hides things, which we don't want others (or ourselves to see). On the other hand, living in the light allows healing, transparency, and honesty.
For me, I am a usually blunt-honest person, but I don't like revealing everything to everyone. It takes a while for me to open up to people and be vulnerable. My pastor, last week in church, was talking about how we can't be vulnerable to everyone. Just a few intimate people. The wrong person can/will/may take advantage of the situation. I also struggle with trusting people with intimate details. Will they judge me? Still be my friend/acquaintance? Rub the information in my face?
The book also teaches how we need to be honest with ourselves and others about our sins. Instead of working around the truth, when talking to others--we can be open and honest about our flaws and sins. If you are struggling, say you are struggling with an issue. If you used to do something, say so. Tucker had said sometimes people say they have overcome an issue, while still struggling with the issue. One major struggle is sexual struggle, which is one of my weaknesses. Even though I am not having sex right now, I still struggle in other areas.
I also like chapter 3, which discusses sewing, hiding, and blaming. In Genesis, Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree. When they realized they was naked, they sewed some leaves together to hide nakedness; hid from God; and blamed each other and the snake. They lost their freedom and innocence. They lied to God. The couple was also banned from the garden and had to work harder until death. Tucker says people do the same thing. We sew leaves on our bodies to hide our shame and nakedness. We hide ourselves from others. We pretend we are ok, but we are not. Finally, we blame others for our mistakes to make ourselves still feel good.
To have a better relationship with God, we need to be completely open and honest with ourselves, others, and especially God. We can't fake and pretend anymore :-).
April 9, 2014
Are you a Christian? If so, today's book is written specifically for you! Uncovered – The Truth About Honesty and Community by Rod Tucker is a pastor’s call for those who call themselves Christ-followers to lead more honest, grace-filled lives.
The book is divided into three parts:
• Part One examines how we need to cultivate honesty in our own lives.
• Part Two explores how we as a church need to cultivate honesty in community.
• Part Three discusses how we are to live meaningful lives in the world.
Sound simple? Don’t let the short chapters and the homespun stories fool you.
If you let the message contained within Uncovered penetrate your heart, you'll discover some profound truths that have the power to deeply transform your life.
Honesty goes deeper than truth-telling. Honesty involves authenticity in every area of our lives.
Honesty helps create safe havens within our churches.
Honesty invites freedom, connection and reconciliation in every aspect of our lives.
In Uncovered, Rod challenges us to “walk in the light” (1 John 17) – and helps us shine light on areas of our lives that still remain in darkness.
Uncovered raises a lot of thought-provoking questions, such as:
Have you ever become so wrapped up in doing ministry, that you became blind to the people you were ministering to?
Uncovered also makes a lot astute observations, such as:
People don’t want our peanut butter sandwiches. People want our lives.
I really enjoyed Uncovered and I highly recommend it to you.
To read my review in its entirety, please visit Create With Joy.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes. However, the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
The book is divided into three parts:
• Part One examines how we need to cultivate honesty in our own lives.
• Part Two explores how we as a church need to cultivate honesty in community.
• Part Three discusses how we are to live meaningful lives in the world.
Sound simple? Don’t let the short chapters and the homespun stories fool you.
If you let the message contained within Uncovered penetrate your heart, you'll discover some profound truths that have the power to deeply transform your life.
Honesty goes deeper than truth-telling. Honesty involves authenticity in every area of our lives.
Honesty helps create safe havens within our churches.
Honesty invites freedom, connection and reconciliation in every aspect of our lives.
In Uncovered, Rod challenges us to “walk in the light” (1 John 17) – and helps us shine light on areas of our lives that still remain in darkness.
Uncovered raises a lot of thought-provoking questions, such as:
Have you ever become so wrapped up in doing ministry, that you became blind to the people you were ministering to?
Uncovered also makes a lot astute observations, such as:
People don’t want our peanut butter sandwiches. People want our lives.
I really enjoyed Uncovered and I highly recommend it to you.
To read my review in its entirety, please visit Create With Joy.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes. However, the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
April 7, 2014
This book has such an incredibly powerful message about Christianity and living an authentically honest life. Rod Tucker openly and boldy discusses some of the hypocrisy he has witnessed in Uncovered and goes about examining his own life and how he came to live a more honest life.
So many times I have wanted to open up to people and share my own personal experiences relating to what they are going through. But I keep my mouth shut for fear of judgement, shame of my past and just not wanting to be honest about things that I have struggled with. But that is the very thing that people need and so many Christians today are lacking: authenticity and honesty!
We do not need to be ashamed of our struggles, whether past or present! We are forgiven and Jesus came just to wipe us clean of all of our sins. How selfish of us to stay hidden and want to appear perfect, never really letting anyone in. We have the ability to help others heal, to walk through hardships with them and speak with honesty and vulnerability. We want to maintain the facade of being a perfect Christian and really letting someone in would wipe that out.
Tucker begins with a story of a homeless man wandering through an event meant to help the homeless, completely unnoticed. The irony is that so many of us do that in life. We are so busy trying to "help" and do the right thing that we miss opportunities right before our eyes.
The short discussion questions at the end of each chapter will apply directly to your life and challenge you in new ways you never imagined. It is a short and easy read yet will move and shake you. Tuckers vulnerability will leave you inspired and his honesty will make you want to live a more authentic life as he has done in Uncovered.
So many times I have wanted to open up to people and share my own personal experiences relating to what they are going through. But I keep my mouth shut for fear of judgement, shame of my past and just not wanting to be honest about things that I have struggled with. But that is the very thing that people need and so many Christians today are lacking: authenticity and honesty!
We do not need to be ashamed of our struggles, whether past or present! We are forgiven and Jesus came just to wipe us clean of all of our sins. How selfish of us to stay hidden and want to appear perfect, never really letting anyone in. We have the ability to help others heal, to walk through hardships with them and speak with honesty and vulnerability. We want to maintain the facade of being a perfect Christian and really letting someone in would wipe that out.
Tucker begins with a story of a homeless man wandering through an event meant to help the homeless, completely unnoticed. The irony is that so many of us do that in life. We are so busy trying to "help" and do the right thing that we miss opportunities right before our eyes.
The short discussion questions at the end of each chapter will apply directly to your life and challenge you in new ways you never imagined. It is a short and easy read yet will move and shake you. Tuckers vulnerability will leave you inspired and his honesty will make you want to live a more authentic life as he has done in Uncovered.
July 12, 2016
I have long felt we Christians aren't honest enough about what we are dealing with and where we are at in our relationship with Jesus, but instead try to portray the idea that we are OK and nothing is wrong. So naturally, when this book was offered for review, it was one that I was definitely interested in reading.
This isn't a long book, coming in at only 156 pages, but the author covers the topic of being honest very well in those few pages. He has some great insights and advice for how to be more honest, and why we need to be. I found it an interesting and helpful read. Going back to Adam and Eve in the garden, trying to cover up their nakedness and hide from God, he shows we may as well be honest and open, as God knows anyway.
As helpful and interesting as I found the book, I was also disappointed in the book. The author stressed more than once we should strive for honesty, over trying to overcome sin, and seems to give the idea Christians are going to sin as much as a sinner, but it is better to be honest and admit it, than to try to quit the sin. I totally disagree with him on that point, and believe we should strive to overcome sin, and if we are constantly sinning, honesty doesn't matter, we need to head back to the altar and pray some more.
This isn't a long book, coming in at only 156 pages, but the author covers the topic of being honest very well in those few pages. He has some great insights and advice for how to be more honest, and why we need to be. I found it an interesting and helpful read. Going back to Adam and Eve in the garden, trying to cover up their nakedness and hide from God, he shows we may as well be honest and open, as God knows anyway.
As helpful and interesting as I found the book, I was also disappointed in the book. The author stressed more than once we should strive for honesty, over trying to overcome sin, and seems to give the idea Christians are going to sin as much as a sinner, but it is better to be honest and admit it, than to try to quit the sin. I totally disagree with him on that point, and believe we should strive to overcome sin, and if we are constantly sinning, honesty doesn't matter, we need to head back to the altar and pray some more.
April 7, 2014
It isn't easy to share our honest selves with God or with ourselves. Rod Tucker in Uncovered gives the tools needed to make it less difficult. However, there is no way around the fact that a willingness to become vulnerable is necessary. However, as we become more open and forget about hiding our sins, vices or shortcomings, there is the gift of Grace from God and fellowship.
I wasn't aware of the different ways we can hide ourselves from others and ourselves. There are story examples given by the author. These helped me to understand on a deeper level what "uncovering" means. Just a small point from the book, I didn't understand the harm in giving peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to the homeless people passing on the streets in New Orleans after Katrina had hit. It seemed like a small, nice beginning, a small way to show love and care.
It's a short book. The book is thought provoking. So I will think of it many times after writing this book review.http://store.kregel.com/productdetail...
I wasn't aware of the different ways we can hide ourselves from others and ourselves. There are story examples given by the author. These helped me to understand on a deeper level what "uncovering" means. Just a small point from the book, I didn't understand the harm in giving peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to the homeless people passing on the streets in New Orleans after Katrina had hit. It seemed like a small, nice beginning, a small way to show love and care.
It's a short book. The book is thought provoking. So I will think of it many times after writing this book review.http://store.kregel.com/productdetail...
April 18, 2014
We are good at being fake. We have been covering up since Adam and Eve. Instead of facing who we are, we choose to live in the ignorant bliss of an unexamined life. The church can exacerbate the problem, forcing us to cower behind our masks.
Can we just let down our guard and finally be real with each other?
This book is best experienced one day at a time, in a devotional setting. The daily, prolonged exposure to our own hypocrisy will hopefully bring us to transparency. Another great way to experience these life-changing truths would be in a small group.
Rod Tucker’s style is engaging and conversational, but what hooked me about this book was the sheer number of times I said, “Ouch!” as I saw myself in its pages.
Read the full review at NoEndToBooks.com.
Can we just let down our guard and finally be real with each other?
This book is best experienced one day at a time, in a devotional setting. The daily, prolonged exposure to our own hypocrisy will hopefully bring us to transparency. Another great way to experience these life-changing truths would be in a small group.
Rod Tucker’s style is engaging and conversational, but what hooked me about this book was the sheer number of times I said, “Ouch!” as I saw myself in its pages.
Read the full review at NoEndToBooks.com.
April 7, 2014
Tucker wants us to be honest and transparent within the Christian community. He wants us to accept others with the same grace that Christ accepts us. I agree with that. But what happens then? Tucker fails to write about how to actually live a life to the glory of God. How do we do discipleship? What is the role of church discipline? (1 Cor. 5) Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery that he did not condemn her - and that is what Tucker wants of us. But, Jesus also told her that she was to leave her life of sin - and that is what Tucker fails to write about. Tucker's book is a simplistic look at a very complex issue.
See my complete review at http://bit.ly/1stjlrx.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for an independent and honest review.
See my complete review at http://bit.ly/1stjlrx.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for an independent and honest review.
April 19, 2014
Disclaimer : Won a copy through Goodreads a couple of months back and took a while to get around to reading it. The book being free hasn't impacted my review.
The first half of this book - well, maybe other than the first chapter or two - only deserves 2 or 3 stars because there seems to be a lot of repetition... but Rod Tucker writes in an honest, clear and insightful way and the second half of the book really resonated with me. I immediately read the 'parable' of the young girl and the mirror to my 8 year old. You know, that story alone would have been worth the whole read. The book prompted some interesting discussions with my husband.
The first half of this book - well, maybe other than the first chapter or two - only deserves 2 or 3 stars because there seems to be a lot of repetition... but Rod Tucker writes in an honest, clear and insightful way and the second half of the book really resonated with me. I immediately read the 'parable' of the young girl and the mirror to my 8 year old. You know, that story alone would have been worth the whole read. The book prompted some interesting discussions with my husband.
August 5, 2014
I won this book as a First reads giveaway. this book really failed to keep my interest the 2 star rating is for the accuracy of the bible verses.that said a stronger and better impact would have been made if peoples experiences had been told as they correlate to the verses used instead of the preaching to the choir method used by the author.
April 23, 2014
The church values honesty but does a poor job at it. However, Rod Tucker wants to change that. His book Uncovered takes a fresh look at honesty for ourselves, church, and others. Read Uncovered to discover new ways to reclaim this old ideal for truth telling and transparency.
June 14, 2015
Love This book! The message of Rod's book seeks to liberate Christians from shame, blame and pretense. The church needs to be honest and nonjudgmental with each other to experience healing in Christ.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews