Jesus Changes Everything: A New World Made Possible

by Stanley Hauerwas, Tish Harrison Warren (Introduction by)

How can we make the gospel central to our lives?

For decades, Stanley Hauerwas has been provoking Christians with his insistence that if they would only follow their Master, it would impact all areas of life, from the personal to the societal.

The lanky Texan whom Time magazine dubbed “America’s theologian” for his zinging insights into today’s ethical questions says Christians should stop bemoaning their loss of cultural and political power and instead welcome their status as outsiders and embrace the radical alternative Jesus has had in mind for them all along.

These accessible readings selected from Hauerwas’s seminal books will introduce a timely, prophetic voice to another generation of followers of Jesus tired of religion as usual.

Genres: Theology, Christianity, Christian, Nonfiction, Devotional, Christian Living

168 pages, Paperback

Published March 11, 2025

About the author

Stanley Hauerwas (PhD, Yale University) is the Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He is the author of numerous books, including Cross-Shattered Christ, A Cross-Shattered Church, War and the American Difference, and Matthew in the Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible.

America's Best Theologian according to Time Magazine (2001), though he rejected the title saying, "Best is not a theological category."

Reviews

[Jacob Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hauerwas is much more than simply a provocateur. He enlists Christians to think about the type of commitment they have made as a disciple of Jesus. A commitment that challenges our loyalties and cannot help but to keep the mind of a Christian imaginative in the ways God had called us to new possibilities through entering time in the person of Christ; possibilities that are thought to be impossible and impractical, but yet affirm the oddity that the world is as one apart from the redemption of all things. Four stars + a star because Karlie got this one signed for me🤩

[Richard Propes · Rating 4 out of 5]

The wonderful folks at Plough Publishing are back with one of their best spiritual guides yet - Jesus Changes Everything: A New World Made Possible, an exploration of the words and theological wisdom of the man whom Time magazine once dubbed "America's theologian" for his ability to deliver theologically sound zingers and insights into today's ethical questions.

While I'd long been aware of Hauerwas, it was really during my seminary years that I became more fully immersed in Hauerwas's writings. Now then, true confession. I really didn't resonate with him during my seminary years, though in the years that have followed I've gained a much deeper appreciation for his words, wisdom, and insistence that Christians should welcome their status as outside and embrace the radical alternative Jesus has always had in mind for us.

"Jesus Changes Everything" is a collection of key readings from Hauerwas's major books and writings. Thus, those fully familiar with Hauerwas may not find as much to appreciate here but here's hoping this collection introduces him to an entirely new generation.

I'd have a hard time calling Hauerwas either liberal or conservative (which I have a feeling would please him just fine). He's a provocative writer with substance underneath it - as I was reading this collection, I found myself often nodding my head as I was reminded time and again that following Jesus is supposed to come at a cost and shake things up.

Hauerwas is a theologian and Christian ethicist, professor emeritus of theological ethics and of law at Duke University. He's authored or edited over 50 books. In 2001, Time named him "America's Best Theologian," though his reply was "best" is not a theological category. He was raised in a lower-middle class home and at one point was apprenticed to his father as a bricklayer. This background seems to inform his theology. Throughout this collection, you'll breathe in Hauerwas's emphasis on the importance of the church and you'll recognize glimpses of systematic theology, philosophical theology, and a host of other areas. I can't help but think it took me a few years of active ministry to really embrace Hauerwas and to understand the fullness of his writings.

For the curious, this collection is a fantastic place to start. While it may not offer the fullness of Hauerwas's writings and teachings, it's a wonderfully developed and easy to understand spiritual guide that will serve as a great introduction to one of the great contemporary American theologians.

[Noah Senthil · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s so hard to find theologians with courage these days.

“The worst kind of unkindness is to rob others of their right to suffer.”

“The whole point of Christianity is to produce the right kind of enemies.”

“Christians are revolutionaries, but we believe the revolution has happened and we are it.”

Who talks like this? Stanley Hauerwas. That’s the list. The Jesus that Hauerwas writes about, and follows, is a troublemaker—a real threat to the kingdoms of this world. He is Lord of creation. He doesn’t go with the flow, and neither did his earliest followers. Hauerwas considers it a good thing that Christians are slowly losing power today: “As a people with nothing to lose anymore, we might as well go ahead and live the way Jesus wants us to.”

[Bernie Ebri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hauerwas-lite for anyone wondering who this man is and why everyone at Duke is always quoting him! The danger of such a condensed book is that there is not as much meat to chew on, rather many ideas are presented about what it would actually mean to follow Jesus the Nazarene. I read this book over many months mostly because I am lazy but Stanley walked by me in the hall this week which reminded me to finish it. I’m excited to read his longer works!

“When Christianity is identified with national interests or a political party or social ideal, it needs to be called out for what it is. We’re afraid to do that because we think people being Christian is better than them not being Christian. But bad Christianity is very bad, And we need to be more upfront about that.“ p 96

[Bart de Bruin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The danger for any follower of Christ is not that we do not believe, but that what we believe does not make any difference, for the church or the world.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hauerwas wants readers to to take seriously what Jesus said. He is good at shaking us out of how we regularly think about what it means to be a Christian. “Jesus calls forth a people capable of living in accordance with God's new order in the midst of the existing one.” (531/1334) He has insightful comments on the church, marriage, wealth and politics.

For me, the most insightful part of this book was Hauerwas' comments on the Sermon on the Mount. Rather than instructions on what we are to do, it is a picture of who God is in the world. “The basic message of the Sermon on the Mount is not about what works but rather about the way God is.” (433/1334) Turning the other cheek shows us God is kind to the ungrateful and selfish, for example, rather than an instruction on how we are to act.

Hauerwas is thought provoking in these essays taken from his previously published materials. I recommend this book to readers who really want to think about what it means to follow Jesus in today's world. His ideas may certainly be controversial to some. He says, for example, Christians are citizens of a different kingdom. We do not have to be in control of society to live as Jesus lived. Comments like that one would make this an excellent book for a discussion group or a teaching class. There is much in the book for Christians to consider and think through.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

[Gino · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of updated essays on a variety of topics. It’s like a distilled Hauerwas Reader for anyone interested in tracking Hauerwas’ thinking. As such, this book fills a significant gap in Hauerwas’ work: an engaging and easy to read primer for his work and thought. I will recommend this as where to start from now on.

Excellent work by both Stanley Hauerwas and Charles E. Moore. Highly recommend!

(I received an advance reader copy. This book will release March 2025).

[Norbert Haukenfrers · Rating 5 out of 5]

An honest and challenging reflection on what it means to live in community with Jesus as our Lord. Stanley Hauerwas in this short book offers wisdom distilled through year of prayer, study, and teaching. This treasury offers discipleship in the ways of Jesus and his church, assisting the community of the faithful to be the revolutionaries of the good news of Jesus, the Christ; and that changes everything.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book changes everything. Stanley Hauerwas in "Jesus Changes Everything," edited by Charles E. Moore, is able to shed light on the powerful, yet simple, truths of true discipleship. The book is divided into chapters which illuminate Jesus' teachings on discipleship and His kingdom, which is not of this world.

Some specific topics include "Our Daily Bread" which focuses on Jesus' admonition to pray only for daily bread. "On Judas' Side" challenges our societal attitudes about money and our relationships with the poor. "Sowing Seeds of Peace" expounds Jesus' teaching of forgiving those who hurt us and the importance of cultivating peace... to forgive as we have been forgiven.

As I read, I was challenged to remove myself from the kingdom of this world, the arrogant and self-serving culture to really embrace the principles of Jesus' teaching. Hauerwas is a dynamic teacher who commands attention from his audience.

I highly recommend this book. It cannot but change how you see, remove the world's blindness, and make you
understand the freedom that comes with living true Christian principles. I'm rereading it.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

[Timothy L. Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read Hauerwas since the early 2000s. My last awareness of his work was Resident Aliens, which he wrote with William Willimon. I found Hauerwas' mindset in that book to be encouraging, prophetic, and a clarion call to change our ways. When asked to review Hauerwas' newest book, Jesus Changes Everything, I thought, "Wow, I wonder what he might have to say now."

For those unfamiliar with Hauerwas, he is not an Anabaptist in the birthright sense. Hauerwas is an American Protestant theologian, ethicist, and public intellectual.1 He taught at the University of Notre Dame. Eventually, he moved to Duke University. Born in 1940 in Texas to a bricklayer, his formative life wasn't a cakewalk. He was educated at Southwestern University, Yale, and the University of Edinburgh. Among his influences are Aristotle, Søren Kierkegaard, John Howard Yoder, and Michel Foucault. Hauerwas is a prodigious writer.

So why should Anabaptists be interested in Hauerwas? First, I think he gets two kingdoms in ways birthright Anabaptists have either forgotten or they’ve not plumbed the depths of for themselves. People born in the stream of Anabaptism hear "two-kingdoms" spoken of like an old-fashioned Pentecostal is conditioned to hearing and accepting thunderous "praise the lord" or "amen" every time a point is made at church. These touch points in some cases are "buzzwords" to which we’ve given little thought. However, for researchers like Hauerwas and myself, "two kingdoms" is like the pearl of great price, mentioned in Matthew 13:45-46. We both found this terminology later in our lives and sold all the former understandings to embrace this point that divides belief in a belief from a lived reality. Secondly, Hauerwas spent time with one of the most preeminent thinkers of the 20th century. Even though John Howard Yoder was later disgraced, the Anabaptist point of view was communicated. Hauerwas has been among the Bruderhof, though I am unsure of the exact depth of involvement.

I am not a light reader! When I read a book, oftentimes, it isn't worth passing on to others. I mark it up, bend page corners, and finally copy significant details into a database to use later. Thus, it takes me a bit.

I liked this book first because of what it said, which we will get to in a minute. Its trim size is a nifty 5 x 7 inches. It doesn't look commanding, like a tome from Dostoevsky or Dallas Willard. People will like this volume because it is approachable. Hauerwas' is straightforward as if he were talking to a high school student. Thus, Hauerwas' delivery is axiomatic. The content is like a lush pasture in the Spring. One feels enveloped by the writer, not smothered by intellect or pushiness. Chapters are crisp, rarely beyond 3-5 pages.

Hauerwas starts talking about the kingdom of God almost without any more introduction than we would get if we read scripture directly. But then he weaves modern stories into the fray as if to say somebody else understood the import. The kingdom of God is about "following Jesus" with a reckless abandon that shows itself in contrast to the ways of men. In the first chapter, he relates the story of Koinonia Farms, an interracial experiment in Georgia of the 1950s. A pair of brothers, Clarence and Robert Jordan, became divided over applying the New Testament teaching in real life over just observing and appreciating it as nice sounding.

How many people do we know who appreciate the Bible or even the New Testament but can't find the fortitude to apply it in real life? I suppose we could label such as hypocrisy. But it illustrates many we know—even within Anabaptism—who only give lip service to the truth. Hauerwas is laying an axe to that specific tree, which is a reality that is accepted and allowed in many places today.

Hauerwas maintains a full-court press against the idealism of religious passivity—which deals in platitudes and smiles—while denying entry into the fracas of life as Jesus' disciple. If you follow Jesus, you won't get a crook on your nose by looking out the screen door. But you will get nicked up by stepping out from behind the safety of that screen door into the free-for-all of the world. It is only in the fracas of the world that contrast will ever take shape as the fruit of God's Spirit is illustrated. It is borne out in our lives and interactions with the unregenerate world. Hauerwas borrows Bonhoeffer, who said it (faith) is a matter of being "dragged out of our relative security into a life of absolute insecurity—that is, in truth, into the absolute security and safety of the fellowship of Jesus."2

Hauerwas encourages us to come out from the safety of "church" (a little safety nest we've created for ourselves), conflating it with what we see as Ekklesia in the New Testament. Jesus—and Stanley Hauerwas—are asking us to wade out into the ocean of what Jesus wants to do where our security is Jesus himself. We've made a panacea of "church" experience, whereas Jesus wants us to be His contrast to a world bent on evil and going down the tubes. This can't be done by navel-gazing in pews in the fortress of timber, shingles, brick, and mortar.

Hauerwas exposes our anemic view of love. "If Christ was but a preacher of love, one wonders how he could have ever ended on a cross – for who is going to object to that kind of preaching? He is nailed to the cross because his love is the revelation of God's righteousness, which brings pain and change and calls us to extend the have to those we cannot seem to love."3 Wow! What an exposé of churchianity today, even within the better end of it in conservative Anabaptism? We prefer our fences, mutual admiration, and folks who look like us to wading out into the world to love those who may be unlovable, but certainly, folks we wouldn't usually choose to love.

Again, Hauerwas is cutting off the limb we commonly hang out upon. Contrast means that there is a difference, it can be detected, and that the difference is present to that which it contrasts. This is the problem for most forms of Christianity, which hole up in buildings whose constituents never seem to differentiate themselves from the world other than in exteriors and talk. Hauerwas points to this issue. Much radicalness in our circles stops at "what we don't do." We've conflated radicalness with we don't dress like the world, do "entertainment," or drink, with thinking we’ve upheld the radicalness of Jesus and our forefathers, who both paid a heavy price for being quite different than we’ve become.

Throughout the book, Hauerwas presses the idea of an "alternative social ethic"—the kingdom of God. As Anabaptists, we believe the kingdom of God is a now reality (as well as a greater eventuality). However, Hauerwas challenges even Anabaptist with the living of it. "What kind of order was Jesus talking about? What kind of social alternative? This was a voluntary society: you could not be a citizen of it simply by being born into it… This was a society with no second-generation members.4 This is a tough word for most conservative of modern Anabaptists who commonly lean on adding to the faith is just raising a family in the church community.

Hauerwas shares in relation to this theme, "To be a disciple of Jesus is to be grafted into a new family that Christ has constituted."5

But how many "new disciples" come into our circles this way?

Hauerwas continues, "The kingdom of God grows by witness and conversion."6 Sections like this will prove to be an admonition to those in Anabaptist circles who have relegated "witness" to the way we live, think everyone sinful will admire and come running. Yet when we read Matt. 28:19-20, which is never quoted in this volume, it says, "go" make disciples, which is an intentionality we need to square with.

Most original Anabaptists were quite evangelistic. They preached, traveled, and witnessed wherever they went about Jesus' love and the need to repent and enter into a kingdom of discipleship. This trait has been lost, and while Hauerwas doesn't harp on it, his hints cannot be missed.

As a continuation of his "alternative social ethic," he makes this statement, "The way for the world to know that it needs redeeming, that is, it's broken and fallen, is for the church to enable the world to strike hard against something that is an alternative to what the world offers."7

I dearly appreciate this point. My former tradition would stone someone saying such because they want an easy pass through the world to kick the bucket and go to be with Jesus, where it's all good for them. For Anabaptists, however, most tend to staying away from the world. A friend of mine—coming into conservative Anabaptist circles went to a well-known conference. During the presentation, a widely known Anabaptist figure exclaimed, "Anabaptist suffered tremendous persecution, and we're not going back." This is a reoccurring attitude—stay out of the fracas, but be upstanding moral—but remain aloof.

Hauerwas is laying an axe to both notions. To be understood as God's kingdom is not only to be differentiated—which Anabaptists have a fair understanding of—but also to be available to the world as a constant reminder of what it is not. We can't hole up in the country and our religious structures and be Good Samaritans only when we can't escape it.

Concluding Thoughts:
Hauerwas' book will be salty—even for those who have embraced conservative Anabaptism. It will be like walking on glass for nominal church people. Hauerwas is like the kindly old grandpa who says what we might not like to hear. One of the things I appreciate most about this book is that Hauerwas didn't fall into the typical ditches of the false dichotomy of politically liberal or conservative coloring of truth. The old Amish proverb says that there are two miles of ditches for every one mile of road. Many renditions of the "kingdom of God" in Anabaptist circles often fall into the social gospel (social justice, cultural equity, trying to make the world a better place…). Hauerwas stays clear of the ditches of this left vss. right trap to present an alternative that the world will not try to replicate and often will persecute because it can't stand being reflected in contrast. Hauerwas draws this point into sharp focus—an admonition for us in the degenerating days in which we live to yet still be "in" the world in order to contrast to it.


1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley...
2. Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, ISBN 978-1-630608-157-1, pg. 8
3. Ibid, pg. 19
4. Ibid, pg. 41
5. Ibid, pg. 63
6. Ibid, pg. 63
7. Ibid, pg. 115


Notable Quotes:

Jesus calls us to join a community that is formed by a story that enables its member to trust the otherness of the other as the very sign of the forgiving character of God's kingdom.
Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 17

If Christ was but a preacher of love, one wonders how he could have ever ended on a cross – for who is going to object to that kind of preaching? He is nailed to the cross because his love is the revelation of God's righteousness, which brings pain and change and calls us to extend the have to those we cannot seem to love.
Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 19

What kind of order was Jesus talking about? What kind of social alternative? This was a voluntary society: you could not be a citizen of it simply by being born into it… This was a society with no second-generation members
Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 41

He (Jesus) gave them a new way to deal with problems of leadership - by drawing on the gift of every member.
Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 41

Charity is not about removing all injustice in the world, but about meeting the need of our neighbors right where we find them. And Christ shows us who our neighbors are. He expects us to bind up the wounds of those right before us.
Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 57

Christians do, and are obligated to, have a concern about the societies in which they exist, but our task is not to make (force) the world apart form Christ in the kingdom of love. Our task is to be a community where charity takes the from of truth. We must first be a people that is shaped by the story that sustains charity in a world where it cannot be sustained.
Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 58

Thought we must, in the interest of charity, ask the state to live up to its own standards of just, we must never delude ourselves into thinking that the justice of the state is what is required of us as people formed by God's kingdom.
Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 58

This is why the church is to be a community of charity. "See how they love one another," the pagans said of the Christians.
Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 58

To be a disciple of Jesus is to be grafted into a new family that Christ has constituted. Stanley Hauerwas Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 59

Rather, the kingdom of God grows by witness and conversion. Through such growth Christians will discover sisters and brothers we did not know we had.
Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 59

Today's church simply is not a soil capable of growing deep roots.
Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 79

The way for the world to know that it needs redeeming, that is its broken and fallen, is for the church to enable the world to strike hard against something that is an alternative to what the world offers. Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 115

…the church and Christians must be uninvolved in the politics of society and involved in the polity that is the church. Stanley Hauerwas Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 117

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: The radical implications of Jesus’ call to follow him for every area of life from personal to societal.

Did answering the call of Jesus to follow him turn your life upside down (or rather right side up)? Stanley Hauerwas has maintained through all of his writing that Jesus changes everything. Following him isn’t about inspiring messages followed by polite chit-chat in the church lobby that has little effect on life Monday through Saturday. Rather, this collection of readings from his works demonstrates how Jesus indeed changes everything from our life orientation to our identification with God’s people to our money, our pursuit of peace, and even our politics.

The book is organized in six sections. What follows is a brief summary to highlight what you will find:

Part I: Following Jesus. Jesus call is a call to follow him, giving him our ultimate allegiance, even unto death, to get out of the boat far from shore and come to him. It’s not a call to an abstract kingdom but into relationship with the living, breathing king. But to follow this king is not a modification of the existing social order, but to become part of a new social order. While love is central to that life, it is love defined by the cross, where Jesus fully identifies with sin and suffering to raise us to new life.

Part II: Good News. The good news is that in Christ the impossible of the sermon on the mount becomes possible. There is really more to life than living for ourselves. Jesus means it when he calls us to be perfect because that perfection is already in effect in him, and may be in us as we look at and follow him. This way of living subverts the existing social order as it embraces a community of reconciliation and forgiveness.

Part III: God’s Alternative Society. At Pentecost, God created something new out of people from every language group. Specifically he created the alternative society called church. It is a society characterized by truth and charity. It is our first family through baptism. For Hauerwas, this has radical implications for marriage, which is supported and derived from our other commitments. Hauerwas contends, “You do not fall in love and then get married. You get married and then learn what real love requires.’

Part IV: Kingdom Economics. Hauerwas is blunt. We have a problem with wealth and we try to soften the radical teaching of Jesus. The issue is whether we see our goods voluntarily at the disposal of others and are able to say “enough” to ourselves. To not offer help we are able to give is theft. Even the prayer for daily bread is for our bread. He asks whether we are closer to the extravagant Mary or the grifting Judas.

Part V: Sowing Seeds of Peace. The way of Jesus is the way of peace. He made peace with God and with one another possible at the cross. He challenges Christians to practice this when we have grievances and he speaks a challenging word to divisive political partisanship. Any identification of Christianity with party or nation is idolatrous. Rather Christians are to “help the world find habits of peace.” He unflinchingly calls Christians to non-violence which may mean “that we and those we love cannot be spared death.” This is dangerous business, only to be contemplated with the hope of the resurrection. He makes the modest proposal that Christians begin by at least agreeing that they will not kill each other.

Part VI: The Politics of Witness. The question is not which party or policies ought the church support. Instead, Hauerwas argues,

“Put starkly, the first task of the church when it comes to social ethics is to be the church. Such a claim may well sound self-serving or irrelevant until we remember that what makes the church the church is its faithful manifestation of the peaceable kingdom in the world. As such, the church does not have a social ethic; the church is a social ethic.”

Jesus alone is king. Rather than killing for freedom, we are called to faithfulness, even unto death. Instead of seeking social status through political alliances, we pursue our freedom to be the church apart from any social order. Rather than the polite society of Sunday mornings being the church could actually get us in trouble, Hauerwas concludes; “By God, sisters and brothers, being Christian could turn out to be more interesting than we had imagined.”

More interesting indeed. This is an uncomfortable book. But it has the ring of truth as being faithful to the one who went to the cross and bids us die. Charles E. Moore captures the message of Hauerwas across the years, and articulates an alternate path to quiet discouragement or political captivity. He skillfully edits the readings to make this a seamless composition. He also offers a brief biography of Hauerwas complemented by an Introduction by former Times columnist Tish Harrison Warren.

I love these Plough Spiritual Guides. Each one I’ve read calls me into both an encounter with Christ, and to the life of following him. This one is no exception. If you are discouraged with the state of the contemporary church, pick this up. It will both challenge your heart and capture your imagination.

____________________

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

[Timothy L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t read Stanley Hauerwas since the early 2000s. My last awareness of his work was Resident Aliens, which he wrote with William Willimon. I found Hauerwas’ mindset in that book to be encouraging, prophetic, and a clarion call to change our ways. When asked to review Hauerwas’ newest book, Jesus Changes Everything, I thought, “Wow, I wonder what he might have to say now.”

For those unfamiliar with Hauerwas, although he is being published in this new work by a quasi-Anabaptist publishing house, he is not an Anabaptist. Hauerwas is an American Protestant theologian, ethicist, and public intellectual. 1 He taught at the University of Notre Dame. Eventually, he moved to Duke University. Born in 1940 in Texas to a bricklayer, his formative life wasn’t a cakewalk. He was educated at Southwestern University, Yale, and the University of Edinburgh. Among his influences are Aristotle, Søren Kierkegaard, John Howard Yoder, and Michel Foucault. Hauerwas is a prodigious writer.

So why should anyone be interested in Hauerwas’s new book?

In a time when the reading arena is filled with superficial or divisive content, Hauerwas’s book serves as a refreshing return to the source—Jesus, who continues to change everything even today.

Background Details
I am not a light reader! When I read a book, it’s often not worth passing on to others. It’s marked up, and the page corners are bent. Finally, I copy the details from the book into a database for future use. This rigmarole takes me a bit.

One of the immediate draws of this book is its approachable size, a modest 5 x 7 inches. It doesn’t impose like a weighty tome from Dostoevsky or Dallas Willard. Readers will appreciate Hauerwas's straightforward approach, as if he were speaking to a high school student. His delivery is clear and his content, like a lush pasture in the Spring, envelops the reader rather than overwhelming them with intellect or pushiness. Chapters are concise, rarely exceeding 3-5 pages.

Notes about Content
Hauerwas begins discussing the kingdom of God without providing much more introduction than one might find in scripture. But then he weaves modern stories into the fray of consideration. The kingdom of God, as Hauerwas sees it, is about 'following Jesus' with a reckless abandon. This means living in a way that is radically different from the ways of the world, a commitment that shows itself in contrast to the ways of men.

In the first chapter, he relates the story of Koinonia Farms, an interracial experiment in Georgia of the 1950s. A pair of brothers, Clarence and Robert Jordan, became divided over applying the New Testament teachings in real life, rather than just observing and appreciating them as nice-sounding.

How many people do we know who appreciate the Bible or even the New Testament but can’t find the fortitude to apply it in real life? I suppose we could label it as hypocrisy. But it illustrates many we know who only give lip service to the truth. Hauerwas is laying an axe to that specific tree, which is more of a reality that is accepted and allowed in many places today.

Hauerwas maintains a full-court press against the idealism of religious passivity—which deals in platitudes and smiles—while denying entry into the fracas of life as Jesus’ disciple. If you follow Jesus, you won’t get a crooked nose by looking out the screen door. But you will get nicked up by stepping out from behind the safety of that screen door into the free-for-all of the world. It is only in the fracas that the fruit of God’s Spirit gets illustrated. It is borne out in our lives and interactions with the unregenerate world. Hauerwas borrows Bonhoeffer, who said it (faith) is a matter of being “dragged out of our relative security into a life of absolute insecurity—that is, in truth, into the absolute security and safety of the fellowship of Jesus.” 2

Hauerwas encourages us to come out from the safety of what calls itself church—a little safety nest we’ve created for ourselves, built over what is outlined in the New Testament. Jesus—and Stanley Hauerwas—are asking us to wade out into the ocean of what Jesus wants to do, where our security is Jesus himself. We’ve made “church” a panacea experience, whereas Jesus wants us to be His contrast to the world. This can’t be done by navel-gazing in pews within the fortresses of timber, shingles, brick, and mortar.

Hauerwas exposes our anemic view of love. “If Christ was but a preacher of love, one wonders how he could have ever ended on a cross—for who is going to object to that kind of preaching? He is nailed to the cross because his love is the revelation of God’s righteousness, which brings pain and change and calls us to extend the have to those we cannot seem to love.” 3 Wow! What an exposé of churchianity today? We prefer our mutual admiration and folks who look like us, to wading out into the world to love those who may be unlovable, and indeed, folks we wouldn’t usually choose to love.

Again, Hauerwas is cutting off the limb on which religious folks perch. Contrast means that a difference can be detected. The difference has to be present to contrast the world. This is a common issue for most forms of Christianity. They like holing up in buildings whose constituents never seem to differentiate themselves from the world other than in exteriors and talk. Hauerwas points to this issue. Much radicalness in our circles stops at “what we don’t do.” We’ve conflated radicalness with we don’t dress like the world, do entertainment, or drink—by so doing, we think we’ve upheld the radicalness of Jesus.

Throughout the book, Hauerwas presses the idea of an “alternative social ethic”—the kingdom of God. Anabaptists believe the kingdom of God is a now reality (as well as a greater eventuality). However, Hauerwas challenges even Anabaptists with the idea of living out the kingdom of God. “What kind of order was Jesus talking about? What kind of social alternative? This was a voluntary society: you could not be a citizen of it simply by being born into it… This was a society with no second-generation members. 4 This is a harsh word for religious types who consider their job to only be raising a family within a religious community.

Hauerwas shares about this theme, “To be a disciple of Jesus is to be grafted into a new family that Christ has constituted.” 5

But how many “new disciples” come into our circles this way?

Hauerwas continues, “The kingdom of God grows by witness and conversion.” 6 This section proves to be an admonition to those who have relegated “witness” to carrying on in a religious way within a religious community. We think that sinful folks will admire us coming and going in our reclusive spirituality. Yet when we read Matthew 28 19 and 20, which is never quoted in this volume, it says, “go, make disciples, which is an intentionality we need to square with.

As a continuation of his “alternative social ethic,” Hauerwas makes this statement: “The way for the world to know that it needs redeeming, that is, it’s broken and fallen, is for the church to enable the world to strike hard against something that is an alternative to what the world offers.” 7

I dearly appreciate this point. My former tradition would stone someone for saying such because they want an easy pass through the world to kick the bucket and go to be with Jesus—where it’s all good for them. Hauerwas is laying an axe to this notion. To be understood as God’s kingdom is not only to be differentiated—which Anabaptists have a fair understanding of—but also to be available to the world as a constant reminder to it of what it is not. We can’t hole up in our religious structures and be Good Samaritans only when we can’t escape it.

Concluding Thoughts:
Hauerwas’s book will be salty—even for those who have embraced conservative Anabaptism. It will be like walking on glass for nominal church people. Hauerwas is like the kindly old grandpa who says what we might not like to hear. One of the things I appreciate most about this book is that Hauerwas didn’t fall into the typical pitfalls of the false dichotomy between politically liberal and conservative perspectives on truth. The old Amish proverb says that there are two miles of ditches for every one mile of road. Many renditions of the “kingdom of God” in Anabaptist circles often fall into the social gospel (social justice, cultural equity, trying to make the world a better place…). Hauerwas stays clear of the ditches of this left-versus-right trap to present an alternative that the world will not try to replicate and often persecutes because it cannot stand being reflected in negative contrast. Hauerwas draws this point into sharp focus—an admonition for us in the degenerating days in which we live, yet still be “in” the world, to contrast with it.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley...
2. Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, ISBN 978-1-630608-157-1, pg. 8
3. Ibid, pg. 19
4. Ibid, pg. 41
5. Ibid, pg. 63
6. Ibid, pg. 63
7. Ibid, pg. 115

Notable Quotes:

Jesus calls us to join a community that is formed by a story that enables its member to trust the otherness of the other as the very sign of the forgiving character of God's kingdom.
Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 17

If Christ was but a preacher of love, one wonders how he could have ever ended on a cross – for who is going to object to that kind of preaching? He is nailed to the cross because his love is the revelation of God's righteousness, which brings pain and change and calls us to extend the have to those we cannot seem to love.
Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 19

What kind of order was Jesus talking about? What kind of social alternative? This was a voluntary society: you could not be a citizen of it simply by being born into it… This was a society with no second-generation members
Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 41

He (Jesus) gave them a new way to deal with problems of leadership - by drawing on the gift of every member.
Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 41

Charity is not about removing all injustice in the world, but about meeting the need of our neighbors right where we find them. And Christ shows us who our neighbors are. He expects us to bind up the wounds of those right before us.
Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 57

Christians do, and are obligated to, have a concern about the societies in which they exist, but our task is not to make (force) the world apart form Christ in the kingdom of love. Our task is to be a community where charity takes the from of truth. We must first be a people that is shaped by the story that sustains charity in a world where it cannot be sustained.
Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 58

Thought we must, in the interest of charity, ask the state to live up to its own standards of just, we must never delude ourselves into thinking that the justice of the state is what is required of us as people formed by God's kingdom.
Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 58

This is why the church is to be a community of charity. "See how they love one another," the pagans said of the Christians.
Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 58

To be a disciple of Jesus is to be grafted into a new family that Christ has constituted. Stanley Hauerwas Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 59

Rather, the kingdom of God grows by witness and conversion. Through such growth Christians will discover sisters and brothers we did not know we had.
Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 59

Today's church simply is not a soil capable of growing deep roots.
Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 79

The way for the world to know that it needs redeeming, that is its broken and fallen, is for the church to enable the world to strike hard against something that is an alternative to what the world offers. Stanley Hauerwas, Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 115

…the church and Christians must be uninvolved in the politics of society and involved in the polity that is the church. Stanley Hauerwas Jesus Changes Everything, pg. 117

[Judith Robinson]

Jesus Changes Everything A New World Made Possible by Stanley Hauerwas

Those of us not knowledgeable about the intricacies of theological differences, from ancient times to the present, must be thankful for those thinking so hard about Christians’ responses to Christ’s reconciliation for the world. Informed by theological scholarship, Stanley Hauerwas is clear. Following Jesus Christ has great cost, and he does not believe that making the world right relies on individualism or social justice but on a model that is hard to grasp. His words pierce. If we as individuals choose to love, we risk praising our own goodness. Any group movement, from Christian nationalism to secular progressivism will result in pride and its effects, including violence. He calls us to a community of “The Church” that rejects what he calls a benign faith. It does not privilege individualism, the nuclear family, personal identity, or romantic marriage. Disciples of Jesus must reject the trappings of power, be it political, economic, or even religious.

He asserts that love is not the central message of Christian community, but discipleship. God’s story, he says, is what transforms us to be capable of love, and offering love and acceptance to a person who is as yet untransformed by Jesus Christ does not show love. “One can now be a ‘Christian’ without having to become Jesus’ disciple.” His statement does not contain the word “nominal,” suggesting a deep divide. The Beatitudes, he says, are not about a better society but are “imaginative examples of life in the kingdom of God” because God’s plan has already worked for reconciliation in the world. This requires a particular kind of community that must learn to rely not only on God but on each other to keep all members faithful to this belief. St. Augustine’s words “Love and do what you will” are not compatible with The Church’s model.

It must exist apart, not entangled in the world with its wrongness. Violence and suffering, money and sharing, corruption and a new order must be evaluated in the right way to do the work of reconciliation. His message suggests that there is one way to follow Jesus Christ, and it is the one that Hauerwas believes looks only to the person of Jesus Christ. Yet, he does not clearly identify or explain the core attributes in the person of Jesus Christ with whom we must totally adhere as Christians. He praises Calvin’s statement that being wealthy and redeemed also necessitates being poor in our hearts. But he does not mention Calvin’s theocracy that allowed burning of a perceived heretic, even though Hauerwas describes the model community of The Church as one that will suffer persecution, must be willing to die, but must never kill.

Many who come to a variety of churches are searching for acceptance and strength. How do these searchers and those Christians who welcome them connect with the model community of The Church? “Love one another” takes many forms in definition and action. Christ’s voice remains in shared worship, solitary confinement, marriage, and any other circumstance. Yet, it seems that for Hauerwas, The Church’s right reason in response to a suffering world is more important than the compassion that Christ demonstrated throughout his ministry.

I recommend the book for thinking and discussion about these hard questions, preferably with a theologian.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up.

This book is part of a series that collects significant writings from different figures in church history. Jesus Changes Everything offers twenty-five readings from Stanley Hauerwas, a well-respected theologian. The book begins with an introduction by Tish Harrison Warren, and then the series editor, Charles E. Moore, explains for new audiences who Hauerwas is. Both writers highlight how difficult it is to pigeonhole this man's thinking into an ideological camp, and they reflect on how striking and challenging many of his insights are. The readings deliver on these expectations, and feel fresh and insightful.

The readings focus on what it means to be Jesus's disciple, and the author challenges Christians in the West to stop looking for renwed political and social power and influence, and to follow the way of Jesus as laid out in the New Testament. Hauerwas has many provocative things to say about the type of community the church ought to be, and how Western Christians should handle matters like money, politics, and war. The brevity of each reading sometimes works against the author's points, since he doesn't have time to unpack nuances or respond in a substantial way to good faith objections. There are times where he seems to just drop a zinger and move on. However, I found this book insightful and thought-provoking, even when I disagreed.

The readings come from some of Hauerwas's previously published works, and some of them splice together passages from different projects. I appreciate that Hauerwas was personally involved in preparing these readings for excerpted publication, because this ensures that the patched-together writings still reflect his ideas and intent. However, some of the readings feel a bit choppy at times, and there are some abrupt transitions. I enjoyed this book regardless, and I especially appreciated the reflections about The Sermon on the Mount and about what it means for the church to be a truthful community.

Jesus Changes Everything is a thought-provoking essay collection that will appeal to people who want to sample this theologian's writing, and to longtime readers who would appreciate these bite-sized selections of Hauerwas's academic works. Because this book has short chapters and is brief overall, it is far more accessible than other books by the author, while still representing many of the key ideas and core themes from his longer works.

I received a free copy from the publisher, and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm new to reading Stanley Hauerwas, although I've seen his work mentioned multiple times in the past. I was given a free copy to review by Plough and was excited to read the book.

The book is divided into a series of 25 very short chapters containing a Bible verse or short passage at the beginning and then Hauerwas's reflections on the passage. I believe that the books is a collection of thoughts and material from his other writings.

Tish Harrison Warren wrote the Introduction which is followed by a short essay by Charles E. Moore entitled "Who is Stanley Hauerwas?" which provides context on Hauerwas's thoughts and approach.

I found the book to be very readable and liked the fact that I could read it in small bites. One could use it as a devotional or a short study.

Some of the reflections resonated strongly with me, naming and describing, rip tides in Christianity in the West that I've sensed but haven't been able to identify. There were other reflections that reminded me of who Jesus is and his calling on those who seek to live in the church. There were others that I had trouble digesting as I wasn't sure I was able or perhaps willing to go as far as Hauerwas's conclusions but his thoughts did get me to start thinking about whether I've missed what he is seeing or whether there might be other conclusions to be drawn than he did. Either way I found myself going away and reflecting on what I had read.

I think one of the key takeaways, for me, was Hauerwas's conviction that Jesus is about truth, the church is to reflect Jesus's church, not just as a moral ethic or ideal, but to actually reflect Jesus's life to the world and that reflection will result in suffering and persecution as the church holds to truth in a dishonest world. Hauerwas believes that our current western church has some ways to go in holding to Jesus's truth but it is really our only option if we take Jesus at his word.

I appreciated Hauerwas's humility and willingness to admit that he didn't always know exactly what a cruciform life would look like but throughout the book it was clear he believed we have to respond to Jesus's call for the church to reflect Jesus's way in a world that insists on other ways.

I felt this book was well worth the read and I plan to go back and review the many passages I've highlighted.

[Joseph J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I opened these pages knowing nothing of Stanley Hauerwas, a man hailed by Time magazine as America's Theologian. These days, especially, such a designation inspired images of filled amphitheaters, more politically than religiously charged with emotion. But, knowing Plough publishing standards, and record, I began reading in trust, and continued with eye-opening enthusiasm! In these days especially, as too many religious leaders seek a bone crushing embrace from certain political and powerful figures, Hauerwas emerges as a modern-day prophet, with a true Christian based theology. A little Anabaptist, a little Anglican, a little Catholic to paraphrase one description, but his words will make some (many) in any congregation and pulpit/altar cringe. His words hit me between my eyes: the often-lamented decline of Christianity from some quarters is actually a good! This cultural isolation gives voice to a free and actual proclamation of the Gospel free of state influence-or corporate for that matter. Growing up Catholic in the South of the 1960's, I knew bigotry and exclusion and taunts born of ignorance. I was mistaken as Jewish; Jewish/Catholic-same thing...The Other. But my parish church was standing room on Sundays. Now, my current parish which in segregation served the black community is predominately white and has dances at the country club, but there are gaps in the pews and parents lament children who no longer practice their faith. YES! We were better off, stronger spiritually and identifiable as "The Other" down here, not part of the local power structure. And in this day of the Gospel of wealth, Hauerwas reminds us of St. Lawrence-he of the griddle-who when command to bring the church's riches, he brought the poor and the sick. Light the coals! I found this book and these explosions of insight hard to put down. Thank you Plough and Stanley Hauerwas.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this as part of my Plough subscription, and where I'd heard *of* Hauerwas, I'd not yet gotten around to reading him.

The book was, as promised, fierce and engaging, parsing less like academic theology and more like a strangely provocative devotional. Each of the tight little reflective essays play around core themes of the faith, and I found myself consistently stirred in their reading.

Stirred, in that I resonated with one tartly presented theological insight after another. The purpose of the church is discipleship, always and without question, and where he presses back against co-optation by social and political movements, I'm all in. But also and very infrequently, I was stirred in a "no, that willfully misrepresents Jesus" sort of way. When the latter occurred, it felt like a Hegelian exercise, in which antithesis was defiantly presented to thesis, with the synthesis left yawningly unspoken.

Like, say, his little essay baldly rejecting the idea that the ethic of love is fundamental to the person, teachings, and purpose of Christ. If love is understood in a shallow sense, sure, yeah, there with ya, Stanley. It easily becomes generic pabulum. But without it? Without it you've thrown out the nature of God with the bathwater, lost the lede in pursuit of a cold stone orthodoxy, and turned Christ into Ba'al. It'd be a fun argument to have, and he's a delightful mind to have discovered.

Well worth the read, and I enjoyed the provocation. A four point three.

[Isaiah]

I got an ARC of this book.

I made some mistakes. I thought this was a graphic novel. The publisher that offered it to me tends to have really indepth and fascinating graphic novels around religion and history. I was excited to get a graphic novel about Jesus and see what I hadn't seen before. This is not a graphic novel, instead it is a collections of writings.

The writings go a bit over my head. I have not studied the source material enough to really be able to keep up with Hauerwas and his thinking. Sometimes I would be nodding along and thinking I was getting it, then bam the next sentence was a seemingly unrelated thing entirely. I might need to revisit this when I am done with my study Bible and try again. There clearly is something important about Hauerwas's writing to get this collection made and the introductions spoke so highly of him.

What little I was able to grasp intriqued me. So I am leaving this as unrated. I need to do some more reading before I can truly give this book a fair chance. I was interested in all the challenges that Hauerwas gave though. Who is a true disciple of Jesus and who is just a fan. That distinction was something that seems incredibly necessary.

[Bonnie F · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book that I have read about writings by theologian Stanley Hauerwas and I must say, it was pleasantly surprising. Not only did it open my eyes to new viewpoints about living the Christian life, but I found his works to be enlightening.

I was most struck by the concept presented regarding the difference between being a disciple versus being an admirer of Jesus. As a believer for 50 plus years, I had never even considered this before. I always assumed the two were melded together but Hauerwas gives a different picture. Of course believers admire Jesus and long to be his disciples, but to truly be a disciple of Christ, one must allow every aspect of their being to be permeated by the person of Christ while at the same time loving and supporting his or her community.

This was a quick read and I would like to thank Plough publishing for providing me with an advanced reader copy. I would recommend this book to anyone desiring to understand how to live more like Christ.

[Jacob Vahle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last year was my first real introduction to Hauerwas. I read two chapters from one of his books in anticipation of him Zooming into Bible class (how my colleague got Stanley Hauerwas to agree to zoom in is a mystery).

A student asks “What does it mean to BE the church?”
Hauerwas, now 85, sits in silence for about 30 seconds, leans forward, and in his wonderful raspy voice, says with complete sincerity “To be the church is to say ‘Jesus Christ is Lord, and everything else is bullshit.’” Then he leans back in his chair.

That is the crux of this book. That we’ve made being the church some secondary thing, that we’ve made this identity subservient to both our conservative and liberal ideologies, that we’ve followed a religion of our making. That we’ve tacked too many qualifiers on the statement that “Jesus is Lord.”

This is an amazing little book that is a great intro to Hauerwas on discipleship, politics, economics, pacifism, and the radical call to follow Jesus.

[Michelle Kidwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jesus Changes Everything
A New World Made Possible
by Stanley Hauerwas
Book 7 of Plough Spiritual Guides series
Pub DateMar 11 2025
Plough Publishing |Plough Publishing House
Christian| Nonfiction \(Adult\)| Religion & Spirituality


What can we do to make the gospel central to our lives?



Hauerwas has been provoking Christians with his insistence that following their Master will impact all areas of life, both personal and societal.


According to the lanky Texan dubbed “America’s theologian” for his insightful insights into current ethical issues, Christians should embrace their status as outsiders instead of complaining about the loss of cultural and political power. Jesus has always had a radical alternative in mind for them.


I give Jesus Changes Everything five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

[Angelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his lifechanging book, Jesus Changes Everything, theologian Stanley Hauerwas shows us the difference between those who are “admirers” of Jesus and true “disciples” and how that applies to life in our world today where politics and power make the average Christian feel like an outsider.



Mr. Hauerwas writes in a down-to-earth way that anyone can identify with and take something away from. I found something in every chapter that I wanted to write down and use as motivation in my Christian journey. With short chapters, and common sense advice, this is a great book for study groups or devotional reading.



I received an advance copy of this book from Plough Publishing and am happily leaving this five-star review.

[Storhmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where to began with this book but only the truth. This was a well written book that I really enjoyed.
So many individuals like to state that you do not come in the world with directions, but what a lie that is. The Bible is all the directions you need in this world and Stanley Haurwas you did a wonderful job adding to it.
This a wonderful guide if you are ever unclear of things when it comes to our Lord and the lives that he is wanting us to lead. I also appreciate the scriptures that came along with it this read. Needless too say, I am totally floored with your book and I hope for the opportunity to read more.
This is not to be missed out on!!!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you kindly.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Focused on discipleship. Challenging. Addresses many different issues in the life of a modern day American Christian. 25 short chapters, but chapters organized into these sections: Following Jesus, Good News, God’s Alternative Society, Kingdom Economics, Sowing Seeds of Peace & The Politics of Witness. Conversations churches should be having that are biblical, but also recognize the environment of the American church today, and what it looks like to be a disciple of Jesus now.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a selection from various of Hauerwas's books. The readings are short, usually just a few pages, set up as a kind of daily devotional reading. It differs profoundly from most devotional reading. Most devotional books are intended to make the reader feel good, to be comforted and encouraged. These readings challenge the reader. You won't agree with everything Hauerwas writes, but you will be challenged by everything he writes to rethink what you think about Jesus and the church. Recommended for those who want to be challenged and to grow in their faith.

[Jesse Nickel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every once in a great while, I read a book and am simultaneously so thankful to have encountered the thoughts and words of its author, and also disappointed that I've gone this long without his/her voice contributing to how I think. That's the case with Hauerwas. This is only the second book of his that I've read, and I can't believe that. That needs to be fixed. This book was an incredible collection of excerpts from Hauerwas's work.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not 5 stars bc I agree with everything but bc this distills much of his writing into a very readable and accessible format.
He communicates clearly
He gets to the point
He roots his thought in scripture
He challenges… lots.
Even if you read a phrase and wonder, is this radical (though much of Jesus’ teachings are) you can’t help be provoked to reflection and discernment and hopefully move to “how do I love this?”
Great book!

[Jeff Culver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic overview of lots of Hauerwas’s thought, distilled into short chapters on themes of nonviolence, family, truth, politics, and wealth. Very short, but loaded with crucial principles, ideas, and claims that require pausing and reflecting. It’s drawing on and summarizing sundry of Hauerwas’s voluminous output.

[Audrey Stars in Her Eye · Rating 5 out of 5]

These essays were easy to read. They didn't use heavy language or is too wordy in a way normal people can't understand. They challenged even my views and opened my eyes. This is definitely something Christians should read as part of their studies.

[Denny Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is extremely useful and beneficial for Christians living in the United States of America in 2025. How do we live out the Kingdom of God and follow our only king, Jesus Christ? Stanley Hauerwas provides instruction and insight to navigate through these anxious days.