In Pursuit of Kindness

by Jason Farley

Kindness seems to have fallen by the wayside in the Christian Church. At best it is ignored and forgotten. At worst it is treated like a weakness. But the harder the church attempts to produce culture warriors ready to fight for the nation’s soul, the less effective she becomes at leading people to Jesus. The more we have focused on dealing death in the battles of today the less we have been able to find life.

Perhaps we have forgotten certain key characteristics of a disciple of Jesus. Solomon taught us millennia ago "Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor” (Proverbs 21:21) If we are going to find life, and if we are going to follow Jesus, then we need to be pursuing the virtue of kindness. This book, In Pursuit of Kindness, attempts to give both shape and spirit to your personal quest for kindness so that you will find the life that can only be found hidden there.

74 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 29, 2015

Reviews

[Steve Hemmeke]

Please read and listen to everything by Jason Farley.
You can find some of his work at Fight Laugh Feast – Chocolate Knox Unplugged podcasts.

An effective antidote to cranky conservatism, Farley knows how to put the screws to those who put truth over grace. His sweeping grasp of Christian cosmology captivates.

In Pursuit of Kindness, he especially rejects a stern, censorious version of the Gospel. But he also rejects the compromising liberal gospel.

Kindness is key.

[Sam]

Good short read. A good book to reset your outlook on life.

[Shaina Herrmann]

I actually began reading this book in April 2019. We had met Jason at Grace Agenda in Moscow, decided to buy his new book, and when I first began reading it was the day I found out I was expecting baby #4. I quickly earned that reading while pregnant was practically impossible for me, so the book remained on the shelf for many months....and then we moved to Idaho, where the book remained packed in a box until November 2020!

I'd like to write a more thorough review sometime, but for now I will just say that I enjoyed this book from start to finish. Perhaps someday I'll read it all together!


My only criticism is that it needs to be edited quite a bit - several missing words, typos, etc. :-)

[Kyle McNeill]

Walked into this one with no expectations, and walked out with nothing but joy. Jason Farley's faithfulness to know and understand ancient writings and texts, coupled with his understanding of new and inventive stories has truly been a blessing to read and to know. I cannot recommend this book enough. From discussions about cannibalistic kings to clothes made from fig trees, this book aids in wiping away all the muck and grime from your eyes to see the one true thing that matters. Jesus and his loving and all powerful kindness.

[James]

This is a great book everyone should read it... I enjoyed it so much I bought copies and handed them out to my family and friends... It does need some editing and has grammatical issues but I believe that's because the author published it himself... Kudos to Mr. Farley, I do not believe it takes away from the book!

[Clay]

All I want is more.

Very good book about applying and explaining Kindness. I would love to read an expanded edition. I bought a few extra copies to hand out.

[Marty Hadding]

What to say about this book?
I'm from the south. Born and raised by a long line of true genteel women who are the epitome of society's definition of kindness.
Of course I expected a christian book to take it below a surface level of being nice but I didn't realize just how much I didn't understand what true biblical kindness is. It's actually a bit misleading when you start reading it. You're kinda like, "Okay, I see there is more to this concept than I previously thought." And then suddenly you're sitting up a little straighter and rereading a paragraph because somehow you aren't sure you read what you just read correctly. Only you did and it is so simple but it changes your thinking, adding depth or texture ~ I'm not sure how to put it.
Not exactly sure what I expected from the ending but it was more than I was prepared for. It was, to put it simply, beautiful.

[Hope]

A great little book to uproot bitterness and remember God's abundant kindness to us. I stowed away a good number of quotes in my commonplace book as I need to return to this theme often.