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ReJesus: A Wild Messiah for a Missional Church
ReJesus asks the following
* What ongoing role does Jesus the Messiah play in shaping the ethos and self understanding of the movement that originated in him?
* How is the Christian religion informed and shaped by the Jesus that we meet in the Gospels?
* How do we assess the continuity required between the life and example of Jesus and the subsequent religion called Christianity?
* In how many ways do we domesticate the radical Revolutionary in order to sustain our religion and religiosity?
* How can a rediscovery of Jesus renew our discipleship, the Christian community, and the ongoing mission of the church? These questions take us to the core of what the church is all about. Rather than reformation, the authors call their task re-founding the church because it raises the issue of the Church's true Founder or Foundation. This theme is of particular importance at the dawn of the twenty-first century as many attempt to address Christianity's endemic and long trended decline in the West. The authors feel that a spiritual, theological, missional, and existential crisis looms in the West.
* What ongoing role does Jesus the Messiah play in shaping the ethos and self understanding of the movement that originated in him?
* How is the Christian religion informed and shaped by the Jesus that we meet in the Gospels?
* How do we assess the continuity required between the life and example of Jesus and the subsequent religion called Christianity?
* In how many ways do we domesticate the radical Revolutionary in order to sustain our religion and religiosity?
* How can a rediscovery of Jesus renew our discipleship, the Christian community, and the ongoing mission of the church? These questions take us to the core of what the church is all about. Rather than reformation, the authors call their task re-founding the church because it raises the issue of the Church's true Founder or Foundation. This theme is of particular importance at the dawn of the twenty-first century as many attempt to address Christianity's endemic and long trended decline in the West. The authors feel that a spiritual, theological, missional, and existential crisis looms in the West.
204 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2008
About the author
Michael Frost
68 books101 followersMichael Frost is the founding director of the Tinsley Institute at Morling College. He is an internationally recognised Australian missiologist and one of the leading voices in the missional church movement. His books are required reading in colleges and seminaries around the world and he is much sought after as an international conference speaker. Michael Frost blogs at mikefrost.net
See also other Michael Frosts.
See also other Michael Frosts.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 21, 2021
Somehow finished this five years to the day, picking it up this year after a LONG hiatus. Frost and Hirsch wrote as theologians, but theologians who truly KNOW Jesus and love him deeply. This conviction can sometimes come across as arrogance - and I certainly don’t always agree with where they want the church to go ecclesiologically, but I always learn more about the heart of mission and the person of Jesus as I read books like reJesus. And I always leave challenged to get back to the heart of the gospel in local church leadership.
July 27, 2011
I had no idea what to expect. This book took me a long time to go through because of the content and the time it took to digest. It is one of the best books I've read this year and probably most influential. I recommend it to anyone!
December 25, 2012
To me this is the best book Hirsch & Frost have written together apart from "Shaping". I believe every church "leader" should read this book and re-engage the Jesus of the Scriptures. Until then, he/she should not teach about Jesus.
April 30, 2010
I really liked this book. Stressed the life of Jesus as the model of faith.
March 3, 2011
An excellent book for those frustrated with modern "Christianity" and anyone who seeks to get back to the simplicity of Jesus.
July 28, 2011
Great reminder not to water down the story of the Real Jesus and his missional and radical life.
Read
August 11, 2011Excellent. Don't read it too fast like i did.
April 24, 2009
Compelling look at following Jesus rather than getting caught up in lifeless religion.
June 18, 2025
This book, first published 2009, sounds a timely call to the post-Christendom church to return to a whole-hearted commitment to the person of Jesus. Jesus needs to be the starting point for all our work and ministry, the focus of our own lives and spirituality, and the lens through whom we view all things.
While reading this book I was completing a unit of study on "Making disciples and leaders" and much that the authors had to say related directly to what I was studying. Here is a long quote that sums up the book for me:
But the book doesn't stop there. The authors carefully unpack the implications of all this for discipleship, the church (read their provocative bit on "Christianity as Antireligion" and "Jesus was a true Pharisee"), mission and everything that we do under the banner of Christianity and the church. In fact they suggest changing banners, from Christianity and church to just one banner: "Jesus."
Read the book if you're ready to be challenged. Read it if you believe with them (and Paul and Peter) that "the gospel is Jesus and Jesus alone." Read it if you find yourself desperately clinging to Jesus and join Frost & Hirsch on their quest to "ReJesus the church" (p.196).
While reading this book I was completing a unit of study on "Making disciples and leaders" and much that the authors had to say related directly to what I was studying. Here is a long quote that sums up the book for me:
That discipleship is foundational to Christianity and its mission therefore goes without saying. If we fail here, we will fail everywhere. ... a living relationship with the Lord of the universe is a risky, disturbing, and demanding experience. We never get the better of him, and it is a whole lot easier, and less costly, to think than to do. It is not good enough that we just follow his teachings or a religious code developed in his wake. Discipleship requires a direct and unmediated relationship with the Lord, and the loss of this immediacy is catastrophic to the movement that claims his name. (pp.50-51)
But the book doesn't stop there. The authors carefully unpack the implications of all this for discipleship, the church (read their provocative bit on "Christianity as Antireligion" and "Jesus was a true Pharisee"), mission and everything that we do under the banner of Christianity and the church. In fact they suggest changing banners, from Christianity and church to just one banner: "Jesus."
Read the book if you're ready to be challenged. Read it if you believe with them (and Paul and Peter) that "the gospel is Jesus and Jesus alone." Read it if you find yourself desperately clinging to Jesus and join Frost & Hirsch on their quest to "ReJesus the church" (p.196).
November 16, 2019
A great read and reminder
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was a very convicting read in a great way, and a great reminder to go back to the source of our faith in our faith. I thought they had a lot of useful illustrations and varied examples and having the "Little Jesus" sections interspersed throughout was a smart way to put some proof in the pudding so to speak. I'll admit I didn't always follow everything, some chapters were more impactful to me than others (as with all books, particularly Christian ones), and I wasn't sure I always followed the logical through line of the structure like I should have, but I'm sure additional read thoughts would help. Definitely an important book for our time, or any time, and worth reading/meditating on again. I would love to do a book discussion group on this.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was a very convicting read in a great way, and a great reminder to go back to the source of our faith in our faith. I thought they had a lot of useful illustrations and varied examples and having the "Little Jesus" sections interspersed throughout was a smart way to put some proof in the pudding so to speak. I'll admit I didn't always follow everything, some chapters were more impactful to me than others (as with all books, particularly Christian ones), and I wasn't sure I always followed the logical through line of the structure like I should have, but I'm sure additional read thoughts would help. Definitely an important book for our time, or any time, and worth reading/meditating on again. I would love to do a book discussion group on this.
October 17, 2021
This book has helped me become more critical of the version of Jesus that I seek to follow on a day to day. The questions Frost and Hirsch pose have incredible theological depth, and are deeply convicting.
One of my favorite points the book makes, is that our discipleship is too often centered around a doctrine or denomination. But we cannot become like a doctrine, not a denomination. We can, though, become like a person. And there’s a deep need for our discipleship to be recentered around the person of Jesus.
I love how the books premise is simple, but the application of it feels complex. I wish Frost and Hirsch did spend more time getting practical about their theological thesis, and provided more examples of where within the body of Christ this is being lived out well. But i do appreciate their thinking and their teaching.
One of my favorite points the book makes, is that our discipleship is too often centered around a doctrine or denomination. But we cannot become like a doctrine, not a denomination. We can, though, become like a person. And there’s a deep need for our discipleship to be recentered around the person of Jesus.
I love how the books premise is simple, but the application of it feels complex. I wish Frost and Hirsch did spend more time getting practical about their theological thesis, and provided more examples of where within the body of Christ this is being lived out well. But i do appreciate their thinking and their teaching.
July 29, 2026
Sometimes the authors of missional “radical” Christian books feel contrarian, or subjects of the “either/or” fallacy; they want to be divisive and offer something new, when that is a very dangerous desire in Christianity—and often it’s completely unnecessary! This book felt genuinely reformational. Instead of an aspiration for new development, it was a call backwards to the start, and a look at where we may have drifted. I may not have agreed with all their conclusions, but i do their thesis. We need to always be reforming into a more Christo-centric church.
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August 10, 2026Emphasizing the mission of following Jesus and encouraging folks to really think about discipleship. Back in the day, in the early 2000s, this was the kind of thing we were all reading in the young devout US Christian world. I don’t remember many details but it was inspiring to those of us trying to live out authentic Christianity
January 11, 2016
There is much in this book that resonates with my soul. A long time ago Jesus put on my heart a "holy discontent for the status quo." I literally looked around the church in which I was worshiping and said to myself, "I'm not sure what Jesus wanted his church to become, but I'm pretty sure this isn't it." And that launched what has become a 50-year quest to discover what Jesus wants his church to look like, and do whatever I can to bring that vision to reality.
To mix my metaphors, the church is my momma, and my momma is very sick. In many ways Frost and Hirsch's book is a prescription for my sick momma; and I greatly appreciate their efforts. I agree with almost everything they say.
But ironically, their prescription for getting my momma healthy again had the nasty side-effect of sickening my soul. I realize this is my problem and not a flaw inherent in the book. But way too often on this 50-year quest of mine, my "holy discontent for the status quo" turned decidedly "unholy," and I became exceedingly judgmental of those I deemed keepers of the status quo I was fighting so fiercely against; the status quo that was keeping my momma sick; the kind of things Frost and Hirsch identified as less than an authentic Jesus lifestyle. And in my judgment I became bitter, and that bitterness choked off whatever good I was trying to do, like the seed sown in thorny soil. And in my bitterness I hurt people. I hurt them a lot. And I did not resemble the Savior I was trying to follow. After reading ReJesus, I had to go to Jesus, name my demons, and ask him to once again heal me of my bitterness that keeps me out of God's will and hurts the very people Jesus has asked me to shepherd.
One other thing embittered me as I read this book--which again, I agree with almost everything in it. As Frost and Hirsch were identifying inauthentic images of Jesus and the artwork that portrays those inauthentic images, they lifted up Holman's "Jesus the Light of the World," and called it "Bearded-Lady Jesus." Well, I have "Bearded-Lady Jesus" hanging in my dining room. The picture and the backstory that goes with it inspires me. I don't know if Frost or Hirsch have their favorite picture of Jesus hanging in their homes--the "Wild Jesus" that resonates so deeply in their souls. But I wouldn't criticize them for having it. I didn't appreciate being criticized for mine.
Which leads to the lesson Jesus keeps trying to teach me as I battle the bitterness that accompanies my "holy" discontent: It is one thing to love the vision Jesus has given me for the church; it is another thing to love the people for whom the vision is meant to nurture, inspire, and transform. And the challenge for me is to figure out how to ReJesus the people the Good Shepherd has entrusted to my care without valuing the vision more than the persons for whom the vision is meant.
To mix my metaphors, the church is my momma, and my momma is very sick. In many ways Frost and Hirsch's book is a prescription for my sick momma; and I greatly appreciate their efforts. I agree with almost everything they say.
But ironically, their prescription for getting my momma healthy again had the nasty side-effect of sickening my soul. I realize this is my problem and not a flaw inherent in the book. But way too often on this 50-year quest of mine, my "holy discontent for the status quo" turned decidedly "unholy," and I became exceedingly judgmental of those I deemed keepers of the status quo I was fighting so fiercely against; the status quo that was keeping my momma sick; the kind of things Frost and Hirsch identified as less than an authentic Jesus lifestyle. And in my judgment I became bitter, and that bitterness choked off whatever good I was trying to do, like the seed sown in thorny soil. And in my bitterness I hurt people. I hurt them a lot. And I did not resemble the Savior I was trying to follow. After reading ReJesus, I had to go to Jesus, name my demons, and ask him to once again heal me of my bitterness that keeps me out of God's will and hurts the very people Jesus has asked me to shepherd.
One other thing embittered me as I read this book--which again, I agree with almost everything in it. As Frost and Hirsch were identifying inauthentic images of Jesus and the artwork that portrays those inauthentic images, they lifted up Holman's "Jesus the Light of the World," and called it "Bearded-Lady Jesus." Well, I have "Bearded-Lady Jesus" hanging in my dining room. The picture and the backstory that goes with it inspires me. I don't know if Frost or Hirsch have their favorite picture of Jesus hanging in their homes--the "Wild Jesus" that resonates so deeply in their souls. But I wouldn't criticize them for having it. I didn't appreciate being criticized for mine.
Which leads to the lesson Jesus keeps trying to teach me as I battle the bitterness that accompanies my "holy" discontent: It is one thing to love the vision Jesus has given me for the church; it is another thing to love the people for whom the vision is meant to nurture, inspire, and transform. And the challenge for me is to figure out how to ReJesus the people the Good Shepherd has entrusted to my care without valuing the vision more than the persons for whom the vision is meant.
April 30, 2012
i've just read the first forty pages, the authors are a bit dismissive of conservative Christians.
the people that recommend it are apparently doing so out of friendship, a usual thing for blurbs but i wish "Christian" authors would be different. one of the raves is from someone the book is dedicated to. haven't looked through the book enough to know if other blub writers are mentioned in the text.
i enjoyed much of this book, frustrated by some, my copy is now scrawled thruout w/my thoughts.
(wish they'd take the bio of menchu out.)
many of their points are quite powerful, the most basic of which is read the gospels.
READ THE GOSPELS.
the people that recommend it are apparently doing so out of friendship, a usual thing for blurbs but i wish "Christian" authors would be different. one of the raves is from someone the book is dedicated to. haven't looked through the book enough to know if other blub writers are mentioned in the text.
i enjoyed much of this book, frustrated by some, my copy is now scrawled thruout w/my thoughts.
(wish they'd take the bio of menchu out.)
many of their points are quite powerful, the most basic of which is read the gospels.
READ THE GOSPELS.
Read
November 23, 2018A great book on bringing Jesus back into the church. And not just any...but a more biblical one. One section I like talked about the several different Jesus's out there
- The bearded -lady Jesus
-The spooky Jesus
- The ordinary Galilean Jesus
Each one missing the mark. This book is a call to discipleship to the biblical Jesus..a wild Messiah. The intersection of Orthodoxy, Orthopraxy and Orthopathy.
- The bearded -lady Jesus
-The spooky Jesus
- The ordinary Galilean Jesus
Each one missing the mark. This book is a call to discipleship to the biblical Jesus..a wild Messiah. The intersection of Orthodoxy, Orthopraxy and Orthopathy.
August 17, 2013
Are you ready for Jesus you never knew? A radical Jesus? Jesus a revolutionary? Frost and Hirsch give just an introduction to Jesus who challenges everything about our status quo. Suggested ways to do so include allowing Scripture to read us, becoming a little Jesus, and more. Overall, the book is a place to begin a renewal of one's personal and corporate life with God.
March 17, 2009
If you've read any books in the realm of "emergent" or "missional" genre then this won't blow you away; however, it is full of great insight and encouragement into what it means to be a church of little Jesus'.
July 2, 2016
Some sections were really good and others were so so at best. Great quotes throughout the book. Thought the book could have stayed concentrated on the thesis more consistently. Needed tightened up in my opinion.
January 12, 2011
Have not completed, put aside for present.
February 7, 2015
In typical fashion Hirsch and Frost put complex and challenging spiritual truths into concise and beautiful writing. Excellent remind to keep life, individual and corporate, centered on Jesus.
May 11, 2015
An excellent articulation of the need to recenter both disciple-making and ecclesiology/missiology upon the person and teaching of Jesus.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews