Damage Control: How to Stop Making Jesus Look Bad

by Dean Merrill

People don't like Christians. It's a sad fact, but it's true. Instead of being seen as representatives of a loving God, Christians are often seen as narrow-minded, exclusionary, or pushy. In Damage Control, Dean Merrill examines what Christians can do to stop making Jesus look bad. "Let's shine a light on what we're doing wrong--and what we, as 'field reps,' could do better," he says. In three parts, Merrill looks at God's "shaky plan"--why God left his reputation in the hands of fallible humans--the ways we hurt God's cause without realizing it, and the ways we can help God's cause. This insightful and energizing book will show Christians how to engage in spiritual disciplines, peaceful practices, and evangelism to represent Christ for who he really is.

176 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2006

About the author

Dean Merrill is a former magazine editor (Campus Life, Leadership Journal, Christian Herald) and editorial director (David C. Cook, Focus on the Family) who has written 10 books and coauthored 35 others with such voices as
• Philippine missionary survivor Gracia Burnham
• Compassion International president Wess Stafford
• Hobby Lobby founder and CEO David Green
• Brooklyn Tabernacle pastor Jim Cymbala.
Several have won Gold Medallion Awards as well as been ranked on the New York Times bestseller lists.

His most recent titles have been "Miracle Invasion" (BroadStreet, 2018) and "50 Pentecostal and Charismatic Leaders Every Christian Should Know" (Chosen, 2021).

Merrill and his wife have lived in Colorado Springs since 1991. They are the parents of three married children and have welcomed a full dozen grandchildren (ten biological, two adopted).

Reviews

[Showey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gets the point across (and this was instilled in me from high school onwards): remember who you are and Who you represent.

The author didn't get judgmental on issues that my own denomination supports. He acknowledged that the issue of homosexuals IS an issues in some churches. But he didn't lose this Episcopalian from Michigan.

I mention Michigan because of recent events at our state house regarding the Jewish stance on maternal health superseding any claims of the unborn. As you may recall, this was overshadowed by brouhaha over use of a more technical word instead of the more appropriate term "hoo ha" by a Jewish Representative.

The supposed distance between churches was clear to me this week as I taught Vacation Bible School lessons created by a Protestant organization to children from our church and one of the local Roman Catholic churches. We have much in common. None of us really knows what God was, is, or will think.

We are just very, very glad that He loves us all. How we get that message out to others matters more than our differences. That we must try, and that we are responsible for how we try is not something any Christian can contest.

I plan to buy additional copies to use for evangelism training at my church.

[Duane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The author does a magnificant job of explaining how today's christians are hampering the entire meaning of being a christian. The author used the first half of the book showing us how our daily lifestyle and words create a barrier that non-christians use against us. In the second half, the author does a nice job of helping us understand how we can change our choices and words to help spread the faith that is such a bedrock of a moral country. A great reader for every faithful person.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent study of why the Christian establishment, and those within it, can deter rather than attract those on the outside, and goes beyond the obvious "behave like Jesus wants Christians to behave" - although that's a huge part of it - into discussions of language and attitudes that can be a real turn-off. Sensible and enlightening.

[Grant Davis]

Excellent read ! I would recommend this as a MUST READ for anyone than plans to be active in ministry. The author beckons us to view our responsibilities as Christians more as Ambassadors for the Kingdom of Heaven than as footsoldiers...a very compelling proposition indeed !

[Lucia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was OK, but some parts of the book makes me feels like jumping to the end. Nevertheless, great insights of do(s) and don't(s), though I don't usually like to be legalistic