Christians in the Age of Outrage

Title: Christians in the Age of Outrage: How to Bring Our Best When the World is at its Worst

Author: Ed Stetzer

Publisher: Tyndale Momentum

Genre: Christian Nonfiction

Source: Library

My review: 

Christians in the Age of Outrage is the second book that I have read by Ed Stetzer. I loved the first one (Spiritual Warfare and Missions), and I loved this one, which tells me I need to read more of his works. I think what "got" me with both books is the relevancy factor. Both books are needed and relevant.

But outrage overwhelms truth.

First, I wish I owned this book because I had so many post-it notes marking my notes. (If I owned it I could highlight all those passages). Second, this book was written in 2018 but it is just as relevant, or probably even more relevant today than it was then!

It's the Christian's job to tell people about Jesus, not the barista who may be Jewish, secular, or whatever. Don't get outraged at things that don't matter. 

Stetzer's book was written in consultation with a national survey with Lifeway Research. In this book, he includes the questions and the data that was gathered. The book is organized into three sections: Why the age of outrage?, Outrageous lives and enduring truths, and the outrageous alternatives to outrage. 

This is a book about outrage. It's an acknowledgment that our world, or at least our part of it, seems awash in anger, division, and hostility. Outrage is all around us, so we have to decide how to walk through this.

I appreciated the conversational style that the author employed and the personal stories scattered throughout the book. I found this a thought-provoking (and at times convicting) read. I value the amount of research that the author put into this book and his helpful recommendations on how to engage in the world of outrage. This is one that I already want to read again.

★★★★★/5

Synopsis (from Goodreads): 

Are you tired of reading another news story about Christians supposedly acting at their worst?
Today there are too many examples of those claiming to follow Christ being caustic, divisive, and irrational, contributing to dismissals of the Christian faith as hypocritical, self-interested, and politically co-opted. What has happened in our society? One short outrageous video, whether it is true or not, can trigger an avalanche of comments on social media.

Welcome to the new age of outrage.
In this groundbreaking book featuring new survey research of evangelicals and their relationship to the age of outrage, Ed Stetzer offers a constructive way forward. You won't want to miss Ed's insightful analysis of our chaotic age, his commonsensical understanding of the cultural currents, and his compelling challenge to Christians to live in a refreshingly different way.