Product Description

Some of you are probably wondering what a book titled, Love Jesus, Hate Church, is all about. Ah, I can hear your questions now: What's the point? What are you trying to say? Where are you going with this? How can you Love Jesus and Hate Church? Aren't they the same thing? Hey, your concerns are understandable. First, I understand some of you are probably already a bit put off by the title of this book— maybe even a little offended. I'm also keenly aware of the fact that using the words Love and Jesus and Hate and Church all in the same sentence seem contradictory. It feels sacrilegious. Unholy. Somehow just plain wrong. What Do You Mean When You Say, Church? But understand, Love Jesus, Hate Church is not talking about the true church, the "called-out ones" Scripture so proudly refers to as "men and women the world was not worthy of." But the church of our own creation, the church created in our own image— our own Frankenstein. We're talking about the man-made institution we call church. You know, the social organization whose steepled buildings dot the landscape of our communities. The club, the structure, the established entity we vainly try to infuse artificial life into each week with our hyped-up praise music, our social programs disguised as ministry, and the self-affirming, feel-good speeches we attempt to pass off as Spirit-empowered sermons. Or, as those of us who "bear on our bodies the Love Jesus, Hate Church battle scars" like to call it— the Well-Oiled Machine. What is the Purpose of Love Jesus, Hate Church? The purpose of Love Jesus, Hate Church is not in any way to slam, malign, tear down or "dis" the church. Nor is this book designed to simply point out the obvious faults, systemic shortcomings or the inherent hypocrisy that has plagued the institution of the church for the last millennium and a half. No, the purpose of Love Jesus, Hate Church is actually quite the opposite. The goal of Love Jesus, Hate Church is to present the church in the breathtaking splendor the Lord intended— as the spotless, chaste, virgin bride of Christ. It's to show the church, as Paul so clearly pointed out in Ephesians 3, as the eternal vessel of Christ’s glory on earth. Consider the praise of the Apostle Paul: Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. The problem we face, however, is the visible church— that which we see, attend, claim membership in and have known all our lives, is a far cry from the true church revealed in Scripture. It's literally light years from the living entity Jesus promised the very "gates of hell will not prevail against." What we see masquerading as church today is, at best, a dim reflection of the Lord's intention. In fact, the current visible church that seems to dot every other street corner in North America is now so far removed from the example Jesus left us in Scripture, that we might never be able to divorce ourselves from our traditions, and experience the pure bride of Christ in all her fullness. Or, to put it in the perspective of the Lord's promise to us, we frankly may never be able to experience the abundant life He promised. Never! At least not within our current church structures and religious mindsets. So what are we to do? Good question. But we've got a great answer! And Love Jesus, Hate Church explores that very answer.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #139853 in Books
• Published on: 2005-12-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
Finally, a book that challenges us to consider why so many Christians Love Jesus and Hate Church. -- Jason Bessire, WIJ2U Ministries

Finally, a book that challenges us to consider why so many Christians Love Jesus and Hate Church. --Jason Bessire, WIJ2U Ministries

Steve McCranie’s writing is funny, blunt, passionate, at times prophetic, but never dull. -- Gary Heidt - Imprint

Steve McCranie’s writing is funny, blunt, passionate, at times prophetic, but never dull. --Gary Heidt - Imprint

This slangy, tangy, and irreverent new book is one that many need but few will heed. Highly recommended. -- Library Journal

To write Love Jesus, Hate Church you have to have a voice and a message. Steve McCranie has both. -- Gary Morland, Morning Show Host - WRCM - New Life 91.9

To write Love Jesus, Hate Church you have to have a voice and a message. Steve McCranie has both. --Gary Morland, Morning Show Host - WRCM - New Life 91.9

About the Author
Steve McCranie has a M.A. in Biblical Studies and has been a pastor for the better part of twenty years. He has pastored churches in Tennessee, Georgia, Washington, and North Carolina. He is the founding pastor of The Church Without Walls in Gastonia, North Carolina which is a cell-based church that primarily ministers to those who have fallen through the cracks of the traditional church— and have been seriously hurt by that fall. More importantly, he has personally experienced the Love Jesus, Hate Church phenomena and is still alive to tell about it. Scarred— but alive. Which, by the way, is a major feat and makes him more than qualified to write Love Jesus, Hate Church. Steve McCranie lives in Gastonia, North Carolina with his wife Karen and five children.

Customer Reviews

Can you say... like, Wow!
Wow! A truly amazing book! Steve McCranie hits the nail right on the head in regards to those of us who find ourselves loving Jesus and, at the same time, having a "less than positive" experience with the church. But the book is really much more than that. It is a book that challenges the believer to live for Christ with more passion and diligence than ever before and to be an example of how a true Christian "looks and feels" in our apathetic church culture today.
It is a must read. I couldn't put it down!

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!
Thank you for this book. Love Jesus, Hate Church was like a breath of fresh air. It showed me that I was not crazy for feeling like I do about the things people do in church under the name of Christ. And I was not alone.
Steve McCranie calls it like it is... yet he does so with compassion and an eye for encouraging us to raise the spiritual level of the church back to where it should be by raising the spiritual level in our individual lives.
Again, I can't say "thank you" enough for this book. It is a must read for everyone!

Don't let the title fool you...
Don't let the title of this book fool you... it's not simply a book about church and all the stuff, good and bad, that we've all grown up with. In Love Jesus, Hate Church, Steve McCranie paints a wonderful picture of how church really "is" and then compares it to how church "should" be. He calls it the "called-out ones" versus the "well-oiled machine." As a pastor, I couldn't agree with him more!
This book really opened my eyes to what church is all about and how it is possible to love Jesus and, at the same time, hate what Christian's have done to His church.
It was great to see what I have been feeling for years in print.
Every pastor needs a copy of this book!