The Bartender

Description: Christian faith is continually challenged by the tension between certainty and mystery. A historic faith can seem threatened by the uncomfortable recognition that God continues to work in a rapidly changing culture. The Bartender is a fable about the messiness and unpredictability of lives being opened up to God through relationships characterized by deep listening and looking for the ongoing work of God in the world. The parallel and sometimes intersecting paths of two men on different spiritual journeys reveal how God seems to be present in the most scandalous of human dramas. When both men take risks that threaten their own religious sensibilities, they find new ways of living out the implications of their faith. Endorsements: Some stories you just read, while others you are drawn into. Mike McNichols has written the latter. It weaves together a collection of characters, each of whom brings important issues that give rise to significant insights for the church to become not just a place but a community of peoples. They become a dispersed people who are both excited and challenged by Jesus, living with curiosity and anticipation as his servants in the world. If Jesus lived life to the full in the world and loved it so much he was prepared to lay down his life for it, how could his followers withdraw into their own little world? That is why the Bartender story is as inspiring as it is disturbing. --Eddie Gibbs, Senior Professor of Church Growth, Fuller Theological Seminary Some stories are told well, some are worth telling. The Bartender is both. And for those struggling with God, Christianity, or the church, worth reading too--well worth it. --Todd Hunter, Founder, Three is Enough Groups Read this book, and you will make the Earth-shaping discovery that . . . there is a better way, and the better way is the different way, and the future will be better for the difference. --Leonard Sweet, Drew Theological School, George Fox University, www.sermons.com About the Contributor(s): Michael McNichols is Director and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary's Regional Center in Irvine, Calfornia. He is a contributor to Proclaiming the Scandal of the Cross (Baker Academic, 2006).