Ambition isn't bad; it just does bad things. In a culture that too often prizes leadership uncritically and unreflectively, a faith that calls us to take up crosses, lay down lives and otherwise submit ourselves to something outside ourselves simply sounds like a bad idea. Nevertheless, this is the faith that we find Jesus talking about. Scott Bessenecker has learned from new friar communities, from the history of Christianity and from the mouth of Jesus that there's something wonderfully subversive about saying no to ourselves every now and then, something that could even change the world.
"Bessenecker paints a picture of God's people who value peacemaking, service, submission, self-control and simple living. Bessenecker ultimately offers a thoughtful discussion of what it means to be authentically Christian, writing from biblical foundations, historic Christianity and years of experience with friar communities. Eight brief chapters covering the attributes of meekness, submission, repentance, following, obedience and leadership make for a quick, yet penetrating read."
Mark Cannister, YouthWorker Journal (youthworkerjournal.com), May/June 2010
"Many Christian writers bounce from theme to theme, looking for one that will generate big sales, and so their work never ventures far from the surface. Scott Bessenecker is not one of them. In both his life and his writing, he keeps pursuing the same question: What does it mean to follow Jesus in a broken world full of needy people? His answers keep going deeper and deeper . . . and farther and farther away from the material values and power politics that have come to dominate the evangelical community in North America. I don't know how many books he'll sell this time, but then, I don't know how many books his Teacher would be selling these days either. What I do know is that, in the right hands, this is the kind of book that can makesomeone dangerous to the status quo."
Bart Campolo, urban minister
"This one is truly one of the best. Bessenecker has written How to Inherit the Earth in a way that makes one feel they're hearing Jesus' Gospel for the first time."
Bart Campolo, The Catholic Lighthouse, February 2010
