The End of Me: Where Real Life in the Upside-down Ways of Jesus Begins

In his newest work, Idleman (Not a Fan), teaching pastor at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., examines Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and argues that Christians must learn to live as Jesus taught, regardless of how paradoxical those lessons feel in our modern world. Idleman dissects the Beatitudes, guiding Christians toward the oblique realities that underlie many of Christ’s maxims. Brokenness is indeed the way to wholeness, mourning is the path to blessing, and utter emptiness has to come before true fullness can be recognized and grasped. In two parts, Idleman lays out in detail how walking with Jesus to the end of oneself is the beginning, middle, and end of finding the real life of abundance as described in the Beatitudes. Idleman’s wit and contagious humor alone make this a page-turner. (Oct.)