Mud and the Masterpiece: Seeing Yourself and Others Through the Eyes of Jesus

Gateway Church pastor Burke (No Perfect People Allowed) uses scriptural stories and anecdotes to educate Christians on how to develop a less judgmental, more Jesus-like approach to welcoming people who have been wounded by churches into a more loving fold. The two-part book is most engaging in the first half, "Seeing Through the Eyes of Jesus," in which Burke writes about developing an outlook on the world like Jesus in order to view the "masterpiece" %E2%80%93 a person's highest potential -- even while most people are buried in their sin, or mud. The second half, "On Mission with Jesus," is less focused on anecdotes and centered on how Christians can go about converting others through their personal example, leadership, and service. Though the book focuses on allowing people to come as they are to Jesus, a number of passages make clear that same-sex attraction is viewed as a sexual sin to be healed, underscoring its status as an evangelical book with a mission to teach others how to be evangelists. (Feb.)