Story: Recapture the Mystery »

Steven James is an author, storyteller, and poet. He has been a full-time speaker for almost ten years and continues to speak at conferences, churches, and special events across the country sharing his eclectic blend of drama, comedy, and inspirational storytelling. Steven is also the author of nineteen books, including How to Smell Like God, Becoming Real, and Praying from the Gut. When he's not traveling or writing, Steven likes going rock climbing, watching science fiction movies, and eating chicken fajitas. He lives with his wife and three daughters in Tennessee.

FRONT FLAP

Creation

Harmony

New wine

Broken

Darkness

Dawn

Peace

Evermore

What does it mean? And what does it have to do with you?

"The empty tomb doesn't make sense without the cross, the cross doesn't make sense without the manger, and the manger doesn't make sense without the Garden of Eden," says Steven James. "It's all one story. And only when you finally untangle it, see it unfold, and enter it for yourself do you realize that the story has finally entered and at last untangled you."

A deeper, more passionate faith is waiting for you. The story is calling. Will you enter it?

BACK FLAP

Steven James is an author, storyteller, and poet. He has been a full-time speaker for almost ten years and continues to speak at conferences, churches, and special events across the country sharing his eclectic blend of drama, comedy, and inspirational storytelling. Steven is also the author of nineteen books, including How to Smell Like God, Becoming Real, and Praying from the Gut. When he's not traveling or writing, Steven likes going rock climbing, watching science fiction movies, and eating chicken fajitas. He lives with his wife and three daughters in Tennessee.

Excerpt:

The truth is, most people just aren't moved by the Easter story anymore. It's like we've walked in at the end of the movie and we just don't get what all the fuss is about.

"Is something wrong?" The people who are crying shake their heads.

"Then why are you crying?"

To understand Easter, to really get it, I think you need to experience the whole story, enter the darkened theater, take your seat and watch the tale unfold. Because the empty tomb doesn't make sense without the cross, the cross doesn't make sense without the manger in Bethlehem, and the manger doesn't make sense without the garden of Eden.

It's all one story. And only when you finally untangle it, see it unfold, and enter it for yourself do you realize that the story has finally entered and at last untangled you.

Publishers Weekly

Nationally recognized storyteller James peels away the veneer of utilitarianism and law often associated with the Christian Bible to uncover the poetry and powerful imagery of its story. Using evocative language and his own poems, James retells the story of the Bible, beginning with Adam and Eve and ending with the resurrection of Jesus celebrated on Easter. Don't expect a textbook study of the Christian worldview; instead, come along for a journey full of wonder, tears, joy, despair and hope revealed through the eyes and heart of a storyteller. This is a change from the how-to lists, topical studies and exegesis so often associated with Christian nonfiction books, so readers may take a while to fall into James's language of image and emotion. It's worth the time, however, to come away with a new understanding of the powerful story revealed through the sacrifice of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. Those seeking a new vision of the Easter story will find it here. "Easter has lots of lilies and spring hats and piles of fake, green, curly plastic grass stuff, but none of that has anything to do with the raw reality of a bloody cross and the final hope of the empty tomb," says James. (Feb.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.