Why did I write What Christians Do?

For years, people have asked me questions about Christianity that were honest, thoughtful, and sometimes painful. Those conversations eventually became this book. Before you watch the trailer, I’d like to share the story behind it.

Learn More About the Book

There is no shortage of books on Christianity.

Some focus on defending the faith, explaining a book of the Bible, or offering practical advice on prayer or worship. Many of these books have helped me over the years, and I am grateful for them. But after nearly two decades of pastoral ministry, I began to notice a recurring pattern in conversations with people inside and outside the church.

Again and again, people asked a similar question, even if they phrased it differently:

If Christianity is supposed to change people’s lives, why don’t Christians look more like Jesus?

Given the rise of Christian Nationalism in our current context (among other things), this is a fair question.

In our culture, Christianity is often defined by what Christians oppose, the political tribes they join, or the doctrines they defend. We argue over theology, divide over social issues, and debate who is right and who is wrong. Meanwhile, many people—including many Christians—are quietly wondering whether we have lost sight of the One we claim to follow.

That question stayed with me, and the more I read the Gospels, the more I was struck by a simple observation: Jesus spent far more time teaching people how to live than demonstrating how to win theological or political arguments. He invited ordinary people into a new way of being in the world—a life shaped by humility, compassion, courage, forgiveness, generosity, justice, and love.

He wasn’t merely educating believers.

He was forming disciples.

That realization became the seed that eventually grew into What Christians Do: Living Like Jesus in a Divided World.

This book is not an attempt to offer the final word on Christian discipleship. Nor is it another book that tells people who to vote for, which subgroup to fear, or which theological camp is correct.

Instead, it asks a much simpler and much more demanding question:

What do Christians actually do?

What practices shape people into the kind of human beings Jesus envisioned?

How do we learn to surrender rather than control?

To forgive instead of retaliate?

To practice empathy in an age of grievance and outrage?

To pursue both mercy and justice as we seek to relieve human suffering?

To wrestle honestly with God rather than pretending we have all the answers?

To share our faith through lives that make the Gospel believable?

These are ancient questions, yet they feel remarkably urgent today.

We live in a divided world. Political polarization, anxiety, loneliness, distrust, and cultural conflict have left many people exhausted. Too often, Christians have mirrored these divisions rather than offering a different way.

I don’t believe the answer is abandoning Christianity.

I believe the answer is returning to Jesus.

Not merely believing the right things about him, but learning to live the kind of life he modeled.

This conviction has grown out of years of ministry, countless conversations with people, and my own ongoing struggle to follow Christ faithfully. Writing this book has challenged me as much as I hope it challenges others. Again and again, I find myself asking whether my personal and public life reflects the character of Jesus as clearly as my beliefs proclaim him.

This is the central invitation of the book.

Not guilt.

Not shame.

Not another list of religious obligations.

An invitation.

An invitation to become the kind of person who makes Christ’s love visible in everyday life.

I hope readers will find ideas that challenge them, stories that encourage them, and practical ways to grow in faith. But more than anything, I hope they will encounter Jesus again—not as a distant figure from history or merely the object of theological debate, but as the living Teacher who still invites ordinary people to walk with him.

The world doesn’t simply need more people who identify as Christians.

It needs more people who live like Jesus.

Continue the Conversation

If this vision resonates with you, I’d love for you to:

What do you think the world most needs to see from Christians today?