I Knew Jesus before He Was a Christian... And I Liked Him Better Then

Asking why Christianity is unattractive to so many people, this book contrasts a revolutionary Jesus who changed the world with a marginalized church that is being ignored by our culture. And it explores how churches can do a better job of representing Jesus to the world.

Has ''the church'' become a barrier to faith? Is what our culture knows as ''the church'' a near approximation of Christ's presence in the world? Or does ''the church'' give a distorted view of Jesus as businessman, showman, huckster, or fraud?

Without abandoning love for the church or forgetting the biblical mandate for its presence in the world, Rubel Shelly explores a model for thinking of church in terms that are more personal than institutional.