Review of:  The God of New Beginnings: How the Power of Relationship Brings Hope and Redeems Lives

Rob Cowles and Matt Roberts.  Thomas Nelson, $16.99 (224p) ISBN 978-0-7852-2035-0

The founding pastors of the Genesis Project, “a place of new beginnings,” describe key principals for reaching people whose lives are in chaos and showing them the way to recovery and redemption through Christ.  Cowles and Roberts share the story of purchasing a strip club and turning it into a church [pp. 3-16] and the lessons they learned about outreach ministry from sharing their lives with those they met along the way [pp. 17 ff].  They posit that authentic relationships provide the foundation for transformational change to occur [pp. 33 ff].  In order to bring the gospel message of Christ to those whose lives are plagued by addiction, violence, and poverty, Cowles and Roberts recommend establishing safe spaces in less-then-desirable neighborhoods where people can congregate to hear messages of hope and faith [pp. 69-78].  At such time that trusting relationships have been established, believers can get honest about sin and begin to share biblical principles for accepting God’s forgiveness and the path to freedom [pp.79-108].  The authors note that the process of recovery can be messy and complicated, and that setbacks are common [pp. 121-148].  However, “failure is not fatal” [p. 141], and it is important to share the victories and keep the focus on the hope of Christ for new beginning and lasting change [pp. 149-170].  Multiple stories of those who were led to recovery through the Genesis Project are featured in the book.  Cowles and Roberts utilize the analogy of “kintsugi” – a Japanese form of pottery in which the artisans take broken pieces of pottery and rejoin them with lacquers of gold and silver to accentuate the lines of the cracks – to describe the beauty of broken lives made whole in Christ [pp. 173-187].  This is a fine work that will appeal to those in outreach ministry.  However, the viewpoint shifts frequently between the two authors and it is often unclear as to which is narrating.  The major missing element is the authors’ personal stories of suffering and redemption.  Had they chosen to share more of their own lives the work would have a much greater impact.  4 stars.