Description:
This raw and powerful story is for anyone who has felt unworthy, who has hit rock bottom, who has been hurt by the church, or who has felt like an outcast.
Brief description: Michael Adam Beck is an "anairetoi." In ancient Rome, this was a child saved from the trash heap... "a picked-up one." Abandoned by his biological mother, biological father unknown, his grandparents died when he was young. He became a street kid, ninth-grade drop-out, and repeat felon. He was "picked up" by the local Methodist church and nurtured in a community of love and forgiveness.Today, Reverend Dr. Michael Beck is the Director of the Fresh Expressions House of Studies at United Theological Seminary, Director of Remissioning for Fresh Expressions US, and Cultivator of Fresh Expressions Florida UMC. Michael and wife Jill are co-pastors of Wildwood/St Marks UMCs, and a network of thirteen fresh expressions gathering in tattoo parlors, dog parks, burrito joints, and digital spaces.
Review Quotes:
"Michael Beck's to-hell-and-back conversion story conveys what it means to be the church even better than some of the highest moments of Christian literature." - Leonard Sweet
"A powerfully-written life story that's both heart-rending and awe-inspiring." - Sue Nilson Kibbey
"This was like reading a Henri Nouwen book - if Henri Nouwen was an alcoholic with a drug addiction and had a criminal record. Michael invites us to see how Jesus can make all things new. This is beautiful work." - Michael Frost
"Genuinely poignant, intelligent, and meaningful. Captivating!" - Alan Hirsch
"You hold in your hands a powerful description of God's redemption in the life of a man with first-hand experience of the healing power of Jesus Christ." - Joseph Okello