In these times of political upheaval and mass movements, I’m delighted to announce that my new book recruiting people into Jesus’ beautiful liberation movement is now available on Amazon. Here is a brief description and the Table of Contents.
The Beautiful Gate is the site of the first healing Jesus’ disciples facilitate after Pentecost. Peter and John encounter a man lame from birth, disqualified and excluded outside the temple. In this prototype miracle, care for the poor and marginalized, respectful presence, relational connectedness, empowerment, and holistic healing in Jesus’ name coalesce, freeing the man to move through the gate, into the company of those who had previously excluded him. Once inside, the apostles offer a prophetic challenge, calling people to confession, repentance, and conversion. We are all sent out to join Jesus in his global liberation movement now.
Endorsements
“Bob is an authentic disciple, called by Jesus to witness to those who appear the most lost—gangsters in maximum security jails and impoverished farmers in Honduras. He opens the gospels with them, they welcome Jesus, and Bob walks with them along their journey to inner freedom and peace. This is an important book for all followers of Jesus.”
—Jean Vanier, Founder, L’Arche
“Bob Ekblad is a legend. What’s so unique about Bob is not just how he reads the Bible, but who he reads the Bible with. He models for us a way of listening to God that begins with listening to each other, and especially listening to those our society refuses to hear. Bob brings together things that should have never been separated—prayer and action, evangelism and liberation, prophetic fire and pastoral patience, mercy and justice. I love his writing and his preaching . . . because it smells like Jesus. It’s an honor to call this brother my friend.”
—Shane Claiborne, author, activist
“I know Bob Ekblad’s heart for the poor, the imprisoned, and the outcast. In his book, “The Beautiful Gate”, Bob reveals how Peter and John came alongside a castaway of society, a person not even looking for God. They demonstrated tender care and unconditional love for a lame man. Reaching out for him, they pulled him up and he was made whole. This is to be our model; to reach people no matter where they are or what they have done. As we walk with the lost, we take them through this beautiful gate and they become transformed as they come out on the other side. Carrying Christ’
— Heidi G. Baker, PhD. Co-Founder and CEO of Iris Global
“The Beautiful Gate is a book that you want to keep on reading and yet at the same time you want to stop mid chapter so you can flesh out what the book is saying. Its pages are full of the beautiful tension between challenge and invitation . . . and Bob does a legendary job at both challenging us and inviting us to pursue the life of Jesus that is available. The stories are moving and the theology convicting. I read, I cried, I smiled, and I’m heading to The Beautiful Gate. Bravo.”
—Carlos A. Rodriguez, author of Simply Sonship and Drop the Stones
“The Beautiful Gate is a rich, real, and challenging book with a message of profound hope for the church today. Bob combines unique insights into Jesus’ life and teachings through the eyes of the marginalized, incarcerated, and hopeless with deeply moving and powerful stories of restoration and healing. This compelling combination will serve to encourage so many to hope and to work for real transformation and the breaking-in of God’s kingdom in today’s broken world.”
—Lucy Peppiatt, Westminster Theological Centre (UK)
“Bob Ekblad has done a beautiful job portraying and learning lessons from the Savior who crosses the line, who refuses to stay in line, and calls us to step over the line into“beautiful gate” encounters in the world he loves to save. Bob shows that if we would love, worship, and be with this God, we must be willing to go where he goes, to minister to those whom he loves, in short, to step over the artificial lines we have drawn between one another. This is a fine interpretation of Jesus as an ceaselessly missionary Savior.”
—Will Willimon, Duke Divinity School
“This is a hugely challenging but wonderfully inspiring read. I’ve always believed that Jesus’ beauty is seen most clearly as he transforms individual lives. So when he says, ‘where I am, my servant also will be,’ that’s a call to engage people with the gospel of grace. If you have that heart, this is the book for you.”
—Rev . Paul Harcourt, National Leader, New Wine England
“This book is something extraordinary. Bob Ekblad combines theological competence with a dynamic Spirit-infused Christianity, grounded in a social passion for the poor and the marginalized. That is an expression of the kingdom of God, a demonstration of how Jesus is.”
—Stefan Swärd, Evangelical Alliance, Stockholm
Table of Contents
1 Enter Through the Beautiful Gate
2 Prototype Disciples: Peter & John, Me & You
3 Empowering Presence
4 Authority, Faith, and Empowerment
5 Embracing the Rejected One: A Theology of the Cross
6 Transformation in Whose Name?
7 Repentance and Conversion
8 Persecution and Breakthrough
You can click here to order a copy.