10 Things You Don't Have to Do to Be Close to God

Like a succession of failed diet regimens, the much-touted techniques that are supposed to bring us closer to God "in our hearts" can instead make us feel anxious, frustrated, and overwhelmed.

Phillip Cary explains that discipleship is a gradual, long-term process that comes through the gospel experienced in Christian community, not a to-do list designed to help us live the Christian life "right." He covers ten things we don't have to do to be close to God, skillfully unpacking the riches of traditional Christian spirituality. The expanded edition includes a new afterword.

"Yes! No! Whoa! There are so many terrific, alarming, insightful zingers in this book that I agreed, disagreed, and, most of all, had to think about something on every page. Graceful and liberating, it is a word of wisdom and hope that just might convince anxious Christians that the gospel really is better news than we've yet imagined."
--Andy Crouch, musician, public speaker, and author of The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place

"This is, quite frankly, one of the best books I've read on the spiritual life over the past twenty-five years. I heartily recommend it."
--Christopher A. Hall, president, Renovaré

"Addressed to shepherds and their flocks, Good News for Anxious Christians features the admonishing, teaching, and comforting voice of a Christ-haunted philosophy professor. . . . The gospel, Cary argues, gives us permission to ignore anxiety-producing techniques because Christ is enough, period."
--Christopher Benson, Christianity Today (5-star review)

"Cary liberates persons enthralled by a god of spiritual techniques and practical sermons. . . . This is medicine for ministry."
--Christian Century

"Tremendously rich and thoughtful and wonderfully written. . . . This is solid pastoral theology, inviting deeper and more mature thinking about the slogans and clichés we too often hear."
--Byron Borger, heartsandmindsbooks.com