Author Description

An Invitation to Deeper, More Joyful, and Rewarding Relationships with God and Others None of us is lovable all of the time. People are unreasonable, arguments flare, feelings are hurt. And no one can make us feel worse than those closest to us. It's easy to fall into the trap of closing ourselves off in order to protect ourselves, rather than opening ourselves up for relationship with each other. But think of who Jesus invited into his life and ministry. They weren't always lovable. Yet he modeled perfect love for us and showed how the mark of a spiritually mature believer was always love. In The Power of Together, pastor and author Jim Putman uncovers the core of true discipleship with an in-depth, biblical look at how Jesus always invited people into relationship with himself. He loved them with God's perfect love and, in the process, showed everyone around him that the act of following God is the act of extending and receiving love that endures all things. "Ubuntu is a popular phrase in South Africa that means 'We are, therefore I am.' Jim Putman gets this profound truth about our design by God as relational beings and provides a path for us to discover it with power in our 'all about me' culture."--Randy Frazee, senior minister of Oak Hills Church; author of The Connecting Church 2.0 "Jim Putman helpfully shows us that the 'Just Jesus and me' attitude of so many Christians is not only unbiblical but soul destroying and faith killing. Discipleship happens in relationships, period. This book not only paints a positive, compelling vision for Christian community, it charts the way forward." --J.D. Greear, pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; author of Stop Asking Jesus into Your Heart "Most Christians are not experiencing all that Jesus has for them, and the result is a faith that does not satisfy them, does not create stability in a shaky world, and does not attract t