Book Review: “Getting Jesus Wrong” by Matt Johnson

Matt Johnson presents a very frank and honest assessment of his own walk with the Lord over the past 20+ years. I appreciated the fact that he wrote this book as a means of documenting his own journey and experiences as a believer making it very readable and relatable.

The book has 2 Parts:

Part 1: Life Coach Jesus and Other False Gods,
Part II: The Antidote to Pride and Despair.

Part 1 addresses some of the ways he and, therefore we, may get Jesus wrong. This also includes looking at certain church scenarios that he experienced: the Life Coach Jesus, Checklist Jesus, Movement Leader Jesus, Visionary Jesus and Pride & Despair. I saw myself having experienced each one of these throughout my own walk both the different church situations and the drivenness to achieve, to mark off my checklist and the resultant pride and despair.

Johnson came across a little cynical in this section but I may not be familiar enough with his sense of humour. In saying that I recognised myself in much of what he covered and opened my eyes to some aspects of my own faith that I have perhaps taken for granted which I’m very appreciative of.

Part II then seeks to outline how we can journey through life with a “correct” perspective of Jesus. These 3 chapters are the most powerful and are full of great truth supported with relevant Scripture plus a number of references to a number of influential thinkers including Martin Luther who in particular, appears to have had a great impact on Johnson’s reflections. Dependence on Jesus is the only way but this can take a lifetime for us to work out. Letting go of our humanness is such challenge simply because it comes naturally to us.

There are many things to like about this book and I would encourage people to read it. My only concern is I felt it leaves a slightly sour view of the church. Yes, the church is full of people and therefore is always going to make mistakes. However, the church is pivotal to Jesus’ mission and He is passionate about the church. We all have a role to play in helping bring more of Jesus into the church.

I received a complimentary copy of Getting Jesus Wrong from Litfuse with no expectation of a positive review. If you’re interested in reading more about the book please visit the Litfuse Blog Tour site.

0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.