Books

Guerrilla Gospel

Jesus was born into a world marked by oppression and injustice to announce and embody God’s global liberation movement. Like an insurgent, Jesus comes in under the radar, behind enemy lines, and then builds a foundation of trust with a growing entourage of humble followers. He incites a revolution that he calls the Kingdom of God.  Guerrilla Gospel: Reading the Bible for Liberation in the Power of the Spirit is a practical manual that condenses the outlines of God’s liberation movement. In this book you will learn to identify and overcome common obstacles to stepping into active faith, grow in your awareness of how God speaks and the Spirit guides, discover approaches to preparing messages that invite conversion and holistic transformation, learn essential basics for preparing and leading Bible studies and grow in understanding how the gifts of the Spirit are available now to provide essential support for the adventure of faith.

“This book is a valuable resource for all who yearn to participate in God’s subversive and revolutionary work. Throughout Bob Ekblad offers anecdotes from his decades of experience in diverse contexts. Bob embodies what he writes about. The stories he tells embody guerrilla interpretation; they are the flesh and blood of the guerrilla gospel.”

- Gerald O. West, Senior Professor of Biblical Studies, University of KwazuluNatal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

“Bob Ekblad has done it again! He has offered practical, spirit-filled, biblically deep principles and strategies to take the truth of God’s scripture to bring transformation in real life both inside and out. I highly recommend this book as a strategy for kingdom come in your own community!” 

- Danielle Strickland, speaker, author and justice advocate

"Bob Ekblad is one of my heroes. I try to write down whatever he says and I try to read whatever he writes. In this latest book he brings the Bible to life as only he can - from the margins. It'll change you profoundly."

- Pete Greig, 24-7 Prayer International and Emmaus Rd, Guildford UK

Reading The Bible With The Damned

"This book by Ekblad …moves the Bible away from safe, conventional church venues and reads afresh among the alienated and marginalized. The effect of such a new interpretive context is that the text takes on a poignancy and sharpness that bespeaks the stirring of God’s spirit. We may be led by Ekblad to read the Bible yet again, as if for the first time." --Walter Brueggemann, Professor Emeritus, Columbia Theological Seminary.

Guerrilla Bible Studies

Guerrilla Bible Studies is an intensely practical guide to reading the Bible with people on the margins. It is full of good advice as well as a step-by-step guide to leading people through key passages in order to come to a fuller understanding of God’s love for them.
This book, by Bob Ekblad, comes out of a life lived and wisdom gleaned over years and years of ministering to the poor, the incarcerated, and the overlooked. But it also springs from a relationship with God, which is infused with the truth that God is full of mercy and compassion; he sees those whom the world ignores, and he has come into the world in Jesus to reach the lost.
I would highly recommend this book to those wanting to start a ministry among people on the margins or for those who have been doing this for a long time and desire some fresh inspiration. 

Dr. Lucy Peppiatt,
Principal, Westminster Theological Centre, UK

The Beautiful Gate

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 prophetic challenge, calling people to confession, repentance, and conversion. We too are called to join Jesus in his global liberation movement now.

A New Christian Manifesto: 
Pledging Allegiance to the Kingdom of God

This book is a powerful rereading of the Lord's Prayer and a call for the church to reject existing power structures by pledging allegiance to the kingdom of God and proclaiming the gospel for all, especially those cast outside the mainstream of society. Bob Ekblad delivers a radical new reading of the Lord's Prayer by arguing that there are earthly power structures and allegiances that prevent God's kingdom to come on earth as in heaven. Drawing upon his experiences in ministry with marginalized people and his understanding of the Bible, Ekblad calls the church to follow Jesus by seeking its own deliverance from these structures, and to recognize people on the margins as being the most open and available to be agents of transformation. A New Christian Manifesto urges Christians to break down barriers to join Jesus in a movement that includes recruiting, healing, empowering, and sending out to achieve an ultimate victory of the cross.

Staff Suggested Readings

in alphabetical order

Andrew Marin -- Love is an Orientation: Elevating the Conversation with the Gay Community

Brad Jersak -- Can you Hear Me?

Brian Fikkert -- When Helping Hurts

CommonPrayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals

Francis MacNutt -- Deliverance from Evil Spirits

Francis MacNutt -- The Healing Reawakening: Reclaiming Our Lost Inheritance

Greg Boyd -- God at War

Greg Boyd -- Is God to Blame?

Greg Boyd -- The Myth of a Christian Nation

Heidi Baker -- Birthing the Miraculous: The power of personal encounters with God to Change your life and the world

Heidi Baker -- Compelled by Love

Jack Deare -- Surprised by the Power of the Holy Spirit

James Alison -- On Being Liked

Mark Stibbe -- Prophetic Evangelism: When God Speaks to Those Who Don’t Know Him

N.T. Wright -- Simply Christian

N.T. Wright -- Simply Jesus

Oliver Clement -- Roots of Christian Mysticism

Richard Foster & Emilie Griffin -- Spiritual Classics

Richard Horsely -- Jesus and Empire: The Kingdom of God and the New World Disorder

Seth Holmes -- Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies

Shane Claiborne -- Jesus for President

Stanley Hauerwas -- A Community of Character

William Stringfellow -- An Ethic for Christians and Other Aliens in a Strange Land