Books by Derek Vreeland

Includes discussion questions at the end of each chapter!Foreword by Derwin Gray, founding pastor of Transformation Church and former NFL player.What if asking Jesus into our hearts is not the heart of the gospel?In By the Way, pastor and author Derek Vreeland reframes everything we've been told about Christianity and what it means to follow Jesus. Discipleship isn't an add-on. Jesus didn't say, Go into all the world and get people saved or Get people to ask me into their hearts. Jesus said, Go therefore and make disciples. Reclaiming discipleship as the heart of the Christian faith means seeing anew the gospel, the cross, the resurrection, transformation, and the community of faith. We learn the ways of Jesus by practicing them, Vreeland says, and in By the Way, he introduces us to the ways of Jesus.Discipleship means joining God's joyful mission of reconciliation on earth, not just saving souls for the afterlife. Following Jesus is more like taking a long walk in the woods than sitting in a classroom. Living by the Way takes practice--and that's the point.

How does God change the human heart? What brings about authentic, lasting transformation? Not willpower. Not trendy, self-help techniques. While we have a part to play, God has much more to do with our spiritual transformation than we do. To use the language of the Trinity, spiritual transformation can be described as the work of the Holy Spirit to transform us into the image of Jesus for the joy of God the Father in the context of Christian community as we walk along spiritual pathways. In other words spiritual transformation includes (1) the Spirit's work, (2) the Son's image, (3) the Father's joy, (4) Christian community, and (5) spiritual pathways. Shape Shifters explores this process and these agents of change that will help you become a person shaped into the image of Jesus. "This Trinitarian vision of spiritual transformation is biblical, balanced, and beautiful. It will resonate with Christians from various traditions and surely benefit the whole Church. Read it and be informed, inspired, and transformed." -Steve Seamands, Professor of Christian Doctrine, Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky