Books by Jason Byassee

The desert fathers wanted to get away from a church co-opted by empire and a Christian faith grown cold and listless. They retreated to the desert to do battle against demons and against their own worst desires. They had no intention of being famous; yet ironically their Sayings have inspired millions of imitators over the centuries. This guide is meant to accompany a reading of the Sayings of the Desert Fathers, in hopes that readers with lives quite different than those third- and fourth-century dwellers of the Egyptian desert might nevertheless come to imitate their lives of poverty, chastity, and obedience; and more importantly, that readers might grow more imaginative and passionate in their following of the same Lord.

The Confessions of St. Augustine is one of the few Christian classics that is still widely read in the secular academy. Yet, oddly enough, it is not often read in the manner Augustine appears to have intended and in which the church read it for centuries: as a model of conversion, devotion, friendship, and the love of God. This book is a companion for any reader of the Confessions--whether in an academic, ecclesial, or devotional context--informed by the latest scholarship yet always directed toward pushing the reader, with Augustine, toward God.

Where in the world is the church? These articles, essays, opinion pieces, and blog posts gather around that question. If we quit on the question in despair, we are lost. If we answer it too quickly, we are not digging deeply enough. But if we hunt hard with the help of the Holy Spirit, we'll find Christ's body alive, active, working, growing, and making things new.In Discerning the Body, Jason Byassee goes hunting for the church guided by a singular conviction--God has promised there will be a church until Christ's return. So it's out there, it's just slightly hard to find. Where is a batch of Jesus' disciples, gathering around his Word and Sacraments, living out his mission in the world? Byassee spends time among Catholics, evangelicals, mainliners, and a few non-Christians looking for signs of Christ's body. He also looks in less likely places: among athletes, in institutions, in popular culture, in the craft of writing.It is very hard to expect to be surprised. Doesn't the expectation ruin the surprise? Yet it's Jesus who surprises us in the church. Every time we find him, we have to expect to be surprised to find him anew in some counterintuitive guise. This book is about the author's learning to expect to be astounded anew by Christ.

Description:The desert fathers wanted to get away from a church co-opted by empire and a Christian faith grown cold and listless. They retreated to the desert to do battle against demons and against their own worst desires. They had no intention of being famous; yet ironically their Sayings have inspired millions of imitators over the centuries. This guide is meant to accompany a reading of the Sayings of the Desert Fathers, in hopes that readers with lives quite different than those third- and fourth-century dwellers of the Egyptian desert might nevertheless come to imitate their lives of poverty, chastity, and obedience; and more importantly, that readers might grow more imaginative and passionate in their following of the same Lord.Endorsements:""Contrary to the Protestant caricature, the Egyptian monks of the fourth century went to the desert not to escape reality, but to confront it. They fled the disorienting distractions of city life so that in the quiet of their cells and their chapels they might overcome the self-will of sin and reorient their thoughts, affections, and actions wholly toward God. Jason Byassee''s An Introduction to the Desert Fathers is an excellent companion to all who seek to glean wisdom from the monks'' encounters with the realities of God and of their sin. By drawing together the world of fourth-century monasticism with our consumerist culture of the twenty-first century, Byassee helps us discern the call of the desert today.""--J. Warren Smith, Assistant Professor of Historical Theology, Duke Divinity School""In this beautiful, informative, probing, and wise introduction to the spirituality of the desert, Byassee both immerses us in, and invites us to embrace, an older, sometimes alien, way of inhabiting our relationship with the triune God.""--Lauren F. Winner, author of Girl Meets God and Real Sex: The Naked Truth about ChastityJason Byassee has established himself as the master of explaining complex subjects and helping us understand why they matter.  He has done it again with the Desert Fathers.--James C. Howell, pastor of Myers Park United Methodist Church, Charlotte, North Carolina""Making the desert accessible might seem a paradoxical goal. Nevertheless, just as the sick and not the healthy need doctors, so do we affluent and self-indulgent moderns need the desert fathers. Jason Byassee is the perfect guide--an intrepid all-terrain interpreter in the heart of the desert. He always knows what we are thinking and never forgets that the severity of the fathers is disconcerting to us. Yet he thinks with these ancient monks as well--with their profundity and difficulty--and never lets us get away with dismissing a single saying cavalierly. If you have ever struggled with self-control, lust, materialism, prayer, humility, obedience, patience, or any of the other vices and virtues addressed in these chapters, An Introduction to the Desert Fathers is for you.""--Timothy Larsen, McManis Professor of Christian Thought, Wheaton College""Jason Byassee''s Introduction to the Desert Fathers is presented in a spirit of humility that befits the subject. He offers simple yet rich engagements with the Sayings that use humor, insight, and life experience to prompt readers to reflect with the same tools. Readers who are looking for a place to begin their interaction with the often paradoxical teachings of the desert fathers would do well to begin here.""--Amy Frykholm, Special Correspondent, Christian CenturyAbout the Contributor(s):Jason Byassee received his Ph.D. in theology from Duke University and is currently Assistant Editor at The Christian Century, where he has won numerous awards for excellence in journalism. He is author of two forthcoming volumes: Praise Seeking Understanding (Eerdmans) and An Introduction to the Desert Fathers (Cascade Books). He has been invited to teach courses on Augustine to undergraduates, seminarians, and graduate students at Garrett-Evangelical Theological

Description:The Confessions of St. Augustine is one of the few Christian classics that is still widely read in the secular academy. Yet, oddly enough, it is not often read in the manner Augustine appears to have intended and in which the church read it for centuries: as a model of conversion, devotion, friendship, and the love of God. This book is a companion for any reader of the Confessions--whether in an academic, ecclesial, or devotional context--informed by the latest scholarship yet always directed toward pushing the reader, with Augustine, toward God.Endorsements:Augustine's Confessions are a glorious exploration of a living, gracious God.  We could have no better guide through Augustine than one of his great friends, Jason Byassee.  For anyone who has longed for the living God, for anyone who wants to explore the depth and breadth of the human soul, Byassee opens up new dimensions of this classic of the Christian faith. --William Willimon, Bishop in the United Methodist Church, currently serving in North AlabamaJason Byassee's learned, intimate, and engaging guide to Augustine's Confessions is a delight to read and a wonderful resource for everyone who wishes to become the faithful and discerning reader Augustine so fervently desired. --Carol Zaleski, Smith CollegeJason Byassee is an ideal guide to the Confessions: lucid, unpretentiously learned, witty, and above all generous--to his subject, to his fellow scholars, and to the reader. --John Wilson, Editor, Books & CultureAbout the Contributor(s):Jason Byassee received his Ph.D. in theology from Duke University and is currently Assistant Editor at The Christian Century, where he has won numerous awards for excellence in journalism. He is author of Reading Augustine (Cascade Books) and Praise Seeking Understanding: Augustine's Enarrationes en Psalmos and the Christological Schooling of Biblical Exegesis (forthcoming from Eerdmans). He has been invited to teach courses to undergraduates, seminarians, and graduate students at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, North Park Theological Seminary, and Wheaton College.