Move Toward The Mess

Hambrick is the Director of Starting Point and Staff Development at Buckhead Church in Atlanta, GA – one of the North Point Community Church campuses in Atlanta that bestselling author Andy Stanley founded. John has served in other churches as an associate pastor and pastor. He has also been a staff member for Young Life and was one of the chaplains at Kings College, University of London.

His book Move Toward the Mess (David C. Cook, 2016) with a foreword by Andy Stanley is rich in conversation topics and thought provoking content to help you decide where you can serve in the Kingdom by “moving towards the mess” all around us. All the way through the book John pours out his deep understanding of what it means to follow Jesus in places like homeless shelters, the streets where prostitutes are seeking validation, and many other places where we see opportunities we can move toward. John profiles many of the organizations that are serving these areas and offers ideas for how we too can join them.

If we are to follow Jesus’ example, we aren’t to wait for people to come to us – but to move towards them: move towards the areas that can be the greatest area of need – the messy areas of life.

We have to get in the game and it is not in the safe 4 walls of our churches but outside of the 4 walls where it is not safe and cozy. Feeling uncomfortable in the sense that it is a different situation and you have no idea what is about to happen, but you know you are doing His will is where we are called to be.

The book shares that the majority of the world sees religious people spending their time being religious and encourages all of us to be more like Jesus who spent his days with messy people in messy situations.

North Point Community Church and its partner churches around the world have an annual campaign called Be Rich. In it, they invite churchgoers to give, share, and serve to those who need it most. To be rich in mercy and love. It involves serving in food pantries, homeless shelters, and anywhere anyone sees a need. Some have given of their tithes and others have donated food.

For me this book is more like a call to action: more standing up for the voiceless in love and giving more and willing to be open for His direction, so if you are bored with your Christianity, this book is for you.