Into the Mess and Other Jesus Stories

“In this audacious, luminous book, Debie Thomas examines gospel stories, tales made soft as cloth for many readers, and reveals their strangeness. Reading with ferocious attentiveness, she explores stories that are challenging, troubling, sometimes frightening, and always filled with invitations to a new life that is larger and more startling than most of us have imagined. . . . Every reader who seeks God should own this book—dog-eared, underlined, and committed to memory.”


—Erin McGraw, author of Joy: And 52 Other Very Short Stories





“Debie Thomas offers more hope in this one book than many volumes filled with religious certainty. Through reflection on her own courageous living, Thomas has learned the indispensable value of making mistakes (can’t be avoided), suffering (ditto), honesty about the aforementioned (can definitely be avoided), and taking all the above into our relationship with God. Walk with Thomas through a world you’ll recognize and find an invitation to a whole and integrated life.”


—Marc Andrus, Episcopal Bishop of California





“A lot of religious writing is devotional but not particularly thoughtful. Some is high on scholarship but low on personal engagement. Debie Thomas brings head and heart together. Her beautiful new book will help you understand Jesus better, and yourself too. Highly recommended!”


—Brian D. McLaren, author of Do I Stay Christian?





“While most Gospel commentators offer you information, when Debie Thomas speaks of the text, she offers you insight. Into the Mess is just the kind of honest, grace-soaked, beautiful, heartbreaking view of Jesus that makes me want to believe. There are few writers about Jesus out there today I trust more than Thomas. I’m so grateful for this book.”


—Nadia Bolz-Weber, Host, The Confessional with Nadia Bolz-Weber





“Into the Mess and Other Jesus Stories breathes new life into sacred texts, inviting us to experience Christ with fresh eyes. Thomas’s words beckon our real, wondering selves to draw close to Christ without shame or hindrance. By making space for both the humanity of Jesus and the modern-day struggles of us, her readers, she gives us a glimpse of the fullness of God.”


—Amy Olrick, author of The 6 Needs of Every Child





“I don’t dare begin preparing a sermon without first reading Debie’s lectionary essay. She is an intuitive writer and interpreter of the gospel who can transform her own pain and ours into revelation and healing through the transcendent love of Jesus Christ. No spiritual writer can do this better and more beautifully than Debie Thomas!”


—Dana Corsello, Vicar, Washington National Cathedral





“Debie Thomas cracks my heart wide open. She writes as midwife to Jesus’s invitation for vulnerable wrestling towards a beautiful and costly way of following. It’s worth it. Her words are tender, gorgeous, and brave, and they have replanted me in a more robust faith—one better equipped to evolve and weather what storms may come. I hope every seeker, from the newly curious soul to the most seasoned preacher, will savor Into the Mess.”


—Liz Tichenor, author of The Night Lake