Grace, Sideways
Field Notes of a Doubting Believer
What if doubt isn’t an obstacle to faith, but an opening to authentic encounters with God?
Writing with a pastor’s heart and a storyteller’s love of language, Jack Reese looks back on a lifetime of ministry to share what he has learned along the way: that seasons of uncertainty when old answers no longer hold are often when faith becomes most alive.
With honesty, humor, and an abundance of hope, Reese reclaims the deeper storyline of Scripture, where unanswered questions and unresolved doubts are not obstacles on the spiritual path but openings―hidden patches of holy ground where we’re likely to see God. Drawing from decades of walking with others through both beauty and brokenness, he offers glimpses of a God who often works in mystery―whose grace sometimes arrives in our lives head-on but more often emerges from the side, where we least expect it.
Grace, Sideways isn’t a book of scripted answers or spiritual clichés. It’s a deeply personal witness from a seasoned pastor still learning to hold belief and doubt in the same hand. It’s a companion for those with young faith―or no faith at all―who aren’t sure what to do when the puzzle pieces don’t seem to fit, and for those who have walked with God for years but now find some of their old beliefs cracking. Brimming with empathy and vivid insight, Grace, Sideways will encourage anyone who wonders whether doubts and difficult questions have a place in the Christian life.
Praise—
“For anyone who has struggled in a dark night of the soul when God seems to have disappeared, this honest, invitational account of one theologian’s struggle with doubt will come as a healing balm.”
—Elaine A. Heath, author of God Unbound
“This book invites us to approach grace not as a doctrine to be deciphered but as a lived experience to be discovered—sideways. He writes with the ring of truth, revealing not only the gifts of his mind but, more importantly, the passions of his heart. Let Jack’s beautiful words refresh your soul.”
—Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, author of The Soulwork of Justice
“Doubts about God and faith can feel paralyzing for Christians. Even worse, acknowledging our doubts can feel unfaithful. But it doesn’t have to be so. In Grace, Sideways, Jack Reese helps guide us through the beautiful and harrowing dance between doubt and faith. His is a true journey with God. And because it is, his journey can help you too.”
—Sean Palmer, author of Speaking by the Numbers
