Matthew Spoelstra

As more and more people seem to be turning from the Gospel, whether disillusioned by institutions, dissatisfied by dogmas or the deconstruction of their faith, The Mystery of Faith: Why the Gospel is Still Good News reminds us of the antidote: Christ himself. In this book, Travis Jamieson approaches the subject of faith using the Memorial Acclamation: Christ has Died, Christ has Risen, Christ will come again, which is the mystery of faith. This phrase is a call to remember, which is the same call we receive through the words of this book. To remember the centrality of Christ to the gospel and the reminder to reorient ourselves around Christ as our comfort. The comfort of the gospel is in focus not only in the ideas behind the words written, but found in the manner they are written as well. Pastoral, through and through, Travis weaves together the wisdom of stories from personal experiences, writers both past and present, scripture and his own insight to craft a recollection of why the gospel is still good news and does so in a way that one feels less like they are simply reading a book and more like they are sitting at a table with the author as these stories are told, these other authors quoted and wisdom is shared. There is a simplicity to this book, akin to the innate simplicity of the gospel, but it is not simple, expressing profound truths in easily digestible ways, approachable by anyone who would wish to connect or reconnect with the roots of the good news, Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.