SPIRITUAL PROFILING

Jesus' world was far more religiously pluralistic than most of us imagine. He grew up and headquartered His ministry in "Galilee of the Gentiles." He regularly rubbed shoulders with polytheistic and superstitious Romans, with philosophical and sophisticated Greeks, with hard-partying pagans, and with God-fearing Africans. The Bible tells us that Jesus, unlike His fellow countrymen, did not avoid the despised and syncretistic Samaritans. Nor did Jesus shun the Jews who were considered persona non grata in the local synagogues, like those who worked for the occupying government, or who rejected Hebrew ways in favor of Greek, or who lived hellion lifestyles.

Moreover, Jesus interacted with individuals representing all of the major sects of Judaism--Sadducees, Pharisees, Zealots, and Essenes. And these included a huge variety of spiritual expression from the emotional to the contemplative, from the spontaneous to the staid, from Bible-thumpers to compassion-lovers, from those who push religion to the four corners of their lives while others passionately seek to push it to the four corners of the globe.

Is there some way to categorize, organize and understand the varieties of spiritual expression that Jesus encountered? Is it possible that the kinds of people Jesus dealt with in His day are similar to the ones we face today? Are there prototypical and stereotypical religious patterns to which people gravitate? And why do we do so? If we lived in Jesus' day, what spiritual "camp" would be most like ours? How would Jesus approach us? What would he do with us? What would our Spiritual Profile be?

Review

BACK COVER

Spiritual Profiling is really about understanding that we have different kinds of neighbors we are called to love and engage. . . It will lead us to consider how to relate well to the variety of people around us, a profitable study, well worth the time.

Dr. Darrell Bock
Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary and New York Times Bestselling Author

INSIDE PAGES

Spiritual Profiling is really about understanding that we have different kinds of neighbors we are called to love and engage. Pastor Hovestol takes us through the different types of people who inhabited Jesus' world and how he interacted with them as a way to help us with the different kinds of people we meet. The study is solid and intriguing. It will lead us to consider how to relate well to the variety of people around us, a profitable study, well worth the time.

Dr. Darrell Bock
Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary and New York Times Bestselling Author

Pastor Tom Hovestol's very readable work draws attention to a reality of life that Christians commonly overlook as they consider ministry to others. By means of copious references to the Scriptures (specifically, to the examples provided by the Lord Jesus Himself), the author provides insights and appropriate instruction for how Christians might show respect for the diversity of viewpoints held by different people. This offers valuable guidance both for those who wish to evangelize wisely and those who want to be salt and light in a 21st century world. The author's style is irenic and respectful, exactly what we would expect from an individual who has spent many hours drinking from the well of Jesus' wisdom.

Dr. Ken Bickel
Professor of Pastoral Studies
Grace Theological Seminary

Here is a fresh reading of Jesus' ministry, a creative tutorial developed for every hungry disciple who wants to "re-centralize" Christ in their faith. With a pastor's grasp of his time and a prophet's passion for true-hearted devotion, Hovestol helps us critique the "spiritual fraternities" of our own day.

Dr. Andrew J. Schmutzer
Professor of Bible
Moody Bible Institute

In Spiritual Profiling Pastor Tom has given us a new lens through which to view ourselves and others. His diligent research into eight religious cultures of Jesus' day forms the basis for a fresh perspective on the expressions of those cultures in our world. The companion online assessment tool brings a sharp and personal focus to the application of these biblical insights. This is a must read for those seeking to genuinely and effectively live out the life of Jesus in our pluralistic society.

Stephen LeBar, Ph.D.
Former Executive Director, CBAmerica

A luminous expose of the loving wisdom and brilliance of Jesus! There is refreshing and penetrating insight here. This is a much needed read for the next generation of the church as it engages a globalized and pluralistic world with the Gospel.

Heath Hardesty
NextGen Pastor
Valley Community Church

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How should you relate today to the unchurched, the dechurched, religious syncretists, do-gooders, traditionalists, and several other groups of people? The answer is found in the surprising ways that Jesus related to these kinds of people in His day. Tom Hovestol has given us the gift of new lenses to see more clearly how Jesus related with diverse groups of people. He has also handed us new tools so that we can relate to similar people just like Jesus did-and always with grace and truth.

Brian Mavis
Executive Director of Externally Focused Network

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Clever. Fresh. Insightful. Interesting. Fun. Challenging. Spiritual Profiling takes us down a biblical path we have not traveled before. Tom Hovestol combines the discipline of a scholar with the warmth of a pastor to give us a fresh look at Jesus and his relationships.

Leith Anderson
President, National Association of Evangelicals, Washington, DC
Pastor, Wooddale Church, Eden Prairie, MN

About the Author

TOM HOVESTOL is the pastor of Calvary Church in Longmont, Colorado. A graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Wheaton College, he served for three years as a teacher in Swaziland, Africa, and later as a pastor in Texas. He is the author of Extreme Righteousness: Seeing Ourselves in the Pharisees. He and his wife, Carey, are the parents of five children and reside in Longmont, Colorado.