Brian Jones (3) (1967–)
Author of Hell Is Real (But I Hate to Admit It)
For other authors named Brian Jones, see the disambiguation page.
About the Author
Brian Jones is the founding senior pastor of Christ's Church of the Valley, an innovative multi-site church of more than two thousand people in the suburbs of philadelphia. He's a graduate of Cincinnati Christian University (BA) and Princeton Theological Seminary (MDiv). The author of four books, show more Brian also writes practical articles on following Jesus at happinessable.com and articles on leadership and preaching at seniorpatorcentral.com. show less
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In the wake of Rob Bell’s controversial book "Love Wins", a plethora of books have appeared clamoring to answer the question “Does Hell exist?” Most of these books take us back to the Bible and answer the question in the affirmative. A new book from Brian Jones is no exception. What is different about his book, however, is apparent from its title: "Hell is Real (But I Hate to Admit It)". Jones uses a healthy dose of humor and personal candor as he tackles this ever-troubling show more topic.
Jones shares his story of secretly disbelieving in Hell for his first four years as a pastor. When he realized his error and confessed his secret sin, he was met with bewilderment. Why confess a doctrinal shortcoming? “Pastor, we were worried there was something more serious going on!” was how many took his news. This is indicative of the sad state of affairs in the church today and part of the reason Jones has given us this book.
His book is written in a simple, straightforward style. He explains the Bible’s teaching on Hell, but more than that, he gets into the question of why it is that he and so many others wanted to believe there isn’t a Hell. He then finishes the book with a call for “apocalyptic urgency” and a straightforward witness to the lost around us.
He doesn’t dismiss social concerns but calls the church to be more forthright in its evangelistic fervor. By the end of the book you aren’t surprised to learn that he was fired from the Princeton Theological Seminary bookstore for being too evangelistic. Jones has a passion for Jesus Christ, and it shows!
This book is accessible and at times humorous. And more importantly, it won’t steer you wrong. It might just spur you on toward a more serious view of evangelism. If we really do believe there is a Hell, shouldn’t that belief burden us all with “apocalyptic urgency”? Brian Jones thinks it should, and I have to agree. Read this book and be challenged. You won’t regret it.
Disclaimer: This book was provided by David C. Cook publishing. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review. show less
Jones shares his story of secretly disbelieving in Hell for his first four years as a pastor. When he realized his error and confessed his secret sin, he was met with bewilderment. Why confess a doctrinal shortcoming? “Pastor, we were worried there was something more serious going on!” was how many took his news. This is indicative of the sad state of affairs in the church today and part of the reason Jones has given us this book.
His book is written in a simple, straightforward style. He explains the Bible’s teaching on Hell, but more than that, he gets into the question of why it is that he and so many others wanted to believe there isn’t a Hell. He then finishes the book with a call for “apocalyptic urgency” and a straightforward witness to the lost around us.
He doesn’t dismiss social concerns but calls the church to be more forthright in its evangelistic fervor. By the end of the book you aren’t surprised to learn that he was fired from the Princeton Theological Seminary bookstore for being too evangelistic. Jones has a passion for Jesus Christ, and it shows!
This book is accessible and at times humorous. And more importantly, it won’t steer you wrong. It might just spur you on toward a more serious view of evangelism. If we really do believe there is a Hell, shouldn’t that belief burden us all with “apocalyptic urgency”? Brian Jones thinks it should, and I have to agree. Read this book and be challenged. You won’t regret it.
Disclaimer: This book was provided by David C. Cook publishing. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review. show less
This book approaches Christian evangelism strictly from one angle: the awfulness of God's wrath and unbelievers' need to avoid it (by repenting of their sins and making Jesus Christ their savior and Lord of their lives) and thus avoid hell. It teaches that God's wrath is righteous but also brutal in effect. Although the book affirms it, you can't easily learn much about God's love for you from this book.
This author, Brian Jones, went to Princeton Theological Seminary. He apparently didn't show more know beforehand that it was a theologically liberal school (I don't know, perhaps it wasn't common knowledge when he enrolled there), and he encountered (1)theologically liberal professors; (2)profs who, based on their personal behavior, obviously had no business teaching in a seminary. Jones describes one prof who came to class tipsy and swore at random students, and another prof who would come in on Monday and asked the students if they "had screwed anyone" over the weekend. In his job at the campus bookstore, Jones met students who didn't live a Christian lifestyle and/or didn't claim to be Christian. None of these people--the faculty or Jones' student coworkers--wanted to hear Jones's attempts to share the gospel with them, and the resulting conflicts with coworkers got him fired.
Worse, over time, one of Jones's liberal profs not only convinced Jones not to believe in hell but over time destroyed his faith in Jesus Christ. Fortunately, Jones eventually regained his faith and later started a Bible-teaching church in Philadelphia which, he says, is 'focused like a laser' on evangelizing non-Christians rather than preaching to those who have already accepted Christ. In fact, Jones asks Christians who have come to his church from other churches to return to their previous churches to evangelize non-Christians who visit.
He shares other incidents that illustrate his extreme fervor in saving people from God's wrath but also shares his mistakes. He tells how he visited the dying father of one of his parishioners, an unbeliever who had for years rejected and mocked Jones for sharing the gospel. When all his attempts to persuade the dying man failed, Jones literally begged him to accept Christ, and by God's grace, that worked. During one service at his church, Jones suddenly climbed into the baptistry without having told his staff beforehand, and assertively invited anyone who hadn't received Christ to come up there and receive Him and be baptized. After a few minutes of awkward silence, someone came up and received Christ, then a few more and a few more, until a large line of people waiting for baptism snaked around the halls of the church.
Some quotations:
This book was valuable enough that I want to own a copy. At the end, Mr. Jones gives his e-mail address and invites the reader to contact him with any comments about Hell Is Real; I just did that, to tell him how much I liked it.
_________________________________________________________
Second Review: April 9, 2019
Hell Is Real always manages to stay on my bookshelves, surviving my every bout of questioning whether I should discard it (and whether I should have bought my own copy); but after years of periodic consideration, I no longer hold my initially high esteem of it.
The author, Brian Jones: he is clearly a brother in Christ, but some aspects of his theology are so odd that he either (a)has read many theological sources I haven't, or (b)hasn't read that much theology. I'm not sure which. Looking through the book again after a recent rearrangement of my shelves, there was something in the book that I remember feeling exasperated with--I think I called it "just plain stupid." It might very well have been just the rhetoric--in trying to emphasize the awfulness of God's wrath, Jones describes God as "violent."
My reaction is probably due to the position from which I approached Christianity, and the limitations that puts on my perspective. I didn't stay very far from God before receiving Jesus Christ; that is, I did not live a very sinful and rebellious lifestyle, which might have provoked God to make me think more about His wrath. My influences were Christians who have much more to say about God's love for us, so long before becoming born again, I was already perfectly aware God loves me. I had no experience with the sort who warn me I'm going to hell. And now that I am born again and therefore not under God's wrath, His wrath is even further from the forefront of my thoughts about Him. The point is that I'm so keenly aware of God's love and God's holiness, but so much less keenly aware of His wrath, that the idea of using the (true) horror of hell as a primary method of evangelizing is alien to me. show less
This author, Brian Jones, went to Princeton Theological Seminary. He apparently didn't show more know beforehand that it was a theologically liberal school (I don't know, perhaps it wasn't common knowledge when he enrolled there), and he encountered (1)theologically liberal professors; (2)profs who, based on their personal behavior, obviously had no business teaching in a seminary. Jones describes one prof who came to class tipsy and swore at random students, and another prof who would come in on Monday and asked the students if they "had screwed anyone" over the weekend. In his job at the campus bookstore, Jones met students who didn't live a Christian lifestyle and/or didn't claim to be Christian. None of these people--the faculty or Jones' student coworkers--wanted to hear Jones's attempts to share the gospel with them, and the resulting conflicts with coworkers got him fired.
Worse, over time, one of Jones's liberal profs not only convinced Jones not to believe in hell but over time destroyed his faith in Jesus Christ. Fortunately, Jones eventually regained his faith and later started a Bible-teaching church in Philadelphia which, he says, is 'focused like a laser' on evangelizing non-Christians rather than preaching to those who have already accepted Christ. In fact, Jones asks Christians who have come to his church from other churches to return to their previous churches to evangelize non-Christians who visit.
He shares other incidents that illustrate his extreme fervor in saving people from God's wrath but also shares his mistakes. He tells how he visited the dying father of one of his parishioners, an unbeliever who had for years rejected and mocked Jones for sharing the gospel. When all his attempts to persuade the dying man failed, Jones literally begged him to accept Christ, and by God's grace, that worked. During one service at his church, Jones suddenly climbed into the baptistry without having told his staff beforehand, and assertively invited anyone who hadn't received Christ to come up there and receive Him and be baptized. After a few minutes of awkward silence, someone came up and received Christ, then a few more and a few more, until a large line of people waiting for baptism snaked around the halls of the church.
Some quotations:
"The most ridiculous phase I went through in 1986 wasn't the 'I want to look like Bono' mullet I sported or my tour of duty as a caster-outer of demons, but the time I spent trying to lead people to Christ without first building an authentic relationship with them. ...I learned the third step to...effectively sharing your faith: To have any measure of success, you've got to build relationships first."
"You can't think your way out of a faith crisis; you have to repent your way out of a faith crisis."
This book was valuable enough that I want to own a copy. At the end, Mr. Jones gives his e-mail address and invites the reader to contact him with any comments about Hell Is Real; I just did that, to tell him how much I liked it.
_________________________________________________________
Second Review: April 9, 2019
Hell Is Real always manages to stay on my bookshelves, surviving my every bout of questioning whether I should discard it (and whether I should have bought my own copy); but after years of periodic consideration, I no longer hold my initially high esteem of it.
The author, Brian Jones: he is clearly a brother in Christ, but some aspects of his theology are so odd that he either (a)has read many theological sources I haven't, or (b)hasn't read that much theology. I'm not sure which. Looking through the book again after a recent rearrangement of my shelves, there was something in the book that I remember feeling exasperated with--I think I called it "just plain stupid." It might very well have been just the rhetoric--in trying to emphasize the awfulness of God's wrath, Jones describes God as "violent."
My reaction is probably due to the position from which I approached Christianity, and the limitations that puts on my perspective. I didn't stay very far from God before receiving Jesus Christ; that is, I did not live a very sinful and rebellious lifestyle, which might have provoked God to make me think more about His wrath. My influences were Christians who have much more to say about God's love for us, so long before becoming born again, I was already perfectly aware God loves me. I had no experience with the sort who warn me I'm going to hell. And now that I am born again and therefore not under God's wrath, His wrath is even further from the forefront of my thoughts about Him. The point is that I'm so keenly aware of God's love and God's holiness, but so much less keenly aware of His wrath, that the idea of using the (true) horror of hell as a primary method of evangelizing is alien to me. show less
In the wake of Rob Bell's controversial book "Love Wins", a plethora of books have appeared clamoring to answer the question "Does Hell exist?" Most of these books take us back to the Bible and answer the question in the affirmative. A new book from Brian Jones is no exception. What is different about his book, however, is apparent from its title: "Hell is Real (But I Hate to Admit It)". Jones uses a healthy dose of humor and personal candor as he tackles this ever-troubling topic.
Jones show more shares his story of secretly disbelieving in Hell for his first four years as a pastor. When he realized his error and confessed his secret sin, he was met with bewilderment. Why confess a doctrinal shortcoming? "Pastor, we were worried there was something more serious going on!" was how many took his news. This is indicative of the sad state of affairs in the church today and part of the reason Jones has given us this book.
His book is written in a simple, straightforward style. He explains the Bible's teaching on Hell, but more than that, he gets into the question of why it is that he and so many others wanted to believe there isn't a Hell. He then finishes the book with a call for "apocalyptic urgency" and a straightforward witness to the lost around us.
He doesn't dismiss social concerns but calls the church to be more forthright in its evangelistic fervor. By the end of the book you aren't surprised to learn that he was fired from the Princeton Theological Seminary bookstore for being too evangelistic. Jones has a passion for Jesus Christ, and it shows!
This book is accessible and at times humorous. And more importantly, it won't steer you wrong. It might just spur you on toward a more serious view of evangelism. If we really do believe there is a Hell, shouldn't that belief burden us all with "apocalyptic urgency"? Brian Jones thinks it should, and I have to agree. Read this book and be challenged. You won't regret it.
Disclaimer: This book was provided by David C. Cook publishing. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review. show less
Jones show more shares his story of secretly disbelieving in Hell for his first four years as a pastor. When he realized his error and confessed his secret sin, he was met with bewilderment. Why confess a doctrinal shortcoming? "Pastor, we were worried there was something more serious going on!" was how many took his news. This is indicative of the sad state of affairs in the church today and part of the reason Jones has given us this book.
His book is written in a simple, straightforward style. He explains the Bible's teaching on Hell, but more than that, he gets into the question of why it is that he and so many others wanted to believe there isn't a Hell. He then finishes the book with a call for "apocalyptic urgency" and a straightforward witness to the lost around us.
He doesn't dismiss social concerns but calls the church to be more forthright in its evangelistic fervor. By the end of the book you aren't surprised to learn that he was fired from the Princeton Theological Seminary bookstore for being too evangelistic. Jones has a passion for Jesus Christ, and it shows!
This book is accessible and at times humorous. And more importantly, it won't steer you wrong. It might just spur you on toward a more serious view of evangelism. If we really do believe there is a Hell, shouldn't that belief burden us all with "apocalyptic urgency"? Brian Jones thinks it should, and I have to agree. Read this book and be challenged. You won't regret it.
Disclaimer: This book was provided by David C. Cook publishing. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review. show less
This book is a work of art, where the author is not shy on giving us all details about why hell is real, supported by innumerous biblical passages that he referred inside his text.
He tries to answer four basic questions, in a total of 12 chapters. His questions are: If Hell is Real... Why Don't I Believe It? Why Am I Afraid To Admit It? How Can I Get Serious About It? How Can I Help Others Avoid It?
So he tell us his story, how come he did not believe in hell until four years after becoming show more a pastor, when through reading and studying he concluded that hell is real and he started an apocalyptical urgent campaign to spread the word, without sugar-coating the message.
For me it shows clearly that if we care about a non-Christian friend, we should be willing to take the risk of losing a friendship than allowing this friend going to hell for not telling him the naked truth about the salvation plan of our God.
I recommend this book to the permanent library of any serious Christian reader who is concerned about salvation of non-Christian people.
This book was written by Mr. Brian Jones and it was published by David C.Cook in August, 2011 and B&B Media Group were kind enough to send me a copy for reviewing through their blogger book review program. show less
He tries to answer four basic questions, in a total of 12 chapters. His questions are: If Hell is Real... Why Don't I Believe It? Why Am I Afraid To Admit It? How Can I Get Serious About It? How Can I Help Others Avoid It?
So he tell us his story, how come he did not believe in hell until four years after becoming show more a pastor, when through reading and studying he concluded that hell is real and he started an apocalyptical urgent campaign to spread the word, without sugar-coating the message.
For me it shows clearly that if we care about a non-Christian friend, we should be willing to take the risk of losing a friendship than allowing this friend going to hell for not telling him the naked truth about the salvation plan of our God.
I recommend this book to the permanent library of any serious Christian reader who is concerned about salvation of non-Christian people.
This book was written by Mr. Brian Jones and it was published by David C.Cook in August, 2011 and B&B Media Group were kind enough to send me a copy for reviewing through their blogger book review program. show less
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- Rating
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