Ecclesia pastor Andrew Farley dissects theological ‘double-talk’ to reveal ‘new way of living’ out one’s faith

Andrew Farley says he became addicted to evangelism in college. He taught Bible studies on campus, witnessed at a halfway house and preached on the train. He used every assignment in speech class to lecture about salvation. He even burst into a seminar and pushed aside the speaker to share the gospel. If he went to bed feeling as though he hadn’t evangelized enough that day, he would leave his dorm at night and preach some more. But Farley was miserable.

In Relaxing With God: The Neglected Spiritual Discipline, which Baker Books (Baker Publishing Group) releases this month, Farley says in hindsight, he sees all of that feverish activity as focused wrongly—on himself. It perpetuated a cycle he describes as “commit, try hard, fail, feel horrible, then confess and recommit to try even harder, only to have your hopes of renewal shattered all over again.”

But that was 23 years ago. Since then, he writes: “God taught me some truths that literally saved my life. And what God taught me is in this book.”

Farley is now lead pastor of Ecclesia: Church Without Religion and best-selling author of several books, including  The Naked Gospel.

Farley asserts in his new book that many slip into performing for God, which only causes unrest, while Jesus, on the other hand, promised that His followers would find rest.

He aims to sort out what he calls “double-talk” and shows believers a new way to live—to “live from rest on a daily basis.”

Farley emphasizes new-covenant theology and the freedom that comes from enjoying Christ’s completed work.
“Christ is the end of the law for us,” he writes, reminding readers that no one can add to what the Savior has done.

Topics include God’s forgiveness, a believer’s new identity and the type of good works that issue from resting in God.

“It’s all about fixing your eyes on the finished work of Jesus Christ,” Farley writes. “In so doing, Jesus promises ‘rest for your soul’ (Matt. 11:29).”

Relaxing With God concludes with a five-week Bible study.

To order, call 800-877-2665 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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