Mean Christianity

Mean Christianity: Finding Our Way Back to Christ's Likeness explores the Christian faith as an intentional, daily commitment to others--a cathartic and uncomfortable journey that leads travelers to Christ's likeness. The book considers how and why individual Christians and the corporate body of Christ have come to be perceived negatively by so many. It describes the primacy of Christ as the central tenet of Christianity, and offers seven ""Jesus"" life themes for every Christian. These themes, based on a qualitative study of the canonical gospels, assist readers with the development of a framework for a Christlike life.
The book defines Mean Christianity and considers its causes and costs. Readers are confronted with both the possibility of meanness in the faith and in their actions, and encouraged to consider a Christlike life as an alternative to meanness. Finally, readers are introduced to the concepts of forgiveness, grace, and mercy as a part of God's broader plan for reconciliation and fullness in life.


""With courage and insight, Ogletree confronts a Christianity in which individual and corporate meanness masquerades as conviction, a religion whose moralistic rhetoric obscures 'offensive and despicable' action. He calls us to recognize and repent of such Christian meanness, rediscovering the radical grace of the Jesus Story.""
--Bill J. Leonard, Professor of Baptist Studies and Church History, Wake Forest University


Billy T. Ogletree is the Brewer Smith Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Western Carolina University. A speech-language pathologist and university educator interested in the communicative success of individuals with intellectual disabilities, Dr. Ogletree is a well-cited author of over seventy professional articles, chapters, and books. He is also a long-time Christian who writes for d365, an online devotional series. Dr. Ogletree's devotions emphasize the challenging yet cathartic possibilities associated with following Jesus.