Okay, let me get something off my chest.  I want lots of people to read this book.  And I know it is written with pastors in mind, but any Christian who desires honest and hopeful growth will benefit greatly by reading it.  But there is a slight problem…

Sensing Jesus by Zack Eswine is truly a terrific book, but you would not think so judging by its cover.  I am on record saying another Crossway book (Why Cities Matter?) has a terrific cover and thereby heaped my praise publicly on the graphic designer.   I don’t know what happened with this cover, but I guess everyone has a bad day.  The cover for Sensing Jesus looks like a Shroud of Turin wannabe.

Covers and titles matter because they form the initial impression people have of a book.  I would love to see many buy Eswine’s book, but the title with the cover design are confusing and frankly, a bit cheesy.  Note to Crossway: redesign and retitle.

This truly is an important book which is geared for pastors, but contains much wisdom any Christian will benefit from.  Among other things, it will help non pastors better understand the peculiar challenges of pastoral ministry.

Eswine is a gifted writer who writes out of his own brokenness.  He could have easily fallen prey to self indulgence, but Eswine keeps God front and center.  Broken and vulnerable humanity is kept wonderfully tethered to the God of all hope.

The creative folks at Crossway need to get brainstorming a new title AND design!  And please do it before the next print run!

The present subtitle is good, so I say keep it as it is: “Life and Ministry as a Human Being.”