Jesus + Nothing = Everything
Tullian Tchividjian
Crossway, 2011, 224 pp., $18.99

It was refreshing to hear a successful pastor speak about a tough time in his ministry.  There are so many books published by superstar pastors about how they have done everything right, God blesses them and their church uncontrollably, and their lives are always sunshine and rainbows. Tullian bases his story around a hard season in his ministry and allows others to learn from one of his darkest moments. It’s refreshing to know that even highly successful pastors with big book deals have hard days in the ministry.

The gospel is a powerful and life-changing story. Many pastors place the power, necessity and emphasis of the gospel on the conversion experience. Tullian turns the gospel from the final destination to the entry point of the Christian life. The gospel does not stop changing lives at conversion. Conversion is simply the beginning of the transforming power of the gospel.

Tullian’s study encompasses the ministry and influence of the early church fathers, as well as some of the great communicators and thinkers of the Christian faith today. The ideology and importance of the gospel is thoroughly researched and communicated.

Tullian puts a refocus on the gospel that trumps self-righteousness, Christian idolatry, self-focused preaching, moralism and narcissism that runs rampant in some modern churches today. His Christocentric view of the gospel makes Jesus + Nothing = Everything more than just a catchy title, but a mandated lifestyle for Christians today.

Is this a book youth workers could use with their groups? Obviously, any time a guy is sold out for Jesus and has a biblical view of the gospel that challenges people and pushes the social norm, I think it can be a great teaching tool. A few of the chapters were a little slower to read than others, and some of the theological verbiage and ideology was lofty at times. This is a book that makes you think and study and want to grow deeper. I would not label the book’s target audience as “youth ministry,” but the truths and concepts can be beneficial to any demographic.
—Nathan Cline, Teaching Pastor, Revo Church, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

I am a knowledge junkie. I love learning a new principle, process, or the progression of an idea. Once I learn it, I’m excited to share it, and that is exactly what Tullian Tchividjian does in his new book Jesus + Nothing = Everything. Tullian learned something in his 2009 struggle with people pleasing while he was a pastoral candidate for the historic Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. Tullian learned, again for the first time, the all sufficiency of Christ. Tullian shares the journey with us in a way that makes us want to walk and listen as he talks us though the process from being confused to being confident in Christ. In addition, he camps extensively in Colossians, giving a Pauline road map to spiritual identity and gets us started by dropping a spiritual You Are Here pin. This kind of honesty will resonate with all people, especially pastors, struggling with who they are and who they want to be in Christ.
–Paul Turner

While Tchividjian gives us an inside look at the merger of New City Church and Coral Ridge, what’s more amazing is his transparency as a pastor. He cuts through all of the traps that so quickly can trip up even the most devout among us. With every page, he is stripping away what we have added and in so doing returning us to the essence of the gospel. The glorious reality of the good news is that it’s by faith in Jesus and nothing else. Want to discover or rediscover the crux of Christianity? Look no further.

Is this a book youth workers can use with their groups? Absolutely, it captures the good news in a concise, easy-to-understand way for students. The format of the chapters could make this an easy 6-week series.
—Dave Pafford, M.A., MBA, Northern Missouri Assemblies of God, Director of Student Ministries

If you’re reasonably intelligent and a Christian, both of which this book assumes its readers are, then you may take one good look at the title and think you’ve got the whole book figured out. Fortunately for us, there is a deep and thought-provoking journey that goes along with Tchividjian’s simple formula. While teenagers may not necessarily relate to his anecdotes about church leadership, the Christian themes are universal and deep enough to make it good conversation fodder for any group.
–Adam Griffin, husband to Chelsea Lane; public high school teacher, discipler of young men, former youth pastor, Young Life veteran, freelance writer and volunteer in the student ministry, Village Church, Flower Mound, Texas.

Jesus + Nothing = Everything by Tulian Tchividjian is the type of book I intend to pick up at least once a year. It is a beautiful reminder of the all sufficient nature of the grace offered by God through Jesus Christ. Too often, as Tchivijian points out, the western church gets trapped in trying to earn our way into God’s favor. We pride ourselves in the size of our congregations or the amount of students attending our outreach event, forgetting God’s grace draws us into His community for the mutual ministry of making disciples in His name. One of the most poignant ideas posited within the text is the idea that within the church we preach grace and still expect people to earn their way through their giving habits or attendance. Rather, we need to preach grace and allow God to grant His grace in the measure that will draw people into lives of grateful living. The church needs to return to a gospel-centered vision, forgetting about all the expectations we place on people. As a youth minister, this text forced me to wrestle with requirements I place on students in order for them to serve in ministry. Through grace students should serve, and we need to allow God to shape their lives in His grace. Not only youth ministers, but all Christians should read this book. We are all called to ministry, and in that ministry we need to receive God’s grace as the all-sufficient gift it is; and we need to share that grace with others. Our ministries should be shaped by grace. All churches should study and apply this book!
— Joel M. Jackson

Tullian Tchividjian beautifully captures the power of the gospel. He reveals through Sriptures that the power of Christ doesn’t just bring salvation but also lifelong sanctification. He accurately shows what we as youth ministers often miss–the fact that the gospel isn’t about morality, but about Christ! I highly recommend this book to any person involved in youth ministry as I know it will change how you share with students. I know it changed how I will!
–Paul Grodell, Director of Student Ministries, Journey Community Church

Tullian Tchividjian has written an eye-opening book about the all-sufficiency of Christ. Personally, he put the personality and zeal of Paul into a new light. The ideas and thoughts that he writes in this book will change my ministry as I seek to live like Jesus + Nothing = Everything.
–Jonathan Tripp

The first thing that attracted me to this book was the title. It sounded simple yet profound. A reader will discover that the book is about the centrality of the gospel. The gospel is not just for non-Christians but for Christians. Tchividjian develops this thesis throughout the rest of the book. Tchividjian develops in the book how the gospel is just as important in our sanctification as it is in our salvation. He contrasts the gospel against moralism which is to be our default religion. His point is to stop trying for rules and self-improvement but to instead to rely upon the finished work of Christ. Moralism says to work harder and do better, but the gospel says, “Done.” Theologically and biblically, I found no real grounds to dismiss this work. However, I found this book to be highly repetitive and dry at times. I appreciated what the book had to offer in perspective, but thought the book could be much shorter. With that in mind, I would recommend this book for pastors and youth workers, but not necessarily for youth or Bible study.
–Andrew Hayes youth pastor in Sterling, Colo., and has lived and worked in California, Montana, North Carolina and Tennessee. He is a graduate of Bryan College in Youth Ministry and is working toward his M.Div. at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.

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