Backsliders & Beloved: Grace for People Who Walked Away and Think They Can’t Come Back

If you think grace is waiting in a pew with its arms crossed, you've been lied to. Backsliders & Beloved is for the ones who slipped out quietly—the disillusioned, burned-out, or just plain tired—who still hum worship songs in traffic but can't force a smile on Sundays. With the blunt honesty of a friend and the steadiness of a pastor, D. Michael Gross reframes the gospel as a search party, not a performance review. This is not a pep talk, and it's not parole. It's the scandalous claim that the Shepherd doesn't update the locks or the guest list when you wander; He puts on His battered boots and comes after you. Across short, potent chapters, Gross dismantles religious score-keeping (your name is kept), the myth of "cheap grace" (He pays the cost again), and the paralyzing fear that you must carry your own weight back to God (the first step is being carried). The tone is Protestant, biblical, and deeply humane—written for church-hurt Christians, exvangelicals, and anyone suspicious of religious sales pitches. If you need less persuasion and more pursuit—less hustle and more homecoming—this book is your open door. You don't need a speech. You don't need a plan. You don't even need much faith. You just need to stop running long enough to be found.