Nail Scarred Hands Made New

Synopsis: Cutting-edge missional witness just got bloodier and yet more hopeful than ever! Many Christians in America have lost loved ones who gave their lives in military service to save the country and the "free world." John Shorack is one of them. His father, Theodore James Shorack Jr., was shot down in Vietnam in 1966. Unlike many, John didn't conform to his father's legacy of military sacrifice for the nation. He found a completely different way to give his life--for Christ and his kingdom among the poor of the nations. Nail Scarred Hands Made New speaks from the trenches of a violent, Latin American slum. With deeply personal and theologically probing reflections, John speaks to the next generation of mission workers who feel compelled to lay down their lives--in the surprising hopefulness of God's ability to use the good, bad, and ugly of our kingdom-seeking efforts to accomplish his restoration of all creation. Endorsements: "What is Good News for the barrio--not only for individuals, but for the whole barrio? This is but one of the compelling questions John Shorack raises, writing out of the crucible of walking with the poor in Caracas. These honest wrestlings with the theological questions raised by the barrio context will be of interest to anyone who wants to understand more deeply what it means to walk with Jesus and those on the margins of society." --Jude Tiersma Watson, Associate Professor of Urban Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary "Thirty years ago, a disciplined brother, passionate to serve the urban poor, came to stay. Since then global slums have moved beyond dispossession, begetting waves of prostitution, gangs, and street children to a generation of violence. In entering the pain of the violated while encountering the Holy Spirit, John has penned the core of an urban theology/justice spirituality of reconciliation and embrace--a solution to violence in the Latin slums. Unique! Read, weep, engage!" --Viv Grigg, slum dweller, author, prophet, worker for justice, professor "In Nail Scarred Hands Made New, John Shorack gives us a vision of a restored humanity through the unique lens of his work in a violent Latin American slum community. Through his experience living and serving in desperate and hopeless conditions, we begin to catch glimmers of shalom, even amid John's own struggle with fear and depression. Addressing evil, hopelessness, and violence with the paradoxical approach of victory stained with suffering and deliverance standing alongside failure, John helps us see a resurrected yet nail-scarred Christ. An eschatological yet grounded vision of redemption and hope. I pray that this honest portrayal of life and struggle among the desperate will encourage us all to live more honestly and deeply with those who suffer." --Scott Bessenecker, Associate Director of InterVarsity Missions, author of The New Friars Author Biography: John Shorack has served with his family in the slums of Caracas, Venezuela, since 2001. His work with InnerCHANGE began in the inner city of Los Angeles, California, where John met his wife, Birgit, who came from Germany and was a pastor in East Los Angeles at the time. Together, they have raised three children in the crazy mix of three countries and cultures. Visit John's blog at nailscarredhandsmadenew.wordpress.com