About the Author

The Rev. Dr. George A. Mason is the Founder and President of Faith Commons and Senior Pastor Emeritus of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. He is a nationally recognized religious leader whose legacy includes innovations in clergy apprenticeship, interfaith initiatives and community service. For many years, George has served as an op-ed contributor to The Dallas Morning News and has written for publications nationwide. He is a co-founder of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and teaches at the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. Wilshire Baptist Church is Christian by conviction, Baptist by tradition and ecumenical in spirit-an inclusive Christian community that welcomes every body. Faith Commons is an interfaith nonprofit organization that amplifies diverse faith voices for the common good. Its programs include George's podcast Good God, featuring conversations about faith and public life. George was born in New York City and has lived in Texas for many years. He and his wife Kim enjoy spending time with their children and grandchildren. More information and additional multimedia resources are at GeorgeAMason.com. The Rev. Dr. Amy Butler is the founder of the philanthropic initiative Invested Faith. She previously served as the first woman senior minister of The Riverside Church in New York City. Pastor Amy holds degrees from Baylor University, the International Baptist Theological Seminary and Wesley Theological Seminary. A mother of three children, she currently lives in Hawaii. Greg Garrett is the Carole McDaniel Hanks Professor of Literature and Culture at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and Canon Theologian at The American Cathedral in Paris, France. He has written a number of books on the intersection of literature, culture, religion, and politics, most recently the novel Bastille Day and A Long, Long Way: Hollywood's Unfinished Journey from Racism to Reconciliation.

Reviews

"George has a vision for the church that is so compelling and inspirational it is hard to listen to him and want to remain as you are. He invites you to come sit with him in the company of his friends: ... Jesus, familiar biblical characters, biblical characters we have forgotten or passed over, peoples of all faiths, playwrights, bestselling authors, scientists, artists, musicians and composers, young people getting ready for baptism, strangers who show up on the door of Wilshire, faith leaders, world citizens, and faceless, nameless people who are hurting."Gary V. Simpson, pastor of the Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn, New York
"While his sermons are thoroughly modern and responsive to current events, George Mason uses examples from the rich Baptist heritage and history of advocacy for religious freedom for all. ... Woven through all these prophetic sermons are not just wise words but examples of real people doing the work. He personalizes the call in a way that inspires the listener or the reader to take action to be a better Christian citizen."Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty
"George's affirmation of Baptist roots of religious liberty and uncoerced faith now seem strangely foreign to large numbers of (people) and stand in sharp contrast to what has evolved into the neo-establishmentarian efforts of the Christian Nationalist movement."Bill Leonard, author and Founding Dean at The School of Divinity, Wake Forest University
"I have had the privilege of engaging in interfaith work with George Mason for decades ... George challenges us to enlarge our tents of religious imagination and understanding. He affirms the blessed specific of who we are as Christians, Jews, and other people of faith, and then challenges us to see those precious particularities as part of a greater mosaic whole, the Oneness we call God. ... Interfaith dialogue not only allows us to see each other, it trains us to see God."David Stern, Senior Rabbi at Temple Emanu-El in Dallas, Texas, and former President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis
"George Mason is widely known as a gifted preacher, but these sermons demonstrate that he is also a creative theologian and an effective teacher. ... They display his skills as a pastoral theologian. Mason utilizes the tools available in his theological toolbox-Scripture and hymnody, poetry and literature, culture and history, and more-all of which he uses to speak about God more coherently so that we might learn to love God more completely."Curtis W. Freeman, editor of The American Baptist Quarterly and Research Professor of Theology and Director of the Baptist House of Studies at Duke University Divinity School "All of George's preaching on vocation is rooted in a profound experience of the love of God."David J. Wood, pastor, educator and church consultant
"George challenges us to take a step toward living lives of both generosity and gratitude. ... This journey toward practicing gratitude and generosity leads to a transformation not only of us as individuals but also of our institutions, as we work toward justice and wholeness in the communities to which we belong."David P. King, associate professor at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
"These sermons have renewed my own yearning for the fulfillment of the Lord's prayer that the church may be one, and I hope they'll have a similar effect on you."Steven R. Harmon, scholar, author and a leader in the Baptist-Catholic International Dialogue Joint Commission