Rankin Wilbourne Releases Union With Christ: The Way To Know And Enjoy God July 1 From David C Cook

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - June 7, 2016 - PRLog -- Pastor and first time author Rankin Wilbourne releases Union With Christ: The Way To Know And Enjoy God July 1, 2016 from David C Cook. This book aims to "change the conversation" and restore union with Christ to where it once was - at the center of why the gospel is good news.

Union With Christ reveals the transformational power of this ancient doctrine that you are in Christ and Christ is in you while addressing the basic questions of the human heart: Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I headed? How will I get there?

"That you are 'in Christ' (to use the phrase the Apostle Paul uses some 160 times) and that Christ is 'in you,' changes how we approach every-day life and reframes our most basic human questions about identity, destiny and purpose," says Wilbourne.

"If nothing is more central or basic than this union with Christ, then why is this neither central nor basic to many of us? Why do most Christians only have a vague sense of what it even might mean?" continues Wilbourne. "I want to help retrieve this biblical and historical theme because I am convinced that just as the loss of it has had great and grievous consequences, so will the recovery have profound and boundless benefits."

Combining a rich knowledge and appreciation of historical theology with a penetrating analysis of how God brings about transformation, the book is set up in four parts:

Part I: Union With Christ: What Is It And Why Do We Need It?
Part II: Union With Christ: Where Did It Come From? Where Did It Go?
Part III: Union With Christ: What Problems Does It Solve?
Part IV: Union With Christ Day By Day

"Rankin does a masterful job of articulating what union with Christ consists of, how central it was to the writers of Scripture and to great thinkers through the centuries, why it has been lost in our day, and, most importantly, how to pursue it as a concrete reality in daily life for ordinary people," says pastor and bestselling author John Ortberg, who also wrote the foreword to Union With Christ.

"Everyone seems to agree that union with Christ is a biblical teaching crucial to understanding and communicating the gospel, but preachers today do not give it the same emphasis that the New Testament does," says pastor and New York Times best-selling author, Timothy Keller. "One reason is that, unlike the new birth, justification and adoption, it requires multiple metaphors to draw out its rich meaning. Rankin does so clearly and compellingly. This is simply the best book for laypeople on this subject. It is grounded in exegesis and theology and yet is lucid and supremely practical."

About Rankin Wilbourne:
Rankin Wilbourne is senior pastor of Pacific Crossroads Church (http://pacificcrossroads.org/) in Los Angeles. As a former commercial banker, Rankin understands the "gap" between the gospel preached on Sunday and the world people face on Monday, and he's concerned with drawing connections between what we believe and how we live. Growing up near New Orleans, training at Princeton Theological Seminary and spending time as the Minister of Teaching and Missions at First Presbyterian Church of Chattanooga, Rankin now resides with his wife, Morgen, and their three children in Los Angeles.

About David C Cook:
David C Cook is a leading nonprofit resource provider serving the global Church with life-transforming, Christ-centered materials. Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with offices in Illinois, Canada and the United Kingdom, David C Cook's resources are published in over 150 languages and distributed in more than 160 countries. Originally founded in 1875 as a curriculum publisher, today David C Cook publishes numerous bestselling fiction and non-fiction books from a variety of award-winning authors. It is also a leading provider of worship music through its Integrity Music label, which produces over one-third of the top 100 praise and worship songs sung around the world. Additional information can be found at www.davidccook.com.