Life can be a hot mess. But does Chaos always end in failure or flaw?
What if chaos was more than the check engine light of lost causes? What if chaos was the raw material out of which God creates? In the beginning God brought order from chaos, filling the chaos with a beautiful creation, and he’s been doing it ever since. Where you and I may experience confusion and disorder, God sees an opportunity for something new–for a rebirth, a renewal, and a renovation. God did this in the beginning, he did it again at the cross, and with renewed vision for our disordered world today, we look to God to do it again.
Inspired by the powerful picture of creation in Genesis 1:2, author Jessica LaGrone challenges the hope-destroying belief that God has abandoned us in our broken relationships, our pain, and our grief. In the midst of our out-of-control lives, God is there, and he specializes in making new things from the chaos threatens to drown us. When we experience chaos in our own lives and everything feels like it is falling apart, God is just getting started. When the Spirit of God hovers, chaos can give birth to hope.
Author of Liturgical Mission: The Work of the People for the Sake of the World
“We are living through one of the most challenging and chaotic times in modern history. It is a strange world, where things like pandemics and protests seem to be the new norm. One thing is for certain; we live in a different world than before, and things may never return to the way they were. We cannot hope to make sense of our new world by using old maps. Jessica LaGrone has provided us with a new GPS to navigate the realities of the chaotic world. This is essential reading for anyone looking for hope in hard times. Read it, and you will find your faith renewed and your hope restored.”
Adam Weber
Lead Pastor of Embrace Church, author of Love has a Name, host of The Conversation podcast
“Chaos—both the inconvenience of missing a meeting and the disruption of a global pandemic—affects us every day. My friend Jessica’s book, Out of Chaos acknowledges how chaos, both big and small, can cause us to question even the most basic things in life, affecting our internal and external worlds and relationships. But instead of offering a five-part plan on how to tackle chaos or eliminate it from our lives, Jessica’s words help us look at chaos in a new light—not as something to be avoided at all costs, but instead as an opportunity for creating something new when everything we know falls apart. If your normal routines have been thrown off these last few years, you’ve experienced loss, or you’re simply searching for a way to embrace all of life’s little disruptions, pick up Out of Chaos.”
Ben Witherington III
Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary
“There is a promise in Scripture that God works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to purpose. Jessica LaGrone is certainly one of those gifted and faithful who believes this with all her heart. Indeed, she manifests this again and again in her excellent preaching and teaching as our seminary chaplain. But still, what does one do when the chaos of a pandemic or career or family crisis unexpectedly takes over one’s life? Here, in her usual creative and very readable style Jessica offers some guidance about how to deal with chaos. It turns out, God can use chaos to create a brighter future for any and all of us who are his children. I highly recommend this book.”
Carolyn Moore
Pastor of Mosaic Church, author of When Women Lead
“Who hasn’t said, ‘That’s not the way I thought this would go?’ in the last few years? We all have, which means we all need this book. Jessica’s easy style of masterful story-telling helps us think past the question and beyond our own chaos, disappointment, trauma, and discouragement toward the ways God so beautifully redeems even our worst moments. You will love meeting Jessica’s friends and fellow travelers, and be grateful for the lessons in hope to be found on every page. This is the book we all need as we emerge from a season of extraordinary chaos.”
Talbot Davis
Pastor of Good Shepherd Church, author of Simplify the Message, Multiply the Impact
“What do panic attacks, miscarriages, Alzheimer’s, and pandemics have in common? They are the chaotic material Jessica LaGrone’s Out of Chaos weaves together to bring hope from despair and purpose from pain. Written with a poet’s flair and pastor’s insight, LaGrone’s new book doesn’t just help us make sense of our world; it helps us make sense of our lives as well.”
Meet Jessica LaGrone
Jessica LaGrone is the Dean of the Chapel at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. She is an acclaimed pastor, teacher, speaker, and writer whose engaging communication style endears her to groups throughout the United States. A native of Texas, Jessica is an ordained pastor in the United Methodist Church. Her previous books include Inside the Miracles of Jesus, Broken and Blessed, and Namesake.
