Let Me Ask You a Question grew out of a sermon series we did at the Elm City Vineyard, using the questions Jesus asks in the gospels as jumping off points for conversations with him. The core was a set of prayer journalling exercises—just a passage, a short reflection, and a facing page with opportunity to dialogue with Jesus. The exercises immediately became a hot item, with church members looking for extra copies to give to their non-church-going friends, folks who would never read a “Christian book,” but were intrigued about the possibility of conversation with Jesus. People who would never set foot in a church were encountering Jesus in the questions he asks.

This book is an invitation to dialogue with Jesus, to discover who he is through direct back-and-forth, to engage even if only as an experiment, to see whether Jesus is in fact real and at work in the world. Extending that invitation again and again are six chapters that describe my own encounters with Jesus through these questions that he asks, alongside folks in the church we planted and students in my Yale classes.

My hope is that this book will inspire you—whether you're a long-time Christian or newly spiritually interested—to take another look at Jesus. 

"This beautiful book is an invitation into dialogue, disclosure, and true discipleship by Jesus himself through disarmingly honest questions. Matt Croasmun and his church community heard, responded to, and have been transformed by Jesus and his questions. Here, Matt invites us into that same experience. We hear Jesus ask surprising, death-defying, life-giving questions that offer transformation through a call to transparency. If, like me, you read this book for the first time in a coffee shop, don’t be surprised if you find yourself seated by the Spirit in Jesus’ very presence, riveted as the deep places of your heart meet the depths of God’s love. Such an authentic, truth-telling encounter may cause you to answer him aloud. It did me.”

—Cherith Fee Nordling, Associate Professor of Theology at Northern Seminary

"Rather than a Jesus who is interested in us knowing the right answers, this book introduces us to Jesus who is more interested in a dialogue with us. So many have been afraid to move towards Jesus and this book helps to show how truly approachable he is."

—Jay Pathak, Pastor of the Mile High Vineyard and co-author of The Art of Neighboring

"Croasmun draws us into dialogue with the living Jesus, whose questions challenge us, encourage us, and ultimately lead us into lives of deeper faith.”

— Miroslav Volf, Henry B. Wright Professor of Systematic Theology at Yale Divinity School, Founding Director, Yale Center for Faith & Culture, and author of Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace

"This book makes a case for a Jesus who is alive and at work in the world, one who desires relationship and the sort of two-way conversation that flows from it. Let Me Ask You a Question paints a winsome picture of a totally real and unreligious Jesus, open to questions and ready for dialogue. What a breath of fresh air!"

—Eleanor Mumford, Co-Coordinator of the Vineyard International Executive

"Can you really talk to God? — Is God really speaking back? Matt Croasmun is inviting us to the adventure of finding out if God talks. What a challenge to seekers and responders alike. A must read book for both Christians and agnostic.”

—Martin Bühlmann, leader of the Vineyard movement of churches in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

“Sadly, in our driven pursuit of answers today, we seem to have lost sight of the fact that perhaps what we really need to find are better questions. Matt skillfully leads us to those questions and sensitively encourages us to linger there. A timely book masterfully crafted!”

— Gary Best, Author of Naturally Supernatural: God May Be Closer Than You Think

"A book of questions. How refreshing! And not just any questions. Jesus’ questions. In a world quick to offer unsatisfying answers, you’ll cherish the chance, day by day, to see how Jesus’ questions can shape the questions you ask—and the answers you find. So grab a cup of coffee or tea, settle yourself in a comfy chair, and, with Matt’s help, contemplate the power and profundity of Jesus’ questions."

—Jack Levison, W. J. A. Power Chair of Old Testament and Biblical Hebrew, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, and author of Forty Days with the Holy Spirit