In some Bibles the words of Jesus are printed in red font. I wanted a title that invited the reader—or better yet, dared the reader—to dream and reimagine what Church might look like if we made the “red letters” of Jesus the primary organizing principle for our communities of faith. The subtitle of the book explains what “thinking red” means to me: Imagine Your Community Living and Loving Like Jesus.
 
Here’s a snippet from the back cover that invites the reader to Think Red:
 
Have you ever wondered what the Church would look like if Christians began to take the words of Jesus seriously—the words some Bibles print in red? What if Jesus actually meant for us to do the things he said? What if those who “believe in Jesus” really did value the things he valued? Would the Church look different? Would your neighborhood stay the same?
 
In Think Red, Larry Stoess takes a close look at the values, the vision, and the mission of Jesus, and then holds up a mirror for us to see if our communities look anything like Jesus. If we dare look in the mirror we may be inspired to leave behind our obsession with consumer–based religion and follow the way of Jesus. Those who do will be set free to imagine creative and whimsical expressions of community.

It would be misleading to say Think Red is a love story but in a way that’s exactly what the book is about. It’s a story about love: God’s love for the world, the love Jesus expressed in the words he spoke and the way he loved people—especially those who were overlooked and pushed to the margins of society. It’s a story about God’s love for the poor and God’s passion for justice and mercy. I wrote the book hoping those of us who call ourselves Christians would fall in love with Jesus all over again and recommit ourselves to creating faith communities that actually love people the way he loves us.  

Grapes grow in clusters, wild geese fly in flocks, fish swim in schools, and people live in community. An unseen vine draws us to one another, affirming and preserving life. Even those who choose to travel alone discover a deep-rooted need to connect with others in their solitude.
 
How absurd it is to realize we are created to live and flourish in community yet so many of us find ourselves alienated—lost and alone in a crowd of people. In Thomas Merton’s Midsummer Diary he writes, “As long as a single person is lost I am lost . . . The way one begins to make sense out of life is taking upon oneself the lostness of everyone.”  
 
Robert Hudson, in his biography on Merton, The Monk’s Record Player, draws a parallel between St. Paul’s command to “bear ye one another’s burdens,” and Merton’s call for us to bear each other’s alienation. Hudson writes, “One person’s alienation is everyone’s, and Merton saw our existential distance from God and each other as the result of humanity’s deep–seated inauthenticity: sin.”
 
In the Gospel of John, Jesus has an intimate conversation with his closest friends. Shortly before his execution—a time when Jesus most certainly felt the pangs of alienation and aloneness—he reminded his friends to abide in him, to stay connected to God, and to bear the fruit of love.
 
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit . . . As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love . . . My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”

Jesus gave his life as an expression of God’s love for humanity. Through his sacrificial love, God made a way to overcome “humanity’s deep–seated inauthenticity.” Our hearts can now be reconciled to God and to one another. We are forgiven and free. We are free to live in community with the Triune God and to connect authentically with the people of God. If we respond to the invitation and abide with the lover of our souls we will produce much fruit and bear each other’s alienation.