Jeff Lucas – författare

Most of us have prodigals in our lives, whether a child, brother, sister, husband, wife, or friend. The ache for these dear ones is like no other. They may hurt us and disappoint us, but somehow we cannot stop loving them. And yet we cannot live their lives for them.The Prodigal-Friendly Church looks at why people leave the church, how we can retain them, how we can reach those who have already gone, and how we can help those who return feel like they belong. Jeff Lucas offers no easy recipes for success, but plenty of truthtelling, hope, and encouragement.This book discusses the principles of:• Reach: How do we reach those who’ve already left the church?• Return: How do we help people return to the church?• Retain: How do we retain the people we’ve worked so hard to reach? Ultimately we are called to bring our prodigals to the cross of Christ, for there we find the mingling of our own utter helplessness and God’s total power to intervene and save. When the Father’s house is filled with the Father’s love, there is hope that the prodigals will come home.

Jeff Lucas turns his hallmark wit and candour to expose some of the myths that hinder our prayer life. Describing his book as an 'alternative prayer manual', Jeff offers a wealth of practical suggestions to help Christians of all ages and stages to develop a stronger one-on-one relationship with the Almighty. He is open about his own struggles in this area, and writes with clarity and compassion about an aspect of the life of faith that many of us find difficult. First published as How Not to Pray, this book is now revised and updated. Jeff says: 'The core message is the same, but ten years on I am writing from a different part of the wood. I am not sure I am wiser, but I am certainly more experienced - and continue to believe that if we get our prayer habits right, the rest of life is more likely to fall into place.'

The whole idea of the SERIOUSLY FUNNY tour was for Adrian Plass and Jeff Lucas to let people in on their conversations about God, life and the universe - and it went pretty well. After all, that's pretty much what they've been doing in their separate writing and speaking careers all these years.All told, people seemed to like the way their trademark styles came together and shed light on even the most difficult subjects, in a way that perhaps made those burdens a little easier to bear.However, as they toured around the country, Adrian and Jeff realised that other people's questions were at least as interesting as their own - possible more so. Eventually they decided they'd better have a go at some answers. This book is the result.They may not have got the answers right, but they have certainly had a good time along the way - and they hope you will, too.

Gideon may seem like an unlikely hero but to God he was an ideal candidate for ministry. Gideon and his crew of three hundred men with trumpets and clay pots appear surprising victors against the massive Midianite army; however for God they were another opportunity to showcase his strength and power. God takes weak people, meagre resources and unpromising strategies and turns them into something wonderful. From his first face-to-face encounter with the Angel of the Lord to his later struggles with the trappings of success, Gideon challenges us to take our stand for God, to trust his plans, to believe in his promises and to keep our focus. Written with humour and passion, this is an immensely readable and helpful book that will delight those who have discovered the joys of Jeff Lucas' writings before, as well as those who come to it fresh.

You've heard Jeff Lucas' preaching, laughed and learned from his teaching books, now get stuck into his first novel. Helen Sloane is on a mission to help the young people in her town. When things aren't going well, help arrives from an unexpected quarter. As Helen records her thoughts, we are amused and challenged. A hilarious and poignant read.

Many Christians find themselves unable to escape from past sins. They have repented of them, they have handed them over to God. But they can't forget them. Instead they relive their past over and over and, in the process, become increasingly burdened by a sense of failure. Carrying this false guilt around can be like walking backwards - exhausting, awkward and confusing. Jeff Lucas reminds us that it is God's will that we leave our past failures behind us. When we confess our sins, God's forgiveness is total! Only when we fully understand this will we be able to turn round and face the future, and be free to enjoy the life and hope he has to offer.

A little while ago, concerned that the next time they got together, one of them would be in a coffin, Jeff Lucas and Adrian Plass decided to start exchanging letters and this book is the result. Breathtakingly honest, funny, moving and immensely enjoyable, Seriously Funny is a celebration of 21st century Christianity as well as a no-holds barred expose of its sillier side. And they are equally hard on themselves their most embarrassing moments are a joy to read. Adrian Plass and Jeff Lucas are renowned for their ability to express the silly side of Christian culture, and to cut through our pretensions and foibles with incisive wit. In this candid, moving, hilarious book, they join comedic forces to challenge and entertain us.

The insightful, sometimes painful and often hilarious antics and musings of Helen Sloane, as she struggles to find love, battles with grief and juggles life as a social worker and member of New Wave Christian Fellowship at Frenton-on-Sea. 'The odds are against me writing anything that might win a Nobel Prize for Literature. Perhaps tomorrow.' Enter Helen Sloane and her diary; this is the hilarious second novel from the very popular Jeff Lucas.Battling with relationships, men and her career, Helen is coming to terms with the death of her father, whilst trying to live out her Christian life and help find a new pastor for their church. Corruption, chaos, passion, laughter, tears and thought-provoking lines are the ingredients of this page-turning read.Click here to read a sample chapter

Adrian Plass and Jeff Lucas are renowned for their ability to express the silly side of Christian culture, and to cut through our pretensions and foibles with incisive wit. In this long-awaited sequel to Seriously Funny the pair again join comedic forces to challenge and entertain us with candid, moving, hilarious excerpts from their personal correspondence.

Each one of Bristol's bridges has a fascinating story which is woven intimately into the 1,000-year history of the city. Why was it built? What was involved in its design, engineering and construction? What dramatic events sometimes swirled around and perhaps on it? In this book Jeff Lucas tells the story of each of the 45 bridges which span the main waterways of Bristol between Avonmouth and St Anne's, and which can be crossed on foot.Illustrated with Jeff's own revealing photography, this book will open up new ways of looking at these often beautiful structures that we usually take for granted. The bridges are linked into a 45km circular walk that takes you from the nooks and crannies of the inner city to the open vistas of the Severn Estuary and back again. This walk is also the solution to an intriguing mathematical puzzle called The Koenigsberg Bridge Problem: how to walk around a given set of bridges crossing each one only once. The problem has been solved for Bristol's 45 bridges by Thilo Gross, a young mathematician lately at Bristol University, who contributes a chapter about the bridge problem, its importance to mathematics and the modern world, and how he solved it for Bristol.