I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. A good interesting read for all Christians out there. A fast easy read.

Jesus, Love, and Tacos is a recent entry, published in October 2022, into a genre that I call "theology by memoir". The author has a theological idea to present and they do it in digestible pieces surrounded with lots of personal anecodotes that are meant to illustrate the theology. From the author's website:

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Shake off rote religiosity and tribalism with a spicy bite of God’s truth seasoned with an authentic connection to his love and his people.

"Let me do something for you.”
Carrie Stephens offers these words of hope from the heart of God in Jesus, Love, & Tacos as she uses vibrant metaphors and comical self-deprecation to tell the story of lordship, community, and mission. These three ancient values will offer you help and hope as they shape your spiritual life, define how to gather in unity, and lead you to God’s missional love in action.
Whenever reading it's helpful to know a bit about the author. This is especially true in a book like this. Theology is a broad field and rooting one's theological discussion in personal experience means the author's life is the lens through which this theology is to be understood.

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Carrie Stephens is the mother of four children, a Californian transplanted to Texas, and the wife of Morgan Stephens, lead pastor of Mosaic Church Austin. Mosaic is a non-denominational church that seems to follow many of the common elements of American Evangelicalism: emphasis on personal experience and relationship with God, all-male leadership, and a strong focus on external missiology and conversion. These are important pieces of the background to bear in mind while reading Jesus, Love, and Tacos.

Nine chapters in three sections move through a discussion about God's love and how it manifests in the world. The thesis of the book is threefold: God wants to establish God's self as the trustworthy authority in times of uncertainty and change; God wants none of us to be alone; God wants to empower us to meet the needs of the world.

The pattern of each chapter, as I alluded to early, is the same. A theological point is made, followed by one or more anecdotes from the author's life which are intended to illustrate the point. The theological claims made are clear and include significant references to the Bible for support. Of course, Biblical interpretations differ, but that's part of the fun of the theological conversation. Most of the theological claims made here are, to my mind, surface-level and do not dig into significant debates, nuance, or otherwise stray too far from a well-trod path.

Throughout the book, I would estimate the ratio of anecdotes to theological discussion is about 2.5:1. There is a lot of Stephens's life in this book, centring the experience of a white American mother in a heterosexual marriage, attending a non-denominational church, while living in a large city in the South. The heavy reliance on these anecdotes means that much of the conversation in Jesus, Love, and Tacos was, for me, relatable only in the abstract. I share precious few of Stephens's life circumstances or experiences and found many of the intended illustrative stories to be unhelpful.

This does not make this a bad book. It means that I am not the intended audience for this book. It also means that the intended audience for this book seems to be a very particular one. I believe that if some of the details of Stephens's life above sound relatable and sharing her experiences of being a Christian in those contexts would be interesting and helpful for you, this book could be a good read.

The writing style is approachable, informal, and accessible. The quality of the editing is good and, other than a few repeated facts that seemed unnecessary, this a solid piece of writing.

Jesus, Love, and Tacos is a book that I wanted to like but struggled with and would have a hard time recommending to most people in my circles. I think this is, for the most part, a case of divergent contexts, experience, and needs, rather than a true failing on the part of either this book or its author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Leafwood Publishers for sending me a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! It felt like having a conversation with a friend... deep thoughts and ideas, but with some casual language. The way Carrie Stephens writes makes her feel so much more "real" than a lot of Christian authors and someone who I truly would love to grab dinner with!

I'll admit I didn't finish reading this, I was so disappointed to see something that seemed to have promise to be lacking in substance past a hashtag level of interesting possibilities.

Carrie is real and engaging. The book will have you laughing, taking sermon notes and reconsidering how you are living for Christ. I couldn’t put it down.

I've never met Carrie Stephens personally but reading this book made me feel like I was talking with a friend! She's convinced me that she deeply loves Jesus and she does it by sharing Bible scripture, her personal experiences, and pop culture references. A book titled Jesus, Love, & Tacos that has God's Word plus quotes from Ferris Bueller, Michael Scott, and Phoebe Buffay just has to be both inspiring and entertaining!

If you're needing encouragement as you navigate this journey called life, grab a copy of this book! Stephens shares nuggets of joy and inspiration that have been flavored with humor and laughter, as she reminds readers that "God isn't choosy about who joins the party, so long as they're hungry and willing to leave their cares and worries behind."

I received a copy of this book from the author and publisher. There was no obligation for a positive review. These are my own thoughts.

The first half of this book I enjoyed to an extent. Some of the stories would take me out of the book for a moment because they seemed irrelevant but they would always come back around and make sense when I kept reading. It also kept taking me out of the book that this was obviously written during 2020, because it makes the COVID-19 lockdown seem like a current event (this book was published in 2022 so it’s a past event at the time of publication). In the second half of the book, I found the “tacos” metaphor really distracting to the message, multiple verses taken out of their immediate and metanarrative context, and stories that weren’t driving home significant points. I wouldn’t recommend this book.

Jesus, love and tacos is such a good book!! Definitely recommend!! It's heart warming and down to earth but also gives some hard hitting Biblical truths. It's honest, convicting and inspiring in every chapter!
Carrie doesn't sugar coat or hide away from hard hitting topics. She gives guidance in a loving and kind way but is direct and straight to the point.
Reading Jesus, Love and Tacos is like having a sit down all out conversation with your bestie. There's no judgement or criticism. Just advice we can all use in our journeys to be more like Jesus.
Carrie bases everything on scriptures and uses situations from her own life that we've likely experienced to some degree to not only show where maybe she'd failed but also how she grew as a person, mother and daughter of Christ. She shows us that it's not only possible for us to change but also how to change!
Loved it!

Thank you @netgalley for my arc!

This was an awesome book by author Carrie Stephens. First off, the title is amazing, and who doesn't love tacos, and Jesus too? I think what I liked most about this particular book is that it was easy to read and follow along with, even if you don't know much theologically. I happen to be a pastor, but would definitely recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about Christianity. Chapter 6 and the Holy Dance (perichoresis) was well written, and did a great job explaining the mystery that occurs. Overall, this was a great book, and it now lives in my "to recommend" pile.

Jesus, Love, & Tacos
A Spicy Take on Lordship, Community, and Mission
by Carrie Stephens
Pub Date 11 Oct 2022
Abilene Christian University Press & Leafwood Publishers, Leafwood Publishers
Christian | Religion & Spirituality


I am reviewing a copy of Jesus, Love, & Tacos through Leafwood Publishers and Netgalley:



Carrie Stephens offers words of hope from the heart of God in Jesus, Love, & Tacos as she uses vibrant metaphors and comical self-deprecation to tell the story of lordship, community, and mission. These three ancient values will offer you help and hope as they shape your spiritual life, define how to gather in unity, and lead you to God’s missional love in action.




While facing fear, sickness, and increasing polarization, Carrie provides a fresh encounter with the lordship of Jesus to right-size your expectations and transform your view of your life.


Looking at the examples of the early Church you’ll find yourself brave enough to swallow your insecurities and forge ahead into the sometimes-painful world of the Church where healing and life happen through God’s faithfulness.




In a world of never ending neediness and suffering reconsider the call to missional living afresh. Living with a mission will reinvigorate your connection to God and others, where you’ll find unexpected meaning and surprising opportunities.




In these pages you will find plates of truth and grace, and you’ll reconnect with a God beyond your comprehension who is intimately involved in the details of your life.


I give Jesus, Love & Tacos five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

This book has a fantastic title and that is what drew me in. I was expecting some heartwarming and fun personal stories and experience, but I wasn't expecting such well explained biblical truths. I knew I was hooked when in the introduction the author quotes Ferris Bueller, so I knew the great stories and pop culture references would be in my experience. However as you dig into each chapter it feels as though great Biblical truths about Lordship, Community and Mission are revealed to me. They are revealed in a way that teaches, convicts, and inspires. It's funny and yet it's serious. It's light and yet it's heavy. This is a book that will stay with me for many years along my walk with God.

With retro-looking cover art and the title, Jesus, Love, and Tacos I knew I wanted to devour this book. And boy was it filling! I’m encouraged and motivated—and to be honest, craving tacos!

This isn’t a stodgy, tedious, or high-and-mighty kind of spiritual growth book. So, if you’re looking for that (and why on Earth would you do that?) then keep searching. But if you enjoy a conversational, fun, witty, down-to-earth chat with a sister-in-Christ, then this dish is just your taste.

With truth, sincerity, and humor, Carrie Stephens inspires, encourages, and offers food for the soul. I’m inspired and sated. (Sorry, not sorry about for the puns.)

Disclosure: #CoverLoverBookReview received a complimentary copy of this book.

I love the title of this book, and that was the reason I was initially excited to read it. As I started reading, I was blown away by the author's perspective, presented with humor and insight. Stephens delves deep into the Gospel to present her thoughts on lordship, community, and mission. This is my first experience with the author, but it will definitely not be my last. She has an uncanny ability to connect with her readers as her words teach, convict and inspire.

It's always interesting to read about other people's faith journeys, and how they come to recognize the hand of God in their everyday life, whether in small or big ways.

Carrie Stephens invites readers along a path of discovering Jesus, and discovering yourself, in a way that only she can. Reminding us all that something we instinctually crave (like tacos ;)) can only come from Jesus alone.

Jesus, Love & Tacos is set to be published on October 11, 2022. Thank you to Abilene Christian University Press, Leafwood Publishers, NetGalley and the author for the ARC.