I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a wonderful book. I enjoyed it a lot!

This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to make the world a better place. Pavlovitz speaks to our frustrations and anger while reminding us that we have the power to create change and find joy, even when things seem chaotic. He encourages us to commit to happiness, fight for justice, stay angry at injustice, surround ourselves with positivity, and never accept cruelty as normal. Love and acceptance are our most potent weapons against fear and hate. He challenges us to see things from different perspectives, reject division, and build connections instead of barriers. This book is a powerful reminder to stand up for the marginalized and to live with compassion and empathy. It's a call to rise above our differences and choose kindness, justice, and understanding in a world that needs them more than ever.

This was an interesting big read. Some of the views in this book were interesting to read about.

Quick read.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I've followed John online for a while and his articles always resonate with me. I think that in this day and age, participating in organized religion is viewed as contradictory to advocating for the affirmation of LGBTQIA+ people, BIPOC folks, and other historically oppressed communities. This book helped me feel seen. I will definitely be recommending this one to other liberal Christians (and maybe those who aren't so open-minded as well).

It has been said that "No news is good news." This is obvious when we read the news today. On every page we turn, chances are, there is more bad news than anything else. From the poverty and homelessness crisis to global-warming; corruption to leadership scandals; rising inflation to unemployment; political turmoil and wars; social uprising and injustice; wherever one turns, the world seems to be getting from bad to worse. This world is broken. Systems are broken. People are broken. Everything is broken. No wonder many people are feeling more helpless and hopeless than ever before. Worse, people are turning from sympathy to lethargy to apathy. If a broken world remains unfixed, it will not be fixed. For all the talk about goodness and love, author John Pavlovitz writes that "Love isn’t real until it moves from aspiration to incarnation." We need action that speaks louder than words. Using a metaphor of the car warning lights, Pavlovitz urges us to use despair as the impetus for action. Our actions include attention to mental health matters; creating a safe space for people to share their struggles; encouraging empathy toward the vulnerable; harnessing righteous anger; resisting the tendency toward depression; cultivating good attitudes like gratitude, rest, joy, and simply being well. Fellowship with people who give us hope. Adopt faith over fear. Move beyond mere niceness.

Yet from time to time, we hear words that highlight sarcasm, skepticism, and various types of indifference. This is especially so in an age of social media where people are constantly divided over all kinds of issues that range from politics to societal preferences. What is lacking is relational stability and efforts to build bridges instead of walls. Pavlovitz gives several suggestions:

- Learning to love a broken world
- How to talk without about our religious beliefs
- Correcting erroneous assumptions like "opposing hate does not make me hateful"
- Resisting tribalism
- Listening respectfully to people's stories
- etc.

The author then makes a case for "progressive Christianity" and "Theological Humility." For those holding firm convictions, make room for alternative viewpoints. For those who are doubtful about Christianity, learn not to just look at the bad but to remember the good. For those disillusioned with Church, learn not to jettison one's faith based on any bad experiences. For those fighting racial discrimination and injustices of all kinds, think about humanity and what Jesus would do. Whatever it is, life is worth fighting for. That is why we need to keep doing the right thing whenever we can.

My Thoughts
==============
Here are my three thoughts about this book.

First, it is essentially an extension of Pavlovitz's earlier book entitled, "A Bigger Table." It applies what it means to create a bigger table for all regardless of political affiliations, religious persuasions, or lifestyle preferences. The key theme is to call to love with action. It is not enough to hold up a placard that says "Love Wins" or to tweet "Let us just love." We need to create a space big enough for all to communicate and to learn to live together despite our differences. Focus less on differences but more on commonalities such as humanity, society's goals, and general goodness for all. Create an atmosphere marked by hope and positive goodwill. This calls for action to minimize the bad and to elevate the good. This is all about setting a bigger table for everyone to live in.

My second thought is in the form of a question: "Will it work?" In a world that is so diverse and divided, will Pavlovitz's prescription work? The author brings up the political problem of MAGA, and mentions the mental health crisis in the same breath. The problem is that MAGA is way larger than a mental health crisis. It is essentially a reactive culture against everything people are unhappy about, namely bread-and-butter issues such as the housing crisis, inflation, insecurity over one's future, low wages, unemployment, etc. How can one translate the act of love to address these issues? Love in action can only go so far. Whatever Pavlovitz is prescribing needs to be accompanied by macro-economics and courageous leadership. Setting a larger table is just the start. What then do we do at the table? We need to be ready for all kinds of behaviours and reactions. The author might have anticipated that which is probably the reason for his chapter "The Limits of Welcome" which bars bigots and extremists from participation. The chapter on "How to deal with toxic people" partially addresses this. Will Pavlovitz's call work? My head says "yes" but my heart tilts "no." The positive side is that this book opens up a path for useful conversations.

Third, the biggest reason to read this book is about putting action into words. Pavlovitz is spot on when he observes how many people talk more than they walk. This world is broken but as long as we continue to do all the good we can, we can make it less broken. This is an uphill task that will take a long time to heal. While that might seem like a long shot, it is still a worthwhile shot to make. In the author's words, this is certainly a battle that is worth fighting for. There are many fronts to fight and Pavlovitz has listed many of them throughout the book. For the exhausted, he urges them to keep going. For those of us sick of hearing bad news, consider just switching off our TV or to stop browsing the Internet. Distinguish between patriotism and nationalism. On the pro-life and pro-choice issue, try to de-politicize it. On gender matters, avoid dehumanizing anyone based on one's stand.

This is a needed book to address the deep divisions happening all over America.

John Pavlovitz is a writer, pastor, activist, and storyteller from Wake Forest, North Carolina. Over the past decade, his thought-provoking blog, Stuff That Needs to Be Said, has reached a diverse worldwide audience with over one hundred million views. A twenty-five-year veteran in the trenches of local church ministry, Pavlovitz is committed to equality, diversity, and justice―both inside and outside faith communities. His books include A Bigger Table, Stuff That Needs to Be Said, and If God Is Love, Don't Be a Jerk. He currently directs Empathetic People Network, a vibrant online community that connects people from all over the world who want to create a more compassionate planet.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Westminster John Knox Press via NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

I was disappointed with this book. I follow the author on social media and this book was just a rehashing of essays and ideas he has previously posted. I agree with the author’s ideas, but I didn’t find them particularly well argued.

This book has come along at just the right time. In a politically divided nation, we need the words and wisdom of John Pavlovitz to remind us we don't have to be cruel.

Through personal stories and overlapping principles, Pavlovitz gets to the crux of why we need to survive this season as loving human beings. Instead of turning on each other, we can turn toward each other. Pavlovitz isn't naive to think we'll come to agree with our political rivals, but he encourages us to be kind to them just the same, even as we fight to make positive change for the world at large.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is struggling with their feelings of outrage, fear, and distrust, and instead wants to plant more peace, goodness, and love in themselves and the world.

My thanks to NetGalley and Westminster John Knox Press for the review copy of this book.

John's straightforward writing style appeals to me; it gets straight to the point, which is refreshing in today's world. His choice of subjects, such as social media trolls and controversial politicians, resonated with me, and I appreciated his story-driven approach to showing how many people likely share similar views. Specifically, the chapter titled "When Cruelty is Trending" drew me to select this book, providing exactly the perspective I needed. Other chapters, including "Nice Isn't the Goal" and "Opposing Hate Doesn't Make Me Hateful," left positive impressions as well. Additionally, the thought-provoking chapter "Loving Toxic People (From a Distance)" stood out among my favorites.

Overall, John's powerful messages in "Worth Fighting For" require multiple reads for proper absorption. These messages proved uplifting, comforting, and applicable to daily life—well done, John!

Worth Fighting For is a collection of essays that may light a fire under some people, or it might just let them know they are not alone in feeling like it's hard to keep loving our neighbors when there's so much anger and hatred out there.

John Pavlovitz is one of the most positive people, even in the face of all that has been happening. He is a progressive Christian and proud of it.
I felt like he was preaching to the choir, but I hope all kinds of people will pick up this book.

My thanks to NetGalley and Westminster John Knox Press for the DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Westminster John Knox Press for the advance electronic copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

When I first saw this book, I thought the author was someone else. Then I realized I had actually read a book of his before, a Lenten devotional. In any event, reading it was like a sermon a day. And it was really nice to read such a sermon from a minister on the same page as myself and those with whom I attend both church and temple. In these days of "Christian" becoming a word laden with hypocrisy, it is a relief to find a Christian pastor preaching about social justice and equality and truly making the effort to live by such concepts as Love thy neighbor.

I was, in fact, so happy with the sentiments expressed in this book that I went out and bought another book by the author!

Worth Fighting For: Finding Courage and Compassion While Cruelty is Trending by John Pavlovitz is a collection of essays that addresses so many of the issues that we have been dealing with for the past eight years. Pavlovitz is a progessive pastor that I wish I could sit under. His books are so articulate and make me feel like I am not alone. Highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and Westminster John Knox Press for the advanced digital copy of the book.

If you need the support to continue living in a way that seems completely counter cultural - this book can be a best friend. It can feel downright impossible to stay compassionate and understanding. You can feel like an idiot and complete fool. You can be ridiculed, vilified and take advantage of - all of which may make you question why and what you are doing. This can help remind you and give you the perspective to keep going even when it seems the world is against you.

I’m not sure when I first came across John Pavlovitz…and although I’m not proud to admit this, I suspect it may have been online, specifically on Facebook. He is described as an author, pastor, activist, and storyteller, and his book “Worth Fighting For” is described as “Christian Nonfiction.” Since I am not a Christian, most books in this genre don’t appeal to me, but since I have enjoyed many of his writings, I was pleased to receive a copy of this book from Westminster John Knox Books and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

If you haven’t noticed, the U.S. is deeply divided, and (in my opinion) largely due to having a hateful, misogynistic, racist President from 2017-2021, it has become common to have people spewing hateful things to each other, whether in print, verbally, online, or wherever people feel free to speak out. It is incredibly unsettling and has made many of us fearful.

Pavlovitz’s position is that we not only SHOULD not give up hope, but that we CAN NOT give it up! This book is designed to inspire the readers to keep fighting for justice, and to maintain their compassion. Although it seems there are many for whom this is clearly not possible (ahem, the aforementioned former President), the book deserves a wide audience. I appreciate that Pavlovitz’s words are reaching more and more people, and I only hope we can turn the corner on what the country has been moving toward and regain some of the compassion for which we USED to be known around the world.

My only issue with this book is that I could only seem to read it using the NetGalley shelf app, rather than having it on my handy little Kindle, which made it less than ideal – for ME. A small issue, for sure. Five stars.

I don't recall how I initially came across John Pavlovitz's writing, but I'm certainly glad I did. I first read "If God Is Love, Don't Be A Jerk" in 2022--a five star read for me. I followed it up with purchasing his Lenten devotional guide. Both texts were immensely helpful in dissecting and interrogating the faith and traditions I was raised in after placing spirituality on the backburner, and viewing my faith through the "god of love" lens.

Here, Pavlovitz tackles many timely subjects from the past several years, including the rise of anti-semitism, the rollback of human rights, the effects of the Trump president, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the individualistic and polar society we find ourselves in 2024. There are many gems in here and I will likely revisit when I need reminding of the power of hope and the activist heart of Jesus.

My only critique is this reads like blog posts and I think a different structure would have been beneficial.

"Love has never won because it's gone unopposed. It's won because it is a persistent, stubborn son of a bitch that believes that people are worth fighting for, bleeding for, waiting for, sacrificing for."

I am grateful for the free ARC PDF copy that was provided to me by NetGalley and Westminster John Knox Press. All opinions are my own.

Brilliant! He took many topics with which I’ve struggled and put them into a quiet and common sense narrative. I am distressed at how much hatred is vocalized in our country these days. I am especially troubled by people who I know and I’ve loved for years, but who now parrot talking points of hatred and intolerance. This book helped, and I appreciate that. It was a quick and comforting read.

Wow! Loved this book. Thank you John Pavlovitz for getting in my head. Our country is in a dark place and the author is willing to "go there" to address the hatred consuming many Americans. So many nuggets of wisdom in every chapter. This may be my latest highly underlined and highlighted book. I'm ready to move forward to work toward the beloved community that Dr. King invisioned.

This collection of Pavlovitz’s writings (with a few new essays) from the past few years are well written and well-conceived. In my case, he was preaching to the choir. I pray, though, that this book can reach those who have a chance of being converted by his logic and by the truth he speaks.
These essays are both timely and they address important issues, as well. In the current fraught political climate, Pavlovitz addresses ways to remain true to the Christian faith while reminding us of what is worth fighting for—the very future of the world we hope to live in.

Yes...and no. And it probably doesn't matter what I say next, as the author has made it very clear that anyone who disagrees with him on any issue he deems fundamental is a brain-washed, hate-filled, wrong-hearted, MAGA-loving cause of the problems we all face. But I will continue anyway.

I am an apolitical individual. I participate in politics, but without allegiances. I enjoy politics as a spectator sport, somewhere in the middle with a decent bowl of popcorn. Mostly because I believe that the left is right about some things and the right is right about other things, so for me, it's not about party. But for the author, it is. And for whatever reason, he doesn't seem to understand that the venom he spews from the left is just as deadly as the venom he condemns from the right.

He does, at times, acknowledge at least an intellectual understanding that those who disagree with him are not mal-intentioned, but honestly believe they are right just as much as he does, but the more he talks (or writes), the clearer it is that he doesn't really believe this with any meaningfulness in his heart.

For example, he tells the story of some kind of retreat or event they had that brought together persons from very diverse walks of life, and he applauds the way they were all gathered around an enlarged table by the end of it, enjoying being together and celebrating the shared space. What a victory! Except...he also says that the person who spoke up with traditional conservative beliefs was made so uncomfortable by the way the other attendees responded that she left early. So his "bigger table" doesn't include the traditional conservative, and his "diversity" doesn't actually have room for everyone. You can't celebrate a win for diversity and inclusion when even one person has been forced by social pressure to leave your gathering, no matter how wrong or backward you think they are. And this theme continues throughout the book. It's not so hard for us to embrace diversity, he says over and over again, and "anyone" is welcome...but for the traditional conservative, they are welcome only insofar as they are willing to lay down the beliefs his consciousness finds distasteful. Otherwise, their "hate" is not welcome.

So I wonder if the author understands the irony of his position - that he rails against persons on the other side of the political aisle because he is angry at them for setting parameters around humanity and welcome and drawing lines about how one must be willing to behave or believe or think in order to be welcome while he, at the very same time, sets the same parameters and draws the same lines around humanity and welcome. "You aren't allowed to tell someone else they can't be who they are in your presence...and because you think you can, you can't be who you are in my presence."

As with all things, the real answer is somewhere in the middle, and it's messier and harder than even this author claims. It's also possible, but it takes a lot more than trying to claim the moral high ground from one another. It takes a humble kind of love, not an activist one. (Again, on either side.)

The theology is troubling at a lot of points. For example, it's easy to say that Jesus was for social justice, but it's harder to say that He would be present at the kind of riots that we've seen in recent years. In fact, the one time there was a riot in the Gospels, Jesus was there (at the center of it, really), and He told Peter to put away His sword, then reached out and healed the rioter. And that's really what our country, our churches, our world, our souls need - that kind of divine healing. Not more spats in the streets. The author cites Martin Luther King, Jr. but we have to confess that today's tactics are far different from King's, and I'm not convinced that King would endorse them, no matter how much he might stand for the causes themselves. So it's a bad attribution.

The center of the troubling theology, though, can be captured in one statement written fairly late in the text. The author claims that the "greatest commandment" is that we "love one another as yourself." But that's not what the Bible says, and it's not what Jesus says. Both are clear - the GREATEST commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. "The SECOND is like it"...but it's not the greatest. (For what it's worth, I do not doubt that the author loves God, as do many others with whom I both agree and disagree.)

It just seems to me as though for its noble efforts in wanting to be a rallying cry, this book is just as guilty of division as the very things he's trying to stand against. In that regard, it's counterproductive. It increases the distance between us, and the only way through any time in our history is to draw closer to one another.

In WORTH FIGHTING FOR: Finding Courage and Compassion When Cruelty Is Trending, author pastor speaker John Pavlovitz comes out blazing in his indictment of a Christianity that has lost sight of Jesus’ compassion and concern for the marginalized, the wounded, the displaced, disabled, the non-gender conforming not-white guys.

Ideally, he writes to reach anyone who is searching for a better way to live a life of faith and to relate respectfully with each other, but I suspect his main audience will be those who already agree with him. For these readers, he truly does express “what oft was thought” and by book’s end, he manages to create an encouraging sense that there are many such like-minded people.

Pavlovitz does not avoid direct criticism of the 45th President and the evangelical community that continues to enable him. In short punchy chapters, he encourages readers to remain hopeful, to keep talking, to stay loving. I did not expect to like this book as much as I did and would recommend it to anyone who is sad and struggling in the belief that religion is colluding with some of the worst societal impulses to create our current national breakdown.

With thanks to Westminster John Knox Press and NetGalley for an advance reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is an uplifting reminder that you are truly braver than you will ever feel. Like a rally cry to the broken.