Book

Three times a year, the Israelites would pack up their families and make the long pilgrimage to Jerusalem — to the dwelling place of God. Depending on where you lived, you'd take a different road. You'd learn it by heart, travel it with your kids, sing songs along the way, and tell the old stories of God's faithfulness. Psalm 84 describes people whose hearts are filled with "the highways to Zion" — people who, no matter where they found themselves in life, knew how to find their way home to God's presence.

That's what this book is about.

There's only one way to God — Jesus. But there are many different methods of connecting with Him through Jesus. In these pages, I walk through six of those highways: Scripture (The Map), hearing God's voice (The Voice), character formation, community, contemplation, and suffering (The Via Dolorosa). I also take a hard look at some of the stranger detours people take — and why they usually don't work. And I close with what I think is the most underrated highway of all: the ordinary, unexceptional, everyday stuff of life.

This isn't a book of theory. It's a book written by someone who is still very much on the road — raising four kids with my wife Molly, pastoring in Kansas City, and learning every day what it looks like to actually find my way home to God. I've made plenty of wrong turns. But I've also discovered that God is a lot more patient with our wandering than we tend to give Him credit for.

If you've felt distant from God and don't know how to close that gap, this book is for you. If you have one or two spiritual habits but feel like you're stuck, this book is for you. If you're just starting out and want a practical, honest guide to building a real relationship with God, this book is definitely for you.

The roads are already there. Let's learn to use them.