A Contrarian’s Guide to Knowing God: Spirituality for the Rest of Us

An updated edition with two all-new chapters, a new introduction, and a fresh look, this book challenges widely accepted ideas about what it means to know God and offers fresh paths for pursuing genuine spirituality.

This practical guide speaks to those who are weary of formulaic faith or who are haunted by nagging doubts about the church, as well as those who find the traditional spiritual disciplines impractical or even agonizing because of their personal wiring. Easy to read but filled with challenging ideas, this book provides a spiritual foundation for pastors and teachers, committed Christians, and anyone interested in discovering God for themselves but wary of predictable paths.

Larry Osborne is a pastor, author and leadership consultant. He has a passion for helping Christian leaders in both the secular and church world succeed and fulfill their God-given calling. Since 1980, he has served as a senior pastor at North Coast Church in Vista, CA. During that time, North Coast has grown from a fledging group of 128 meeting in a high school cafeteria to a multi-site church with over 12,000 in weekend attendance. Larry has a passion for leadership, spiritual formation, and discipleship. As a nationally recognized trainer of pastors, leaders, and church planters, he travels extensively, speaking at conferences and mentoring events.

His books include: Thriving in Babylon, Accidental Pharisees, A Contrarian’s Guide to Knowing God, 10 Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe, Sticky Teams, Sticky Church, Sticky Leaders, Lead Like a Shepherd, Mission Creep, and The Unity Factor. Larry holds both a Master of Divinity and Doctorate degree from Talbot Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Nancy, live in Oceanside, CA. They have three married children and an increasing number of grandchildren.