"I am a fanatic about freedom. And I'm fanatical about coming at you hard in this book." Maybe you're not as free as you think you are. Even worse, you may have been duped into believing that a "balanced" life is the key to happiness (it isn't) or that a relationship with God is about layering on rules and restrictions (nope). Whether it’s media-fueled fear, something a parent or teacher said that you just can’t shake, or even the reality of dark spiritual forces bent on keeping you down, something is holding you back from the full-on freedom God intends for you. The Bible says, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." Not fear. Not guilt. Not morality. Freedom. You can have the sort of joy you thought only kids could have. The day of freedom is here. Brian Tome leads Crossroads church, a movement of more than 12,000 people connecting their seeking friends to a community of growing Christ-followers who are changing the world through combating poverty in Cincinnati, building an HIV/AIDS clinic in South Africa, and battling child sex slavery in India. Free Book I am a fanatic about freedom. And I'm fanatical about coming at you hard in this book. I'm tired of seeing people beaten down by the world's systems and by religion. I'm sick of seeing people live safe, predictable lives while their God-given passions die. God's offering real freedom. Get yours. By Brian Tome Thomas Nelson Copyright © 2010 Brian Tome All right reserved. ISBN: 978-0-8499-2006-6 Contents 1. The End of Fear.........................................12. The Death of Religion...................................113. The Freedom Giver.......................................214. New Identity............................................335. Forgiveness Freeway.....................................436. Strongholds.............................................657. The Spirit World........................................778. Evicting the Squatters..................................939. Experience the Ghost....................................10510. Blahs, Break, Blues, and Blessings.....................12511. The Unbalanced Life....................................14312. Live It Out............................................15913. Experience Community...................................18114. When Grace Meets Truth.................................20115. The Crash..............................................219 Chapter One The End of Fear I am a fanatic about freedom. When actor Charlie Sheen was using drugs, his dad, Martin Sheen, says he became a fanatic: "When a life is at stake and it's your child's, you become fearless in a lot of ways. I mean, you just become a fanatic. Nothing ever gets done unless it's done by a fanatic." I'm fanatical about coming at you hard in this book. I'm tired of seeing people beaten down by the world's systems and by religion. I'm sick of seeing people live safe, predictable lives while their God-given passions die. I hate the assumption that getting close to God means more rules and restrictions. I'm also pissed that I'll have to fight to keep the word pissed in this book because the publisher will want to cave to more conservative types who want to keep everyone boxed into a specific type of language. Let's get over ourselves. Let's get over such fearful living. Right now, I'm living in freedom and loving it. It's the most helpful grid through which I make decisions, and it's my biggest joy. Nothing else works for me-no set of rules, no self-improvement plan, no religion. My life isn't perfect, and I've had to work through some hard spots, but now I'm experiencing the kind of freedom God offers-and it's a blast. That's why I'm writing this: I want you to experience the same thing. As I live out freedom, though, the things I say might cause objections. Bible thumpers could be concerned that I'm not honoring God. Psychologists could be concerned that I'm a narcissistic daredevil. Most Americans will be concerned that I'm being irresponsible. But like I said, I'm a fanatic about freedom, so I'm giving this all I've got. Tackling freedom is like joining a revolution-and that revolution is happening in the communities I encounter. Jesus' message floored His culture, just like it floors ours. His main thing was teaching about the Kingdom of God, and the freedom that kingdom offers is a revolution that gets people fired up because they're experiencing God's love and giving it to others. This kingdom was and is completely unexpected. While people expected the Messiah to bring a huge street rebellion or a rigid institution of new religious laws, instead they got Jesus saying, "Love each other, love Me, and you will experience the best of this life." We don't need another book about the cross. As offensive as that statement might sound, it's true. That important topic has been dissected every which way possible. But a book on freedom? Yes. We need it badly. Nearly al