“Uncensored grace is what you get from a loving God when all the religious types have gone home, and every last hope for your own effort has blown up in your face.” What comes to mind first when you think “Las Vegas”? Maybe glitz and glam. Or dealers and dancers, high rollers and hell raisers. And why not? After all, the town they call Sin City is an American icon, an anything-goes shrine to pleasure, money, sex–and another lucky roll of the dice. Probably when you think Las Vegas, you don’t think about God or grace. Neither did Jud Wilhite when he was first invited to become the senior pastor at the city’s largest church. But the people he’s met since moving there with his family have changed all that. Today, Vegas stands for something much different and more surprising for Jud. He doesn’t think of Vegas as Sin City anymore. Now, to him, it is Grace City. Working with veteran journalist Bill Taaffe, Jud takes you past the neon and the hype to another side of Vegas–where people whose lives have been marred by loneliness, addiction, and despair are finding hope and freedom in a vital community of faith. Stripped is an account of what happens when ordinary people get honest with each other and an extraordinary God. In its pages you’ll meet gaming industry movers and shakers. You’ll meet working exotic dancers, a Flying Elvis, an American Idol contestant, a cop who won the hearts of a crime-hardened city, and more. Each of them has encountered what Jud calls “uncensored grace.” He writes, “Uncensored means that there is no formula or membership or performance that stands between you and God’s goodness.” Stripped is their unforgettable account of people who are betting everything on a very big idea: that as wide and deep and high as your mountain of personal ruin might get, God’s transforming grace is always wider and deeper and higher. “In Stripped Jud Wilhite holds nothing back as he describes the life-changing power of God’s forgiveness as it’s encountered on the streets of Vegas. Wherever lives hurt, God’s grace is present with more than enough power to heal.” - Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life “What God is up to in Vegas is nothing short of hardcore. Jud describes an extreme faith that is extremely amazing. With clarity and passion, Stripped offers a renewed sense of hope for whatever you are up against. Don’t miss this book.” - Stephen Baldwin, actor and author of The Unusual Suspect “Reading Stripped will open your eyes to the wonders of God’s saving love. It will give you hope that, no matter where you are in your ‘process’, God is at work — and He is for you.” - Craig Groeschel, pastor of Lifechurch.tv, author of Confessions of a Pastor “ Stripped is filled with stories God must love!” - John Ortberg, teaching pastor and author “What happens in Vegas just went public! Stripped is full of surprises and twists. It will captivate and inspire you as it describes the difference Jesus can make in your life.” - Lee Strobel, author of The Case for Christ “Jud Wilhite is a compelling new voice and model for a new way to be Christian in today’s culture.” - Gabe Lyons, founder of Fermi Project and cofounder of Catalyst “If you’ve given up dreams of ever finding a genuine fresh start in your life you ought to read this book. Real people. Real problems. Real hoep. Get ready to be rocked by a fresh touch of amazing grace.” - Gene Appel, lead pastor, Willow Creek Community Church “ Stripped brings the brutal truth and the message of redemptive grace front and center. I was deeply moved and so inspired by these powerful and provacative stories of God’s mercy. Stripped will transform your faith as you get a glimpse of how Jesus has set up shop on the streets of sin city.” - Mike Foster, president of Ethur.org and founder of xxxchurch Jud Wilhite is senior pastor of Central Christian Church, a pioneering community of faith in Las Vegas. More than ten thousand people attend Central’s campuses each weekend. Jud is the author of Faith That Goes the Distance and a creative partner with Pursuit.org. He lives in the Las Vegas area with his wife, Lori, and their two children. Bill Taaffe is a writer and editor whose articles have appeared in The New York Times , The Washington Post , and Sports Illustrated , where he was a columnist and senior editor for nearly ten years. He and his wife, Donna, live in the Las Vegas area with their son. Viva Las Vegas “Welcome to lost wages,” the flight attendant announced to laughter. “I mean…Las Vegas.” As the plane landed, I was met with the sight of an Egyptian pyramid, the New York skyline, and the Eiffel Tower, all on the famous four-mile “Strip” of casinos and resorts. What could be expected, I wondered, in a place that would bring together replicas of the world’s greatest wonders into one tourist circus? Getting off the plane, I was assaulted by the nonstop clanging of airport slot machines and visual come-ons from poste