In this book, Ted Grimsrud asks what Christian theology would be like if it consistently took Jesus' central command to love God and neighbor as the most important consideration. Engaging that question, the book addresses the main beliefs Christians affirm in clear, practical, and challenging ways. Christian theology too often seems overly-complicated, abstract, and removed from actual day-to-day life. Yet, Jesus’ own teachings are simple, concrete, and directly engaged with people’s lives. Theology as if Jesus Matters approaches Jesus’ life and teaching as the model and core content for theology. Originally published in 2009, this book is reprinted by Pandora Press as the first volume in the Cascadia Classics series. " Theology as if Jesus Matters is an accessible and persuasive articulation of why theology must always begin with and keep returning to the life of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Gospels." —Andrew Brubacher Kaethler in the Mennonite Quarterly Review "This deeply compelling, engaging book brings theology back to the rough ground of our lived experience, where it can have traction again. Grimsrud recaptures a vision for theology that begins and ends with Jesus, and in so doing manages to call back the discipline from its metaphysical holiday to its home in the life of the messianic community." —Christian Early, James Madison University "Grimsrud provides an expansive, accessible, provocative, practical, and practice-able theology rooted in the life and teachings of Jesus... it provides a foundation for a sensible, Jesus-rooted theology for the twenty-first century." —Keith Graber Miller, Goshen College