Less Than Perfect: Broken Men and Women of the Bible and What We Can Learn from Them

What can the Bible?s most flawed men and women reveal about who God is and how he reaches out to less-than-perfect people? In Less Than Perfect, bestselling author Ann Spangler takes us beyond cardboard cutouts of 38 biblical characters to show us how these were real individuals who had dreams, temptations, and weaknesses just like us.Whether considering the murderous Herodias, the scheming Jacob, or the doubting Sarah, Spangler approaches both familiar and lesser known characters with fresh eyes. We meet each of these individuals again as if for the first time as Spangler offers a dramatic retelling of their lives, insight into the historical and cultural context of their time, and key takeaway points for our lives today. Each chapter includes questions for discussion or reflection, making Less Than Perfect ideal for individual or group Bible study.Entertaining, informative, and inspirational, Less Than Perfect gives you a big picture view of the Bible even as it takes you into the hearts and minds of people with struggles just like yours. As you learn more about the individuals who are part of your spiritual family tree, you?ll discover why God loves to use imperfect people to tell his perfect story of redemption. Review "As children we enjoyed our storybook Bibles, with brightly-colored illustrations and sanitized stories about our flannel graph heroes. In Less than Perfect, Ann Spangler invites us to take a grown-up look at biblical characters and meditate on how God used them despite their lack of storybook perfection. I especially enjoyed her vibrant tale-telling and many cultural insights. Each chapter is sprinkled with nuggets from the ancient world that shed new light on the lives of biblical characters in the world that they knew." --Lois Tverberg, Author,Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus"Ann Spangler's latest book Less Than Perfect is a moving tribute to the fact that God uses broken people who are often seen as failures to others. These are beautifully written stories that will touch the deepest part of your heart and inspire a fresh faith in Jesus Christ and his grace." --Jim Cymbala , Senior Pastor, The Brooklyn Tabernacle"Ann Spangler makes Bible people feel like close cousins--if not like we ourselves.Taking us by the hand, she guides us through these ancient lives with a contemporary lens that's candid, courageous, inspiring and insightful. With Ann Spangler, such Bible voyages are always remarkable journeys. Don't miss this one!"  --Patricia Raybon, Author of Undivided: A Muslim Daughter, Her Christian Mother, Their Path to Peace"In her vividly but faithfully imagined vignettes of 30 biblical characters, Ann Spangler unerringly gets to the heart of the matter: God always works with deeply flawed people, and he often works in spite of them. Ann's rich portraits capture the strangeness of each character's times and yet the familiarity of their situations. These stories--of Adam and Eve and their varied offspring--warn and encourage us both: after all, we too are sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, and these stories are our stories. They remind us of what runs in our blood, and of the One whose blood can redeem it all." --Mark Buchanan, Author of The Rest of God"Those who think the Bible is full of perfect people have never really read the Bible at all. In these less-than-perfect people we find more than we expect. Thank you, Ann, for helping us use our imagination to feed our souls. Ann reminds us that there is only one kind of person--broken. As she invites us to run our fingers over the jagged edges of these biblical lives, we are reminded of our own complexity and our own great need of God's patience. Ann is a master storyteller! She makes the people of Scripture as vibrant as those we meet in a novel or in daily life. No one-dimensional saints here! Only desperate people--whether they know it or not--in need of God."--Deron Spoo, Pastor of First Baptist Tu