How does a retired bishop address the violence, disrespect, and disunity that troubles him in both the culture at large and the church he loves? By asking questions.

Bishop Reuben Job, author of several books on prayer and the popular Three Simple Rules, sets forth Three Simple Questions in response to rampant division and hatefulness in the world, which he sees spilling over into the church. But rather than wag his finger at Christians who have adopted too much of the world’s angst, he gently asks questions of relationship and identity, trusting that his readers will be introspective enough to apply his message appropriately.

Job begins with the question of God’s character and identity. Our concept of God is not what we profess, but rather what we live out. If we are to find better ways of living together, he asserts, we need to reject the safe, manageable god suggested by our weak actions in favor of the wild, untamable, at times even dangerous God we see revealed in Jesus.

Bishop Job maintains that to truly know God, we must seek to know Jesus and follow his way of love. But it’s a difficult path, one that doesn’t allow for violence or name-calling. Instead, the way of Jesus encourages respect, restraint, and a commitment to justice for all God’s children.

Job’s second question is both pastoral and confrontational. By asking, “Who am I?” Job not only invites the reader to consider his or her own status as God’s beloved child; he also insists that each of us recognize that every other individual is equally beloved by God. Prayer keeps us mindful of our identity in God, which gives us a base from which to treat others as Jesus would.

Finally, Job asks who we are together as the body of Christ. He recognizes the difficulty of sustaining community, but encourages readers to continue to seek its beauty nonetheless. Prayer, worship, and service are the things that bind us together as Christians. The bonds that unite us extend beyond the church, however. We are one human race, created and loved by God.

At the end of each chapter, Job suggests a practice and a prayer to help readers embody the kind of Jesus-infused life he encourages. His epilogue also includes a brief guide for daily prayer.

Although it will no doubt find its way into countless Sunday school classrooms and small-group gatherings, Three Simple Questions reads less like a book club selection and more like an epistle. Job writes with the gentle authority of a spiritual leader secure in both his relationship with God and his role in the church. Although brief, his latest offering is filled with the same pastoral guidance and spiritual direction that has made him a favorite of readers for decades.