Welcome, pilgrim.

e’re assuming you stopped in because you’ve read Epic (by John Eldredge) and are searching for more – more on the Story, more clarity on your own place in it, perhaps more on how to share this with others. So, if you haven’t read Epic and somehow stumbled into this site some other way, we recommend starting with the book itself. After all, what we offer here won’t make a lot of sense until you’ve read Epic!

Read the first chapter
Order a copy of the book
Order a copy of DVD presentation.

Enough said. Let’s continue.

Epic is a little book about a Big Story. It's an overview, like a trailer for a movie, of the Story behind all stories. God’s Story, which sheds light on your story and mine. Life is a story, after all. That’s how it comes to us. But like a movie we’ve arrived at forty minutes late, life doesn’t make sense until we understand the rest of the Story. That’s just as true for people with faith as it is for people who have no faith – yet. We all need to understand the Story of this life we’re living, and find our place in it.

Epic comes at the question from a Christian perspective – hopefully a far more refreshing one than what you might have been told Christianity was all about. There are no steeples here, no incense, no religion. Just an understanding of why God made us, what he is up to, and how we can find the destiny of our lives by living more fully in his Story. Of course, Epic barely scratched the surface. We wanted to offer you more, and so we created this site. In each of the “chapters” here we have provided a few resources for you to take the next leg of your journey.

First, an explanation. Of all the different movements on this earth, Christianity might be the most fractured. It’s a sad story in itself, but it bears noting that not all so-called “gospels” are the same. The folks who beat themselves with whips during the Middle Ages would be a good example. That had nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus. The folks who beat others would be another example. They were badly mistaken as well.

Many contemporary versions of Christianity were hurt badly by the Modern Era, the age we just passed through where truth was thought to be found best in principles and propositions. The mind became central, not the heart, and we lost the Great Story for a handful of tips and techniques, rules and regulations. Yes, you can learn a lot about a rabbit if you dissect it – but when you are finished what you have before you is nothing like a real rabbit at all. The life is gone.

The faith the Bible offers us is a great Story, one in which the heart plays a central role. Epic comes from that tradition, a long history of the friends of God who understood the Drama and the life of the heart which is our destiny. We thought it would be most helpful to recommend some reading by a few of those friends to help you further explore the Larger Story for yourself.

For Further Reading

Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairytale by Frederick Buechner.
  • Buechner is a novelist who’s written some gems on the spiritual life. This little book explores our lives and the story of God in a beautiful, compassionate way, using everything from King Lear to The Wizard of Oz. One of our favorites! (So – is it tragedy, comedy, or fairy tale? If we told you ahead of time it would ruin the story).
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.
  • Lewis was perhaps one of the greatest writers and thinkers of the twentieth century. This is his famous classic on the basic ideas of Christianity, without all that goofy church stuff (thus the “mere” Christianity). A brilliant book.
Orthodoxy, by G.K. Chesterton.
  • Another brilliant writer and profound thinker, Chesterton understands the Story quite well. Clever, witty, deeply moving. One of our favorite lines of his is, “Poets do not go mad, but chess players do.” In other words, a purely analytical approach to life will leave you desperate, while a poetic or heart-filled approach can bring you the answers you seek.
The Sacred Romance, by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge.
  • This is John’s first book written with his dear friend Brent. It helps us explore the story of our own lives, and especially why we lost heart along the way as we sought to find the Romance but experienced instead the Arrows. It’s a beautiful look into the Great Love Story – God’s passionate pursuit of our hearts.
“Science and the Story that We Need,” by Neil Postman. First Things, 69, 29-32.
  • A wonderful little article on how the story given to us by the Modern Era just doesn’t answer any of our deepest questions. Great reading. (click here to read the article)
The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis.
  • Lewis’ fairy tale series has become a classic allegory for the Christian life. It is both charming and insightful, rich and profound. Somehow, the truths of the Bible seem more accessible through these stories. A must-read, some time in your life.
Pilgrim’s Progress, by John Bunyan.
  • Written while in prison for taking a stand for religious liberty, Bunyan’s story of one man’s mythic journey to find immortal life has become a classic. There’s a reason this little allegory has remained a favorite since it’s publication in 1678. Despite the hundreds of years between us, it speaks deeply to our own journeys, with many needed warnings and encouragements.
Waking the Dead, by John Eldredge.
  • There are three Eternal Truths that every great story, myth, legend and fairy tale have been trying to get across to us since the dawn of time. Things are Not What They Seem, We are at War, and You Have a Crucial Role to Play. Think of it as Epic on steroids. A fuller look into the nature of the reality in which we live, and, perhaps more importantly, how to actually find the life that Jesus offers when he said, “I have come to heal the brokenhearted and set the captive heart free.”