About the Book
Book: Love Riot
Author: Sara Barratt
Genre: Christian non-fiction
Release Date: May 5, 2020
Have you ever thought about walking away from the church? Have you already left it in your heart? Does it seem like it’s not relevant to your life?
It’s time for a revolution. A holy uprising. A love riot.
Not content with safe religion that demands nothing of us, Sara Barratt is calling you to stop giving in to the status quo and devote yourself fully to Christ, following Him no matter what your friends do or the culture around you promotes. Sara challenges you to hand everything over–your comfort zones, your time, your loyalty, your pride–and invites you to embark on a radical journey of passionate love for Christ. Because once you experience His love, it will transform your life.
Love Riot is a battle cry from one teen to another to embrace a life of wholehearted commitment and relentless abandon for Christ . . . no matter the cost.
“Sara Barratt wants to start a riot. An uproar. A disturbance for Jesus. Unlike some teenagers who want to disrupt and destroy, she wants to bravely build.”–Kyle Idleman, author of Not a Fan and Don’t Give Up and senior pastor of Southeast Christian Church
“God is at work among my generation. There’s no denying that, especially after reading Love Riot. This book will challenge you, encourage you, and ignite your pursuit of Christ. I highly recommend it!”–Jaquelle Crowe Ferris, author of This Changes Everything
“Love Riot will challenge your idea of what it means to be a teen who truly follows Christ. Sara Barratt raises the bar and calls her peers to a higher standard. This book has the power to change lives!”–Kristen Clark and Bethany Beal, authors of Sex, Purity, and the Longings of a Girl’s Heart and cofounders of GirlDefined Ministries
Click here to get your copy!
About the Author
Sara Barratt is an author, speaker, avid reader, chocolate lover, and lead editor for TheRebelution.com. Her passion is challenging and encouraging teens to live sold out and set apart for Jesus. Come hang out with her on Facebook, Instagram, and at her website, sarabarratt.com.
More from Sara
Why are teens leaving the church?
Why are my friends drifting away from God?
What does it look like to be a teen who wholeheartedly follows Jesus?
In my early teens, I began wrestling with these questions. God was working on my own heart, shaking me out of my complacency, and leading me to a deeper walk with Him. Yet I knew I wasn’t the only teen battling apathy and the low expectations of our culture.
Everywhere I looked, I saw the evidence.
Friends drifting away from God. Compromise slipping in. Peer pressure strengthening.
It broke my heart to see these teens struggling. Because I’d walked in their struggles as well.
Teens like eighteen-year-old Brayden who said, “I’ve never pursued a passionate relationship with Christ, because I’ve never had anyone to share it with. No one else I know takes God seriously.”
Or like sixteen-year-old Trevor who realized something was missing. “I know God is real. I’ve seen Him work in other people’s lives, but I can’t find the strength to change, so I’ve just put God on the back burner.”
These are the words from real teens, battling in the trenches of an apathetic, post-truth, anti-Christian culture. We’re wrestling through questions and doubts about God and Christianity as our peers, the media, and the culture around us feed us a myriad of messages, trying to influence our hearts. Some stand strong. Most give in.
Something needs to change.
Is it possible for teens to reject apathy and live sold out for Jesus? Is it possible to turn our backs to the culture and choose to follow Christ? Is it possible, that instead of a generation leaving the church, we could become a generation building the church, living for the glory of God?
My journey of writing Love Riot began with these questions, but ended with this answer.
Yes.
God has not given up on this generation. On the contrary, I believe He has more in store for us than we can imagine. The power which rose Jesus Christ from the dead can raise up the spiritually dying remains of this generation and spark a passion in teenager’s souls for His name.
The world, and even the church, doesn’t automatically think of teenagers as passionate followers of Christ—but I’m out to change that.
In this new generation arising, it’s my heart-cry to see a remnant living out the message of the gospel, embracing our commission to go out and make disciples.
It’s not an easy journey. It requires risk. Sacrifice. Surrender. But as Jesus said, the life of a follower isn’t safe. It’s not just a call to pray a prayer and be saved. It’s a call to lay down your life and be transformed. Luke 9:23 counts the cost, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”
For every teen, for every adult, for everyone who desires to follow Jesus, it’s time to pick up our cross, and in the words of Elisabeth Elliot, “live a life of reckless abandon for the Lord, putting all [our] energy and strength into it.”
It’s time for a love riot.
Mindy Houng’s Author Q&A with Sara Barratt
What inspired this book?
Over and over again, I’ve heard that teens are leaving the church and walking away from God. And not only that, but I’ve seen friends and peers drift away from Jesus. My heart breaks to see the struggles so many teens have in their relationship with God, especially because I’ve experienced those same challenges. Love Riot was inspired by a deep burden on my heart for my peers and a strong belief that even in a culture that expects teens to rebel, God can spark a revival. My passion and prayer is that this generation of young people would fall more radically and deeply in love with Jesus and wholeheartedly devote their lives to serving Him.
Which chapter was the most difficult to write?
Each chapter came with its own struggles. Chapter one, titled “Revealing the Counterfeit” was especially difficult, because I wanted to clearly outline the problems so many teens face in their relationship with Christ and dig into the question of why so many teens leave the church. But at the same time I was outlining the problem, I also wanted to bring hope and inspire the reader that the current pattern doesn’t have to remain. There can be change and it’s not a hopeless case. The struggle with this balance led me to rewrite the chapter more times than I’d like to admit! Even in my last round of edits, I was reworking sections and rephrasing sentences. I had a very longsuffering editor… *wink*
What would you like your readers to get out of this book?
My prayer is that those who read it would be challenged and inspired to reject the complacency that so often marks our lives and instead live sold-out for the glory of God. I also pray it challenges us each to have a more missional mindset. The Great Commission is still in effect today and I pray we (especially young people) fall in love with the gospel and devote ourselves to sharing the Good News of Jesus wherever we are. Because wherever there are people, there is a mission field!
Which author influenced you the most?
Whenever I’m asked this question, I always have to gush about my love for Elisabeth Elliot’s books! When I was sixteen, I began reading her work and her story inspired me deeply. I’ve since read many of her books, journal entries, and letters. And of course I’ve also read her husband Jim Elliot’s journals and letters as well. Jim and Elisabeth are definitely near the top of my “Most Influential People” list.
What are you reading right now?
I’m currently reading Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Quereshi. It’s a memoir of a devout Muslim’s journey to faith in Christ and it’s so inspiring and enlightening! I’m also about to dive into David Platt’s latest book Something Needs to Change. It looks so powerful and I’m always inspired by David Platt’s books and teaching!
Thank you, Sara, for allowing us to get to know you better!
Blog Stops
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, July 3
Artistic Nobody, July 4 (Author Interview)
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 5
Remembrancy, July 6
Simple Harvest Reads, July 7 (Author Interview)
Emily Yager, July 8
Inklings and notions, July 9
Texas Book-aholic, July 10
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, July 11
For Him and My Family, July 12
Mary Hake, July 13
SODBUSTERLIVING, July 14
Through the Fire Blogs, July 15 (Author Interview)
deb’s Book Review, July 15
Just the Write Escape, July 16
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Sara is giving away the grand prize package of a signed copy of the book and a $25 Amazon gift card!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/fd91/love-riot-celebration-tour-giveaway
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Hope holds a Master’s degree in English and taught at East Carolina University and York Technical College. Forever Music is her fourth novel. Residing in North Carolina, she and her husband enjoy visits with their daughters and twin sons.
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Jan Lis is south Florida writer and artist. Living in this multicultural area, Jan utilizes these diverse cultural influences in her stories. Jan fills her children’s books with spunky characters and rich imagery, bringing to her stories and illustrations the same vivid quality found in her fine art paintings.
Tonya “T.I.” Lowe is a native of coastal South Carolina. She attended Coastal Carolina University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she majored in Psychology but excelled in Creative Writing. In 2014, Tonya independently published her first novel, Lulu’s Café, which quickly became a bestseller. Now the author of 12 published novels with hundreds of thousands of copies sold, she knows she’s just getting started and has many more stories to tell. She resides near Myrtle Beach with her family.
