Foreword by Esau McCaulley

 I've been keeping a fun secret for several months, and I finally get to tell you!

My good friend Esau McCaulley agreed to write the foreword to my new book for IVP Academic. Both of us love the church with all of our hearts. To love something is not to pretend that it's perfect, but to help it become what it was always meant to be. I respect Esau as a biblical scholar and author, but also as someone who has been willing to call attention to abuse in the church while investing deeply and personally in its flourishing.

Esau is the Jonathan Blanchard Associate Professor of New Testament and Public Theology at Wheaton College, but we knew each other before either of us had a PhD. He has published his dissertation, a stirring memoir, an insightful book on reading Scripture as an African American, a book on Lent, and several children's books--a wide breadth of writing! He was the lead editor on the recent book, New Testament in Color and edits the 'Fullness of Time' series for IVP on the church calendar. He's working on two New Testament commentaries. He writes for the New York Times and travels to speak regularly. He has his own podcast and has been on many others. I'm grateful for the way he is serving the church with the gifts God gave him. And I'm thankful that he took the time to read and recommend my book to you!

Check out Esau's books here.

My new book, Becoming God's Family: Why the Church Still Matters, is a biblical theology of the presence of God in the community of faith. It's a trek through Scripture to see the sometimes surprising ways that God works among (and despite) his people. The book is peppered with personal stories and other illustrations to help you understand and apply what you're reading.

Esau says this about it: "Readers will find that Dr. Imes has the rare gift of being a biblical scholar that can speak to the academy, clergy, and people in the pews at the same time. In this book she demonstrated the ability to translate a lifetime of learning into accessible writing without being simplistic or assuming that her audience cannot handle complex ideas."

This book is for four types of people:

1. Those on the verge of leaving the church. Maybe you're the one saying, "Give me one good reason to stay."
2. Those who've already left the church and wonder what they're missing or if they made the right decision.
3. Ministers who want a more robust ecclesiology based on the narrative of Scripture.
4. People who loved Bearing God's Name and Being God's Image and want more biblical theology that's accessible.

Which one are you?

If you enjoyed Bearing God's Name and Being God's Image, this book completes the trilogy. Please consider preordering it! Amazon has a price guarantee for preorders, so if the price drops between now and the book release, you'll be charged the lower amount. Preorders are a significant factor in whether bookstores decide to stock a book and whether Amazon promotes it, so it's a helpful way to support the project. If you aren't able to buy it now, you can add it to your wish list on Amazon. That helps, too.

Preorder here or wherever you buy books.

Thanks, friends, for your enthusiastic support!

Cover Reveal for Becoming God's Family!

I'm thrilled to share the cover of my forthcoming book! Becoming God's Family: Why the Church Still Matters releases October 28, 2025 from IVP Academic. 

Church isn't obvious anymore. Perhaps you're among the 40 million Americans who have lost the habit of attending weekly services. Or maybe you're on the fence about whether its worth your time or energy to stay connected. After all, you can listen to a sermon online, crank up your favorite worship artist, and skip the hassle of showing up. Right?

But what if there's more to church than a sermon and a few songs? What if something powerful but invisible is happening when we gather that can't fully happen any other way? Do we get any glimpses of this on the pages of Scripture? Do I have any stories that show you what I mean?

Yes and yes!

Like the other two books I've written for IVP, Becoming God's Family traces a theme through the entire Bible. This time the theme is the presence of God in the community of God's people. We'll explore how God shows up in our midst as we make time with others to wait for God. Along the way, I share the stories of how I and others have experienced God knitting together an intergenerational, multiethnic family of believers.

I can't wait to share this book with you. It was a joy to write and it comes straight from my gut. The book went live online TODAY, so it's available for preorder wherever books are sold. I hope you will order a copy for yourself. Who else do you know who's wrestling with disillusionment or questioning whether to bother with church? Could you pre-order a copy for them as well and plan to read it together? October will be here before we know it!

In a few weeks, I'll be able to share with you who's writing the foreword to the book. So delighted to have his name on the cover! Hint: It's a fellow academic who LOVES the church as much as I do and is pouring himself into it week after week.