God has used Sarah’s simple testimony to save and encourage thousands of suffering people, which should be a cause for celebration. Instead, the PCA will choose to distance itself from Jesus Calling through the reports of the upcoming General Assembly. While this is hard for her family, we rest in the knowledge that God is bigger than any denomination, any report, or any critic. God’s plans are never thwarted by man, and we trust God will use Jesus Calling to do His work for however long He planned it from the beginning.

Jesus Calling was published in 2004, and by 2011 its success began to attract the attention of critics. Its author, Sarah Young, was never overly concerned with this, determining that engaging with the critics would only lend credibility to their false claims. She did decide to rewrite parts of the introduction to Jesus Calling in 2014 hoping to clarify various statements that had led these critics to condemn the book publicly. Since Sarah passed away in 2023, it falls to us, her family, to bring clarity to another wave of misinformed criticism that has now infiltrated the very denomination Sarah loved and served for decades – the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).

These critics have ignored the revised introduction and the very clear statements from Sarah before her death, which is akin to arguing with someone with your ears plugged. Whether the critics choose to listen to us or not, we want to share our knowledge of Sarah and the truth behind her writing of Jesus Calling. We do not share this because we are zealous family members trying to protect Sarah’s reputation. We are at peace in the knowledge that she is currently enjoying glorious perfection in the presence of her Savior, Jesus. Rather, we share this now because misinformation about Jesus Calling has made it into our denomination’s highest court and, without correction, is likely to spread to many of its members. As her family, we feel that we are naturally best suited to answer the accusations of the critics because we knew Sarah personally and can share knowledge no one else has access to.

Criticism #1 – First Person Voice

Sarah Young loved Jesus in a way that you could tell just by looking at her face when she talked about Him. Even in her difficult, last days on her deathbed, her thoughts and words were full of anticipation of finally seeing Him face to face. Her love of Jesus was not a superficial or convenient love. Her faith in Jesus was refined by the fire of suffering through decades of chronic illness and cancer. As we know from Philippians 3:10, suffering helps Christians become more like Jesus, and this was proven true in Sarah’s life. She spent more time studying and memorizing Scripture than anyone we know. Out of her deep, prayerful relationship with Jesus, she wrote a devotional book using the first-person voice of Jesus speaking to the reader.

The use of the first-person voice of God to paraphrase biblical ideas is a technique that the Reformed church has historically tolerated in the form of hymns, spiritual songs, and sermons. One example of this is John Newton’s hymn, Pensive, Doubting, Fearful Heart.  And yet, this seems to have sparked much of the controversy about Jesus Calling.

Since there has been historic tolerance of writing, speaking, or singing in the first-person voice of God in our denomination, it is surprising to claim that its use in writing a devotional book is sinful. If Sarah’s motive for writing Jesus Calling in the first-person voice of Jesus was to claim power and authority, new revelation, a new religion, or selfish gain, we would need to condemn this practice. However, she purposefully made it clear that her motives were simply to help readers experience and know that Jesus is near to us.

She wrote in her introduction, “I have written from the perspective of Jesus speaking to help readers feel more personally connected with Him.”[1] She also wrote, “Of course, I knew my writings were not inspired – as only Scripture is.”[2] These statements, combined with the way she lived her life, should put to rest any question of her motives for the use of the first-person voice of Jesus in her writing. Even when Jesus Calling became a success, she refused the spotlight, turning down interviews and speaking opportunities, much to the chagrin of reporters.

Criticism #2 – Idolatry

The accusation that Jesus Calling is an idol, hinges on the belief that using the first-person voice of Jesus implies that these words are from Jesus himself. That in turn means the book creates a false “image” of Jesus in the reader’s mind.  However, since Sarah made it abundantly clear that her writing is not new revelation or Jesus’ actual words, this argument falls apart.  As Christians, we are called to tell others about Jesus. When we do this, we will naturally reveal our own voice at the same time as we describe Jesus. We do not find limits in the Bible for the ways should describe Jesus, so long as we are consistent with biblical truth.

To this end, Sarah was very careful to align her writing with Scripture. She wrote that, “The Bible is the only infallible, inerrant Word of God, and I endeavor to keep my writings consistent with that unchanging standard.”[3] We are not saying that no one has ever fallen into idolatry in reading Jesus Calling, but that can happen with any book or author. Readers of any book are still sinful humans, prone to creating and worshiping our own idols (as John Calvin said, “man’s nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols”).[4] The moment we put our trust or hope in any person, leader, author, or book more than God, we have created an idol in our hearts.

Criticism # 3 – A False Jesus

Similar to idolatry is the “false Jesus” argument – that the words of Jesus Calling sound more like Sarah Young than Jesus. Since Christians are asked to describe Jesus in our own words to others (the New Testament contains descriptions of Jesus by apostles and lay-people alike), our own personality, life experience, and voice will naturally sound different from Jesus’ own voice. That Sarah’s writing does not “sound like” Jesus is no reason to call it idolatry or a false Jesus. Rather, it shows even more clearly that she was not claiming her writing to be Jesus’ words, and that her writing was her own retelling of Jesus’ work in her life, in her unique voice.

Critics also claim that Sarah presents an incomplete view of Jesus’ character because the themes of the book seem limited to peace, thankfulness, and trust. Yes, Jesus Calling is limited in its themes, but this is a result of Sarah’s intent to highlight these themes to readers who need encouragement in times of suffering. This is also to be expected of any devotional book, as this genre tends to focus on topics rather than attempting to explain every aspect of God and the Christian life.

Criticism #4 – A Low View of Scripture 

Sarah has also been accused of having a low view of Scripture – that when she began prayer journaling, she wanted more than the Bible alone could give her, thus violating “sola scriptura.” In her revised introduction, Sarah clarified that she viewed writing in her prayer journal as a spiritual discipline designed to seek God’s face. A similar idea is described in Psalm 27:8: “You have said, ‘Seek my face.’ My heart says to you, ‘Your face, Lord, do I seek.”

Spiritual disciplines are designed to help us hunger and thirst more for God, and this is what Sarah’s prayer journaling and writing did for her. It motivated her even more to dive into and soak in the Scriptures every day. Sola scriptura does not mean that we never find spiritual encouragement outside of the Bible, but simply means that Scripture takes precedence over all things.  It should always stay first in our lives, as it was for Sarah. She even recommended reading Jesus Calling “with your Bible open”[5] so that the reader could be sure they saw her devotionals as secondary to the Bible.

Criticism #5 – Written By Demons

One of the most bizarre accusations Sarah has faced through the years is the claim that she used occult methods to communicate with evil spirits and that she recorded messages from these entities through automatic writing.  This is laughable to anyone who knew Sarah. It brings to mind C.S. Lewis’ famous line in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, where the professor tries to ease Peter and Susan’s fears that their sister, Lucy, has gone mad. “Madness, you mean? … Oh, you can make your minds easy about that. One has only to look at her and talk to her to see that she is not mad.”[6]

Given the amount of time Sarah spent praying and writing, surely the hours she allegedly spent in contact with these spirits would have been evident to those of us who knew her well. And we can assure you, that her family, friends, employers, publishers, and pastors, never found a hint of any spiritual darkness in her demeanor or actions. This point is telling; this is why you will never find anyone who knew Sarah bringing accusations against Jesus Calling.

However, since this accusation continues to circulate, we will share more evidence that Sarah could not have written Jesus Calling under a demonic influence. First, as eye-witnesses, we can attest that Sarah’s writing method was very normal. She was fully conscious, able to respond to interruptions, and focused on Scripture. Second, and even more convincing, is the tens of thousands of people (you can find them in online reviews and in certain versions of Jesus Calling) who testified that reading Jesus Calling brought them closer to God, and changed their lives for the better.  Wanderers have been brought back to church, suicides have been prevented, abuse victims have found healing, death-row inmates have been saved before their executions, and addicts have been freed. This is not hyperbole. It is truly the good fruit of Jesus Calling. Jesus says in Matthew 7:16-17, that we can discern good teaching from false teaching by its fruit. “You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.”

Satan does not aspire to bring people to church, or save people from suicide, or free them from abuse and addiction, and he certainly does not want people to become Christians. God has seen fit to use Jesus Calling to accomplish all of these things. Therefore, if Satan had inspired Jesus Calling, he would be fighting against himself. And Jesus’ own words make it clear that Satan doesn’t do that. Jesus says in Matthew 12:25-26, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?”

Christian Liberty

Now that we have dispelled some of the main accusations against Jesus Calling, we are left with explaining one last thing: – offense. Clearly Jesus Calling causes offense to some Christians. This explains why critics go to such lengths to try to condemn Jesus Calling. If the reasons for its offense cannot be justified by the above accusations, what else is there?

We have noticed that Jesus Calling offends those who tend to measure the spiritual health of individuals or churches on their ability to follow rules or conform to traditions. There are unwritten rules in the Reformed world of what a good devotional book is like. We agree that Jesus Calling does not fit these unwritten rules. These rules would say that the book’s message is too simple: – it’s not smart enough, deep enough, reformed enough, traditional enough. These are largely matters of personal opinion, and we respect and give space for that. If this is your opinion of the book, we wish you no ill-will. We simply recommend that if Jesus Calling offends you, don’t read it.

We believe that the debate surrounding Sarah’s book amounts to disagreement over opinions that are secondary to the gospel, and that its abundant fruit is reason enough to ask all parties to extend Christian Liberty and grace to Jesus Calling (Acts 15). We also hope you consider that God can use things that aren’t always our preference, or things that cause personal offense, to further His kingdom. Jesus desires that even in our disagreements, that Christians would treat each other in a way that pleases the Lord (John 13:35).

Conclusion

In John 4, we read of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. God used this woman’s simple message of, “Come see a man who told me all that I ever did” to save many people in her town.  Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling is her testimony of Jesus’ saving work in her life- her way of saying, “Come see a man who told me all that I ever did.”

God has used Sarah’s simple testimony to save and encourage thousands of suffering people, which should be a cause for celebration. Instead, the PCA will choose to distance itself from Jesus Calling through the reports of the upcoming General Assembly. While this is hard for her family, we rest in the knowledge that God is bigger than any denomination, any report, or any critic. God’s plans are never thwarted by man, and we trust God will use Jesus Calling to do His work for however long He planned it from the beginning.

Stephanie van der Westhuizen: Daughter of Sarah Young, Member of Crosspoint Church (PCA) in Boone, NC
Stephen Young: Husband of Sarah Young, MTW missionary, Teaching Elder at Crossroads of the Nations Church (PCA) in Brentwood, TN

[1] Sarah Young. Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2004), XIV.

[2] Young, Jesus Calling, XII.

[3] Young, Jesus Calling, XIV.

[4] John Calvin. Institutes of the Christian Religion, Volume I (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press), 108.

[5] Young, Jesus Calling, XIV.

[6] C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (New York: Harper Collins), 51.