Becoming Good News.
Reimagining discipleship through identity, story, and science.
For too long, we've lived as though spiritual growth simply means trying harder. But what if the deepest transformation doesn't come from doing more for Jesus, but from letting Him tell us who we are?
Not another book about practices. A book about the soul underneath them.
Recognize and replace false narratives that are keeping you from a life of true transformation.
Discover the five questions at the heart of every disciple's journey.
Reimagine discipleship as an embodied, relational process rather than a series of spiritual steps.
Experience the healing power of true community and the freedom of living under God's authority.
Learn how becoming good news reveals Jesus to the world.
Dismantle the stories that keep you stuck in shame, striving, and performance.
The gospel has always been good news, but it becomes visible when people live from their true identity. That’s what this book is really about. Not becoming impressive. Not becoming correct. But becoming aligned. Becoming whole. Becoming the kind of person whose very presence tells the truth about God.
Five questions at the heart of every disciple's journey.
Not formulas. Mirrors. The kinds of questions Jesus asked — not to test people, but to wake them up.
Who is my God?
Who you put at the center of your life is who you put your trust in — and who narrates your life.
Who am I?
God names you first. Identity precedes behavior. Action follows being.
Who do I belong to?
Community is the soil where maturity grows.
Who am I becoming?
Transformation is not willpower. It is revelation moving from the inside out.
Who do I represent?
Mission is not something you add to your life. It is what you embody.
Identity Formation Table
Trace the full arc of identity formation across every phase — from infancy through maturity — and see how the five questions unfold at each stage. A printable companion to the book.
Reimagine discipleship for your church.
What people are saying.
"Discipleship was never meant to be outsourced. In Becoming Good News, Jessie and Julia not only name the lies we believe but offer a pathway forward, showing every believer is equipped to be a disciplemaker. We need to rediscover this powerful principle of spiritual formation in our generation if we are to fulfill the mission of God."
"Finally a book on discipleship emerges through the mud and gives us a clear fountain of honest, proven practices that change people to their unique core. Becoming Good News is the single book I'll recommend from this point on."
"Healthy leaders reproduce who they are, and Becoming Good News is a powerful guide to becoming someone worth multiplying. Jessie and Julia remind us that discipleship isn't about striving harder but about living from our identity in Christ, where story, soul, and even science align. A timely resource for anyone serious about raising up healthy, multiplying disciplemakers."
"Becoming Good News offers a compelling reimagination of discipleship that begins where all authentic transformation begins — with identity rooted in God and shaped through the story we inhabit."
"For Jesus to make us into the person we want to be forever will take several identity rebuilds. Don't fight them! Becoming Good News reveals the identity rebuilds most of us still need."
"Becoming Good News is a compelling invitation to rediscover discipleship as transformation of identity, not merely behavior. With theological depth and pastoral warmth, this book reminds us that God is not asking us to perform for Him but to trust Him as the Author of our story."
"Jessie and Julia have given us a gift — a framework that finally connects the dots between how God made us and how God transforms us. For years, as a pastor and church planter, I've watched people hunger for deeper discipleship but struggle to find pathways that honor both the beauty of their God-given identity and the mess of their actual lives. Becoming Good News offers that pathway."
"In Becoming Good News, Jessie Cruickshank and Julia Schmaltz offer a compelling vision of formation rooted in beloved identity and lived out in honest community. We do not become good news by striving harder but by surrendering more deeply to the love that has already claimed us. This book is both conviction and hope."
"Books on discipleship are legion, but few are needed. This is one of them. Jessie Cruickshank and Julia Schmaltz draw on faith development, identity formation, attachment theory, neuroscience, and the power of narrative to show what happens when we allow the Author of life to write our stories."
"In the end we all become stories, so the central question is, which stories do we want our lives to tell? Becoming Good News is all about how to shape our life story using the template of the magnificent narrative of God's love in Christ. Read it with a highlighter; it's full of wisdom."
Written by two voices you can trust.
Jessie Cruickshank
Julia Schmaltz
God is inviting you to set aside the false narratives of achievement-based spirituality and let Jesus reinterpret your story, replace lies with truth, and restore your God-given identity.
From Becoming Good News
"Truth must exist outside our perception. Without a shared reality, even in part, reconciliation in relationships is impossible. This is why we need an Author whose story includes us all."
From Becoming Good News
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