Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People

Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People is a 2018 nonfiction book written by Bob Goff, an attorney and motivational speaker. Everybody, Always is a Christian apologetic text, literally a collection of 21 sermons, filled with copious stories and meant to express a distinct idea about embodying the love of Jesus. It is Goff’s second inspiration book, building upon his 2012 title, Love Does.

Summary

Everybody, Always expresses complete singleness of purpose. The author has a profound belief in the lordship of God as expressed through Jesus, resulting in an unwavering view of how he believes human beings should respond to the divine. In each chapter, Goff describes individuals whom he perceives to be fulfilling Jesus’s intent for their lives and encourages his readers to follow these examples. Those who embody this goal, according to Goff, are “becoming love.” Goff draws clear distinctions between individuals who are becoming love and those who are not, giving many examples of those who fall short.

Goff’s writing is unique among Christian authors in the nomenclature he uses. He does not use traditional, customary names and titles to describe historical or current Christians. He refers to “friends” of Jesus to mean both first-century followers of Jesus and currently living Christians. He does not use the name Christian at all. By avoiding that common title, Goff can describe individuals as true disciples of Jesus without calling them Christians and also avoids implying that all Christians are truly disciples of Jesus. Referring to followers as friends of Jesus also allows Goff to argue that ecclesial authority is unnecessary among observant Christians. Goff often expresses disdain for denominational polity, church ritual, and theological dogma. He discounts the importance of individual congregations and denominations, holding that followers of Jesus are the church and distinctions among Christians and Christian bodies are artificial and pointless.

As for Jesus’s followers, Goff also uses distinctive names for the divine. Goff never uses traditional hierarchical titles for Jesus—such as Christ, Lord, or Son of God—or for God—such as Creator, the Almighty, or the Holy One. This is because he eschews theological depth and distinctions. He equates theological reflection with planning—as in making a plan to serve God—which he perceives to be a way of avoiding actual Christian service. True discipleship, in Goff’s view, involves making Jesus present by embodying the example of Jesus’s universal love. Authentic Christianity, Goff implies, is not about having a plan but about living out the presence and the purpose of Jesus.