Jada Edwards Reveals Tips on Marriage and Authentic Love in New Book ‘A New Way to Love Your Neighbor’
Speaker and author Jada Edwards had always seen herself as a neighborly person, until one day she had an encounter with God concerning how she treated her husband, Conway. In her new book, A New Way to Love Your Neighbor, Jada lays out the plan for how God calls us to not only like our neighbors and our family members but to truly love them the way that He does.
Jada is the wife of Pastor Conway Edwards, and they both lead the growing One Community Church in Dallas.
Crosswalk Headlines: Where were you when God called you to write the book?
Jada Edwards: The title kind of came later in the process. I was trying to figure out a way to invite people to a book about love, which is the highest call of the believer, without it sounding romantic like a romance or marriage book. The word neighbor got in there, and then I think as I started writing, I realized how much we equate love with liking when it comes to relationships.
CWH: How did God use your husband during the writing process?
JE: In my own marriage at the time, I was just going through one of those spots where I was trying to get the Lord to fix my husband and change my husband and the things that we sometimes do in marriage. I was really challenged during that time to see things differently. The Lord really challenged me, and it was almost like a conviction of where He was. I felt like He was saying to me, This is a love issue. You have a love problem. In my mind, I was like, but I love my husband. That's not the issue. I just want you to fix these things, and it was more like the Lord saying, No, I'm not saying you don't love your husband, but you love your idea of marriage and what you want from me more than you love me. You're placing conditions on how well you love your husband. It kind of started this whole journey.
CWH: Where does your authenticity come from?
JE: I think one of the things that the Lord has always driven me toward is a level of transparency when I teach, when I talk, when I share. Early on in my ministry years, I remember sitting under great teachers, brilliant teachers, always wondering, but what does this mean in your life? I get the theology of it. I see what the scripture's saying, but how does it help me treat my friends differently? Or how do I show up at work differently? I think, for me, the primary way that I'm able to communicate truth is by being authentic.
CWH: How does someone be curious, free, brave, resilient, and real?
JE: Each one of those is probably a sermon. The curiosity piece is about learning. I know one of the reasons we don't love the way we should is that we come to the table with our experiences based on family, friends, and how we grew up, and we can get stuck in that.
I'm always learning about God because Luke 2:52 says, Jesus himself grew in wisdom, stature, and favor. Like He chose when He lowered Himself to humanity. He chose to grow. Jesus modeled the way that even though He could have used his deity to just be all knowing, He showed that there's a growth process. Philippians 2 says, He became obedient. The more I learn about God, the more it changes the way I love people.
Photo Credit: ©Facebook/Jada Edwards
Originally published May 16, 2025.
