My blog is now at this far nicer address!
http://chriskrycho.blogspot.com/
Old book reviews are still hosted here as well as at the new site for the sake of convenient linking!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
3 Seconds: The Power of Thinking Twice review
I (finally!) finished another book I've been meaning to read and review for a while, Dr. Les Parrott's 3 Seconds: The Power of Thinking Twice. The book was published by Zondervan earlier this year, and is one of many books by the author dealing with the basic topic of succeeding in life. The book is relatively short, at 193 pages (I'm not including the promotions for other Les Parrott books at the end), though not so short at the last book I reviewed. Parrott is a widely published (and widely read) doctor of psychology who founded the Center for Relational Development on at Seattle Pacific University. This particular book examines how one can live a more meaningful and impactful life by choosing not to immediately respond to one's first impulse and to embrace six patterns Parrott believes characterize successful people.
The book's length is broken down into a brief foreword by John C. Maxwell, an introduction in which Parrott lays out his thesis, six chapters corresponding to his six important impulses, and a conclusion summarizing his arguments. Parrott's thesis in essence is that taking three seconds to pause and re-examine one's decision: rejecting a primary impulse and embracing a secondary, less natural but more effective, impulse. The chapters cover the following negative and positive impulses:
The book's length is broken down into a brief foreword by John C. Maxwell, an introduction in which Parrott lays out his thesis, six chapters corresponding to his six important impulses, and a conclusion summarizing his arguments. Parrott's thesis in essence is that taking three seconds to pause and re-examine one's decision: rejecting a primary impulse and embracing a secondary, less natural but more effective, impulse. The chapters cover the following negative and positive impulses:
- Empower Yourself: "There's nothing I can do about it," vs. "I can't do everything, but I can do something."
- Embrace a Good Challenge: "It's too difficult to even attempt," vs. "I love a challenge."
- Fuel Your Passion: "I'll do what happens to come my way," vs. "I'll do what I'm designed to do."
- Own Your Piece of the Pie: "It's not my problem, somebody else is to blame," vs. "The buck stops here."
- Walk the Extra Mile: "I've done what's required, and that's that," vs. "I'll go above and beyond the mere minimum."
- Quit Stewing and Start Doing: "Someday I'm going to do that," vs. "I'm diving in ... starting today."
In each chapter, Parrott dissects the initial impulse, analyzing its appeal and how and why it leads to failure, then follows up with his own second impulse and provides both statistical and anecdotal support for his solution to the problem. Woven throughout each chapter are not only motivational stories but referenes to Scripture (typically without direct, in-text citation, but typically also direct quotes).
Parrott's style is that of the counselor; his background as a psychologist comes through clearly. He deals primarily in the realm of human issues and speaks clearlywhen it comes to our mind's patterns. His writing is clear and simple. He doesn't have a distinctive voice, instead opting for a largely neutral tone that is informative and concise. While this doesn't lend itself to a particularly memorable style, it also keeps any idiosyncrasies from becoming overwhelming or annoying. Each section clearly states the thesis, expounds on it, and then neatly summarizes the ideas presented, along with several anecdotes for each chapter. Parrott doesn't spend a great deal of time dealing with things from a Scriptural perspective, focusing instead on the issues at hand from a psychological perspective (more on this below).
The merits of the book are its clear and concise writing, its skillful use of anecdotes, and its accuracy. As I noted in the stylistic analysis, Parrott's writing isn't particularly stylish, but it is simple and as such has a certain elegance. It's not cluttered, and this works to his advantage: the book gives you the information you want in a way that is easy to read, easy to understand, and easy to remember. The anecdotes presented bring the concepts to life in a way that help ensure that they do not remain mere abstractions. One interesting point in the book's favor, interestingly, is that the book is really not explicitly "Christian." Parrott is a psychologist, and a good one - but he is no theologian, and he makes no claim to be. He cites Christ at several points to build his case, quoting directly from Scripture, but the book is of the sort that it could easily be read by a non-Christian who would still come away having learned something. Perhaps more importantly, the book could easily be read by a non-Christian without feeling like Parrott was beating him or her over the head with the Bible in an attempt to Christianify, if you will, notions that are simply not terribly theological (though of course theology has implications for them). This might strike you as odd, but I see it as a huge advantage to the book: it is general enough to appeal to a broad audience, but has sufficient scriptural hooks to perhaps interest the non-Christian in taking a deeper look at Scripture.
The demerits, interestingly, parallel the merits: they are in the writing style, and the use of anecdotes. The downside to Parrott's lack of a distinctive voice is that the book, while informative and useful, is not terribly memorable. I didn't remember the principles presented without explicit review when I sat down to write this selection only four days after finishing the book. The book's emphasis on pure psychology absent much Scripture, while advantageous as noted above, could prove a turn-off to many Christians (though this is a less a demerit of the book than of the Christian publishing bubble, in my mind). On a related note, explicit referencing, even in footnotes, of the relevant passages would have been a huge boon to the book insofar as it does reference scripture.
I applaud Parrott for having written a credible and useful piece of non-fiction that is simply a good piece of work: that is, for being a good psychologist whose view is informed by his relationship with Christ, not a good Christian psychologist whose work is made irrelevant to the non-Christian by his lack of quality work. Too often I've seen authors who know their Christian audience will buy their book because it's by a Christian, instead of turning out quality work informed by their faith. While I can't say that the book should be mandatory reading, per se, I do think it's worth picking up if you have time. I know the Holy Spirit used it to bring me conviction in some of the areas Parrott addresses, and in so doing motivated me to pursue Him and His will in my life to a greater degree. If you've got some leeway in your schedule (or perhaps more importantly if you don't), you should consider this as one possible read.
- Chris
Sunday, October 21, 2007
3:16 - The Numbers of Hope Review
I just finished Max Lucado's most recent book, 3:16 - The Numbers of Hope. The book was launched, auspiciously, on September 11 as a hopeful note to counter the five-year commemoration of the /11 attack, in what Zondervan deemed one of its boldest publishing moves. I agree, though perhaps not for the reasons they intended. The book is a short text followed by a forty-day devotional. Lucado created the book as an exposition on what is perhaps the single most-quoted and well-known text of the New Testament, John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." The text is a remarkable one, to be sure, and Lucado spends each chapter discussing either some aspect of the passage or ideas suggested by it.
The text itself is short, around 160-175 pages of general text followed by about 60 pages of devotional material. Each chapter is quick reading in and of itself, almost devotional length at my quick reading speed, but probably about 35-45 minutes reading for the average reader. The book itself took me only about an hour and half to two hours to read start to finish. Lucado essentially steps through the text of the verse in question, inserting several chapters that diverge from the text itself but follow related concepts and ideas. He also brings in a considerable number of anecdotes from present-day life to contemplate his meditations on Nicodemus' questions and Christ's answers.
The text reads much like what I imagine Lucado's sermons sound like: conversational, low-key, and very down to earth. This isn't high-brow theology; it isn't even low-brow theology: it's basic exposition, which is often an area neglected by preachers who either run towards deep theology or, on the other end of the spectrum, simply jump off into helpful advice with little reference to Scripture. His style is more that of a speaker than a writer; his words are quick-flowing and conversational. He integrates exposition on Scripture with his own stories, typically using the former as introduction to and conclusion to the chapters and the latter as filler. The devotionals are quick and snappy, filled with short thoughts that, while not directly related to the text, are also expository on the text and intended to inspire reaction to the power of the words of John 3:16.
The merits of the book are its focus on the incomparable grace of God and His work in our lives. Lucado draws our attention to the power of the words of John 3:16, which have been heard so many times that they have perhaps become something of a cliche in Christian circles, to the point where we miss their meaning. His meditations on the passage are always Scriptural, which is a pleasant change from some other books I've read recently which bordered on (or outright crossed into) heresy. This was particularly valuable when he spoke about Hell, pulling no punches about Scripture's clear demarcation of the line between salvation and condemnation. Most of the stories he offers as helpful commentary are fairly fresh and engaging. There were few to no grammatical or spelling errors in this book (a pet peeve of mine).
Unfortunately, the demerits of the book outweigh its merits. While Lucado's intent was apparently to take a fresh look at John 3:16 and invoke a new sense of wonder at the text - something well worth doing - I don't believe he succeeded. Indeed, I wonder if this book won't simply reinforce the very stereotypical and trite views of many Christians. Why? Because Lucado offers no profound insights here: he simply hashes through the verse, and instead of taking the time to dive into Scripture's riches, he relies on his own anecdotes. Anecdotes are great, but they are not living and active and powerful, nor do the pierce even to divide between the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. He rarely if ever references Scripture outside of John 3:16 itself, and this is usually set-up for his thoughts on the matter, rather than for looking at God's grace displayed throughout history as recorded by Scripture. Moreover, the time he spends on expository teaching is minimal, as compared to the feel-good anecdotes that, while nice, unfortunately take up most of the space in the book with what is ultimately neither convicting nor inspiring by and large. They may not be hackneyed cliches, but they are also not soul-piercing metaphors for our existence. The book is too short, and the unrelated nature of the devotionals to the rest of the text makes their addition seem an attempt to fill out the short text length. Lucado's lack of skill as a writer also comes through, for better or for worse. While nothing he writes is terribly egregious, and he doesn't make any terrible mistakes, his writing was incredibly bland - to the point where I had to force myself to keep going at points.
The book, to be perfectly honest, disappointed me. While Lucado came highly recommended, the book was not at a level that I find even slightly useful. I cannot recommend it, even to young believers for whom the content would possibly be informative. Read something better written and with more depth - and especially with a stronger call to pursue the glory of God.
The text itself is short, around 160-175 pages of general text followed by about 60 pages of devotional material. Each chapter is quick reading in and of itself, almost devotional length at my quick reading speed, but probably about 35-45 minutes reading for the average reader. The book itself took me only about an hour and half to two hours to read start to finish. Lucado essentially steps through the text of the verse in question, inserting several chapters that diverge from the text itself but follow related concepts and ideas. He also brings in a considerable number of anecdotes from present-day life to contemplate his meditations on Nicodemus' questions and Christ's answers.
The text reads much like what I imagine Lucado's sermons sound like: conversational, low-key, and very down to earth. This isn't high-brow theology; it isn't even low-brow theology: it's basic exposition, which is often an area neglected by preachers who either run towards deep theology or, on the other end of the spectrum, simply jump off into helpful advice with little reference to Scripture. His style is more that of a speaker than a writer; his words are quick-flowing and conversational. He integrates exposition on Scripture with his own stories, typically using the former as introduction to and conclusion to the chapters and the latter as filler. The devotionals are quick and snappy, filled with short thoughts that, while not directly related to the text, are also expository on the text and intended to inspire reaction to the power of the words of John 3:16.
The merits of the book are its focus on the incomparable grace of God and His work in our lives. Lucado draws our attention to the power of the words of John 3:16, which have been heard so many times that they have perhaps become something of a cliche in Christian circles, to the point where we miss their meaning. His meditations on the passage are always Scriptural, which is a pleasant change from some other books I've read recently which bordered on (or outright crossed into) heresy. This was particularly valuable when he spoke about Hell, pulling no punches about Scripture's clear demarcation of the line between salvation and condemnation. Most of the stories he offers as helpful commentary are fairly fresh and engaging. There were few to no grammatical or spelling errors in this book (a pet peeve of mine).
Unfortunately, the demerits of the book outweigh its merits. While Lucado's intent was apparently to take a fresh look at John 3:16 and invoke a new sense of wonder at the text - something well worth doing - I don't believe he succeeded. Indeed, I wonder if this book won't simply reinforce the very stereotypical and trite views of many Christians. Why? Because Lucado offers no profound insights here: he simply hashes through the verse, and instead of taking the time to dive into Scripture's riches, he relies on his own anecdotes. Anecdotes are great, but they are not living and active and powerful, nor do the pierce even to divide between the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. He rarely if ever references Scripture outside of John 3:16 itself, and this is usually set-up for his thoughts on the matter, rather than for looking at God's grace displayed throughout history as recorded by Scripture. Moreover, the time he spends on expository teaching is minimal, as compared to the feel-good anecdotes that, while nice, unfortunately take up most of the space in the book with what is ultimately neither convicting nor inspiring by and large. They may not be hackneyed cliches, but they are also not soul-piercing metaphors for our existence. The book is too short, and the unrelated nature of the devotionals to the rest of the text makes their addition seem an attempt to fill out the short text length. Lucado's lack of skill as a writer also comes through, for better or for worse. While nothing he writes is terribly egregious, and he doesn't make any terrible mistakes, his writing was incredibly bland - to the point where I had to force myself to keep going at points.
The book, to be perfectly honest, disappointed me. While Lucado came highly recommended, the book was not at a level that I find even slightly useful. I cannot recommend it, even to young believers for whom the content would possibly be informative. Read something better written and with more depth - and especially with a stronger call to pursue the glory of God.
Monday, September 3, 2007
The Case for the Real Jesus Review
Late last week I finished reading an advance copy of Lee Strobel's forthcoming book, The Case for the Real Jesus. With this latest book, former atheist and journalist Lee Strobel has turned his attention to some of the various attacks that have been mounted on the Biblical picture of Christ in recent years, particularly the questions stirred up by Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and the recent discovery of the Gospel of Judas (along with this year's incredible [in the early sense of the word: not credible] announcement by James Cameron of the discovery of the ossuary of Christ - a discovery deemed not credible over a decade ago by all serious scholars). The book will be published by Zondervan on September 10th in hardback.
The text is 311 pages long, and is broken down into sections (essentially large chapters, save for a couple sections large enough to warrant being broken into multiple chapters). Each section covers a particular challenge to the claims of Christian orthodoxy that has arisen (or has changed significantly) in the past few years. Strobel opens with a short introduction, then moves into the body of the text, examining in turn the following challenges:
The text is 311 pages long, and is broken down into sections (essentially large chapters, save for a couple sections large enough to warrant being broken into multiple chapters). Each section covers a particular challenge to the claims of Christian orthodoxy that has arisen (or has changed significantly) in the past few years. Strobel opens with a short introduction, then moves into the body of the text, examining in turn the following challenges:
- "Scholars are uncovering a radically different Jesus in ancient documents just as credible as the four gospels."
- "The Bible's portrait of Jesus can't be trusted because the church tampered with the text."
- "New explanations have refuted Jesus' resurrection."
- "Christianity's beliefs about Jesus were copied from pagan religions."
- "Jesus was an imposter who failed to fulfill the Messianic prophecies."
- "People should be free to pick and choose what to believe about Jesus."
Each of these points is dealt with in an investigative fashion: Strobel sits down and interviews a widely respected Christian Ph.D. (in each case, people who have earned the recognition of their opponents as well as their supporters) on the topic at hand. Following these sections is a summary-oriented conclusion, several appendices, and an index.
Strobel's style is clear and compelling. He writes like the award-winning Chicago Tribune journalist he once was - and thus weaves together the interviews as compelling narratives. Scattered throughout the dialogues are his own personal thoughts and contemplations. Along the way, he describes the dominating attributes - scholastic and personal - of each of the men he interviews. At the conclusion of each section, he neatly sums up the most important points made by each author, clarifying any hazy issues and tying up any loose ends from the earlier stages of the chapter/interview. His voice is clear and compelling, making for an easy read. (Despite being in the midst of classes and considerable work, I finished the entire book in less than four days.) Honestly, I had a difficult time putting the text down when it was time to go back to doing homework.
The Christian apologist makes no bones about the fact that he is a Christian, nor about the fact that he is ultimately arguing for the Christian view on the subject. At the same time, he does his best to fairly treat the criticisms raised by those who have attacked Christian claims in recent years. Furthermore, he notes that he is concerned as to whether the claims of Christianity hold up against new critical attacks made against them, as it is important for his own faith. As Paul wrote, and Strobel seconds, Christians are to be pitied above all men if Christ did not actually rise from the dead.
The merits of the book are in its clear style and high information content. Strobel delivers an incredible amount of information in a very short span of time, and yet manages not to overwhelm the reader. He accomplishes this by spreading the information out and coherently weaving it together. The interview format contributes to this, but Strobel's own voice and skill with the text are what bind the information together into an engaging narrative, rather than a simple (and dry) presentation of facts. His willingness to press the interviewees on difficult issues is also a significant merit to the text. Though of course he is not looking to disprove his thesis - that is, that Christianity does stand up to the claims made against it - he also is not interested in a padded case for Christianity that will not hold up intellectually. (Of course, many people opposed to Christian apologetics reject Strobel's arguments prima facie on the notion that he's biased, but their argument is flawed, since they themselves are likewise biased, though in the opposite direction. This does not diminish the value of Strobel's contribution; nor does it damage the excellent scholarship Strobel is tapping into.)
I can think of no significant demerits to this book.
My recommendation for this book can be summed up as follows: "Go buy it as soon as it comes out." This sort of apologetic information is essential for any Christian interested in being able to defend their faith against the textual and philosophical criticisms currently being leveled against it. Strobel makes a clear case, loaded with information, in a memorable way that will be useful to believers of all backgrounds. Even for someone familiar with these arguments, this will be an extremely useful refresher.
May you walk in peace and the grace of God tonight!
- Chris
Friday, August 10, 2007
The Grand Weaver Review
I just finished The Grand Weaver, Ravi Zacharias' newest book. Subtitled, "How God Shapes Us Through the Events of Our Lives," the book is a theological and philosophical examination of precisely that topic: the ways in which God uses the happenings of our lives to conform us to His image, to make us holy as He is holy. Published by Zondervan in July, the book is Zacharias' answer to the question posed on the back cover: "Are the threads of our lives accidentally tangled or intentionally arranged?"
The book consists of an introduction, eight chapters each approximately twenty pages long, and a brief epilogue summing up the thoughts Zacharias has just walked through. He begins with a few stories illustrating both the need for an answer to the questions we all struggle with - of meaning and purpose for the seemingly random events of our lives - and with a Scriptural basis for his answer to these questions. He then moves through the remainder of the book slowly expanding on this theme both from Scripture and from various experiences (both his own and others'). His message can be summed up with the notion that your life experiences matter; indeed, each chapter is titled in precisely that way: "Your DNA Matters," "Your Morality Matters," and so on. God's actions in our lives are not purposeless, nor are any events in our lives. Each has meaning and fits as part of the pattern being woven by the Grand Weaver referenced by the title: the merciful, loving, and ultimately sovereign God of Christianity who ensures that "all things work together for the good of those who love [Him], to those who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).
Zacharias approaches the book much he would an address to a crowd. Despite its deep theological and philosophical underpinnings, the text is easy to read and extremely well written (as I have come to expect from anything written by him). Despite addressing complex topics with great acuity, Zacharias never strays into language that is overly complex, though he is not afraid to use a higher vocabulary than is common in most of today's texts. He writes succinctly but forcefully, much as he speaks. The text reads like a series of well-constructed sermons, moving from the basis of his argument through the outworkings of that argument in various aspects of our lives. Various examples are scattered throughout, and he skillfully uses the same example multiple times to elucidate various aspects of the same point. His style is significantly more mature than Bill Hybels, whose book I recently reviewed, though not necessarily more formal. He simply speaks with great eloquence but in a manner that excises some of the verbiage normally associated therewith, leaving the text with a great deal of force and cogency.
The merits of the book are its clear address of both the theological question of God's sovereign hand in every aspect of our lives and the practical consequences of that answer; and Zacharias' effective writing. Because he clearly addresses the theological question 9and its philosophical implications) early on and gently reminds the reader of them throughout the text, as well as slowly building on that early foundation, Zacharias brings an important theological point into focus - but he does so in a way that makes it easy for any reader to understand. Moreover, he brings home the reality of that point by demonstrating both in theory and practice (by means of examples of actual circumstances) how our response to God's hand working our lives should look. Without the theological foundation, the practical demonstration would lack any reason for application; and without the corresponding practicalities the abstractions of the theology would lack their potentially life-altering impact. Zacharias' writing, as discussed above, is immensely powerful and deeply communicative.
There are two demerits to the book. First is that Zacharias fails to elaborate on some of the examples to a fulfilling extent, leaving the reader dangling somewhat and hungry for more details. This is probably a necessary compromise for a book of this length, which brings me to the second demerit: the brevity of the text. This is very much more a gray area. I would have enjoyed it greatly had he taken the time to further elaborate on the notions he introduced theologically and to further fill out the stories he was sharing. However, at some level this is a merit of the book as well: someone less inclined towards reading or towards deeper theological treatments of subjects such as this than myself will be far more likely to pick up and read this book through than he or she would have had the book been a lengthier and weightier tome. While I believe Zacharias had much more to say on the subject that would have been of value, it might not have gotten heard by so broad an audience as this book may had it been any longer.
I highly recommend the book as generally good reading. I particularly recommend it for younger believers, for whom much of the information might be newer and the various explanations encouraging. As a relatively short, extremely clear, and well-written text, the book lends itself well for reading together in a small group setting or as friends on a road trip.
God bless you all and keep you in His perfect peace.
- Chris
The book consists of an introduction, eight chapters each approximately twenty pages long, and a brief epilogue summing up the thoughts Zacharias has just walked through. He begins with a few stories illustrating both the need for an answer to the questions we all struggle with - of meaning and purpose for the seemingly random events of our lives - and with a Scriptural basis for his answer to these questions. He then moves through the remainder of the book slowly expanding on this theme both from Scripture and from various experiences (both his own and others'). His message can be summed up with the notion that your life experiences matter; indeed, each chapter is titled in precisely that way: "Your DNA Matters," "Your Morality Matters," and so on. God's actions in our lives are not purposeless, nor are any events in our lives. Each has meaning and fits as part of the pattern being woven by the Grand Weaver referenced by the title: the merciful, loving, and ultimately sovereign God of Christianity who ensures that "all things work together for the good of those who love [Him], to those who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).
Zacharias approaches the book much he would an address to a crowd. Despite its deep theological and philosophical underpinnings, the text is easy to read and extremely well written (as I have come to expect from anything written by him). Despite addressing complex topics with great acuity, Zacharias never strays into language that is overly complex, though he is not afraid to use a higher vocabulary than is common in most of today's texts. He writes succinctly but forcefully, much as he speaks. The text reads like a series of well-constructed sermons, moving from the basis of his argument through the outworkings of that argument in various aspects of our lives. Various examples are scattered throughout, and he skillfully uses the same example multiple times to elucidate various aspects of the same point. His style is significantly more mature than Bill Hybels, whose book I recently reviewed, though not necessarily more formal. He simply speaks with great eloquence but in a manner that excises some of the verbiage normally associated therewith, leaving the text with a great deal of force and cogency.
The merits of the book are its clear address of both the theological question of God's sovereign hand in every aspect of our lives and the practical consequences of that answer; and Zacharias' effective writing. Because he clearly addresses the theological question 9and its philosophical implications) early on and gently reminds the reader of them throughout the text, as well as slowly building on that early foundation, Zacharias brings an important theological point into focus - but he does so in a way that makes it easy for any reader to understand. Moreover, he brings home the reality of that point by demonstrating both in theory and practice (by means of examples of actual circumstances) how our response to God's hand working our lives should look. Without the theological foundation, the practical demonstration would lack any reason for application; and without the corresponding practicalities the abstractions of the theology would lack their potentially life-altering impact. Zacharias' writing, as discussed above, is immensely powerful and deeply communicative.
There are two demerits to the book. First is that Zacharias fails to elaborate on some of the examples to a fulfilling extent, leaving the reader dangling somewhat and hungry for more details. This is probably a necessary compromise for a book of this length, which brings me to the second demerit: the brevity of the text. This is very much more a gray area. I would have enjoyed it greatly had he taken the time to further elaborate on the notions he introduced theologically and to further fill out the stories he was sharing. However, at some level this is a merit of the book as well: someone less inclined towards reading or towards deeper theological treatments of subjects such as this than myself will be far more likely to pick up and read this book through than he or she would have had the book been a lengthier and weightier tome. While I believe Zacharias had much more to say on the subject that would have been of value, it might not have gotten heard by so broad an audience as this book may had it been any longer.
I highly recommend the book as generally good reading. I particularly recommend it for younger believers, for whom much of the information might be newer and the various explanations encouraging. As a relatively short, extremely clear, and well-written text, the book lends itself well for reading together in a small group setting or as friends on a road trip.
God bless you all and keep you in His perfect peace.
- Chris
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Holy Discontent review
Last weekend I finished reading Bill Hybels' Holy Discontent: Fueling the Fire That Ignites Personal Vision, published this year by Zondervan. Hybels is a fairly well known Christian author, but he is better known as the founding pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago. The back cover asks, "What is the one aspect of this broken world that, when you see it, touch it, or get near it, you just can't stand? What reality is so troubling that it thrusts you off the couch and into action? This is what Bill Hybels refers to as a holy discontent..."
The book is relatively short, coming in at 149 pages. It is broken into three distinct sections focused respectively on finding one's holy discontent, developing it, and keeping it alive. Hybels begins by introducing the notion of a holy discontent, framing it in the context of his own life and the lives of various others through history, and even bringing in a repeating reference to Popeye the Sailor Man. Each section is broken down further into 3 chapters (the last chapter in the last section being a postscript). Each chapter draws on multiple examples, and most chapters open with tangible examples designed to draw the reader into the rest of the example - be they personal stories, others' testimonies, or simply compelling statistics.
What is it, he asks, that makes you say "Enough"? That, he says, is a holy discontent: a frustration with this world and its brokenness that moves us to action, to engagement. It is holy because it is a discontent spurred on by our vision of God's character and by His heart for this broken world. From there, he elaborates on the history of his notion of holy discontent, and demonstrates how it worked out in various people's lives. After that introduction, he asks the reader to consider what his or her own personal holy discontents are - and if he or she does not know, he gives some concrete ways to look for it. In the second section, he discusses how one can both actively take that discontent and fan it into flame, and how to practically go about doing something with that discontent. In the final section, he deals with the reality of our fallen natures: that we can grow discouraged in the ongoing battle, and presents suggestions of how to deal with that and press on - to keep fighting the good fight.
His style is fairly conversational, and it is clear that he is used to teaching both from the pulpit and in personal conversations. The book is simply written and easy to read, but not in any sense "dumbed down." It is clearly meant to be a quick read for most people, which is good, given his stated purpose of awakening people to action. His manner is engaging, and his examples, while occasionally somewhat silly (his frequent Popeye references, for example) are typically engaging and compelling. Most of his material is drawn from a combination of Scripture, his own experiences, and the experiences of everyday people who have changed the world in sometimes small but always significant ways because of passions that God laid on their hearts and their willingness to follow those passions and obey God's call to do something with them instead of just sitting. His voice is simple but well-organized; he never drifted off topic or got sidetracked by secondary discussions (again, his experience as a teaching pastor reaching out to the unchurched shows through).
The merits of the book are in its cogency, its sense of urgency, and its ease of read and simplicity. The narratives are all coherent, and the book flows neatly from one section into another. The answers Hybels gives are never pat, but drawn from reality and compelling because he acknowledges the difficulty of what he calls people to do. The encouragement of real examples is tangible and effective. Hybels' voice of urgency is a great strength to the book, as well: he clearly and effectively communicates that there are a great many needs, and you are responsible to reach out and make a difference, to exercise your God-given gifts to change this world. At the same time, he avoids sounding shrill or hyperbolic, either of which would have made the book farcical or ridiculous to most readers. The straightforward manner in which he wrote - and the accompanying ease of reading - are a great asset to a book like this, as is the book's brevity. Had he missed either point, he likely would have missed his target audience: those very people in the church who are most in need of a book like this, but unlikely to pick up a lengthy tome speaking in high, theological terms of the need to change the world. At some level, while I occasionally found them annoying, the Popeye moments scattered throughout the text are probably among its greatest strengths, simply because they keep the reading at an accessible level. There were no significant typos or textual errors, something I found extremely refreshing.
I'm going to have a hard time discussing demerits; the book had none that I can think of. It set out to accomplish a particular goal - communicating the need for all Christians to exercise their gifts, talents, and abilities for the good of those around them, and to not be content in their own spheres.
While I did not find the book particularly challenging, that was more a response to the fact that Hybels was hitting on an area in which I've already developed significant convictions: this text was confirmation rather than conviction in my case. For many, that will not be so, and this book will be well worth their time to read. (My other difficulty with the book was my initial impression of it, formed before I had looked at the summary, was that it was about a discontent that pushed us toward holiness, rather than about holy discontent with the state of the world. I had to push through that misconception to fully appreciate the book, but as I did so I found Hybels' work excellent on all levels. Someone else still needs to write the book I thought this was!) I highly recommend this book to anyone who doesn't already have strong convictions about the ways they can change the world; and I recommend it as a good reminder to those who do.
God bless you all, and may your heart abound with grace, peace, and joy from our Father who gives every good and perfect gift, who fills us with everything necessary for life and for godliness.
- Chris
The book is relatively short, coming in at 149 pages. It is broken into three distinct sections focused respectively on finding one's holy discontent, developing it, and keeping it alive. Hybels begins by introducing the notion of a holy discontent, framing it in the context of his own life and the lives of various others through history, and even bringing in a repeating reference to Popeye the Sailor Man. Each section is broken down further into 3 chapters (the last chapter in the last section being a postscript). Each chapter draws on multiple examples, and most chapters open with tangible examples designed to draw the reader into the rest of the example - be they personal stories, others' testimonies, or simply compelling statistics.
What is it, he asks, that makes you say "Enough"? That, he says, is a holy discontent: a frustration with this world and its brokenness that moves us to action, to engagement. It is holy because it is a discontent spurred on by our vision of God's character and by His heart for this broken world. From there, he elaborates on the history of his notion of holy discontent, and demonstrates how it worked out in various people's lives. After that introduction, he asks the reader to consider what his or her own personal holy discontents are - and if he or she does not know, he gives some concrete ways to look for it. In the second section, he discusses how one can both actively take that discontent and fan it into flame, and how to practically go about doing something with that discontent. In the final section, he deals with the reality of our fallen natures: that we can grow discouraged in the ongoing battle, and presents suggestions of how to deal with that and press on - to keep fighting the good fight.
His style is fairly conversational, and it is clear that he is used to teaching both from the pulpit and in personal conversations. The book is simply written and easy to read, but not in any sense "dumbed down." It is clearly meant to be a quick read for most people, which is good, given his stated purpose of awakening people to action. His manner is engaging, and his examples, while occasionally somewhat silly (his frequent Popeye references, for example) are typically engaging and compelling. Most of his material is drawn from a combination of Scripture, his own experiences, and the experiences of everyday people who have changed the world in sometimes small but always significant ways because of passions that God laid on their hearts and their willingness to follow those passions and obey God's call to do something with them instead of just sitting. His voice is simple but well-organized; he never drifted off topic or got sidetracked by secondary discussions (again, his experience as a teaching pastor reaching out to the unchurched shows through).
The merits of the book are in its cogency, its sense of urgency, and its ease of read and simplicity. The narratives are all coherent, and the book flows neatly from one section into another. The answers Hybels gives are never pat, but drawn from reality and compelling because he acknowledges the difficulty of what he calls people to do. The encouragement of real examples is tangible and effective. Hybels' voice of urgency is a great strength to the book, as well: he clearly and effectively communicates that there are a great many needs, and you are responsible to reach out and make a difference, to exercise your God-given gifts to change this world. At the same time, he avoids sounding shrill or hyperbolic, either of which would have made the book farcical or ridiculous to most readers. The straightforward manner in which he wrote - and the accompanying ease of reading - are a great asset to a book like this, as is the book's brevity. Had he missed either point, he likely would have missed his target audience: those very people in the church who are most in need of a book like this, but unlikely to pick up a lengthy tome speaking in high, theological terms of the need to change the world. At some level, while I occasionally found them annoying, the Popeye moments scattered throughout the text are probably among its greatest strengths, simply because they keep the reading at an accessible level. There were no significant typos or textual errors, something I found extremely refreshing.
I'm going to have a hard time discussing demerits; the book had none that I can think of. It set out to accomplish a particular goal - communicating the need for all Christians to exercise their gifts, talents, and abilities for the good of those around them, and to not be content in their own spheres.
While I did not find the book particularly challenging, that was more a response to the fact that Hybels was hitting on an area in which I've already developed significant convictions: this text was confirmation rather than conviction in my case. For many, that will not be so, and this book will be well worth their time to read. (My other difficulty with the book was my initial impression of it, formed before I had looked at the summary, was that it was about a discontent that pushed us toward holiness, rather than about holy discontent with the state of the world. I had to push through that misconception to fully appreciate the book, but as I did so I found Hybels' work excellent on all levels. Someone else still needs to write the book I thought this was!) I highly recommend this book to anyone who doesn't already have strong convictions about the ways they can change the world; and I recommend it as a good reminder to those who do.
God bless you all, and may your heart abound with grace, peace, and joy from our Father who gives every good and perfect gift, who fills us with everything necessary for life and for godliness.
- Chris
Hey, I'm using this as a test base for my general blogging over at my real blog page - check it out if you're interested.
- Chris
- Chris
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
