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cljohnson8's review against another edition
2.0
I'm sure there are people out there who need to read an entire book about how much God loves them, but I discovered that I am not that person.
dullshimmer's review against another edition
fast-paced
1.0
I was expecting to really like this book at least based on what I expected from it. I was expecting something like Philip Yancy's What's So Amazing About Grace, Brennan Manning's Ragamuffin Gospel, or even something like Tim Keller's The Prodigal God. It was going to be about how God's love may seem crazy, but how it is real and is life changing if we accept the grace that God presents. These expectations proved to be very wrong.
I just found so much wrong with this book. One of the biggest negatives of the book is that it is heavy on the guilt and shame. The first seven or eight chapters (out of ten) are constantly using phrases about making God angry or God being disgusted with us. It's about us not doing enough or being good enough, not about a God that loved us while we were enemies. A God who was willing to sacrifice themselves/Jesus in order to bring us back into relationship. That's not what Chan is really focused on here.
To be fair this critique isn't unwarranted, but the way that Chan approaches this is so heavy handed and poor that it's hard to imagine too many people responding positively to it. Maybe Christians used to the idea that you have to feel guilt and shame to do better might respond, but those who aren't in those churches or traditions will find little here to inspire. Chan even acknowledges that guilt and shame isn't the answer to the problem, but it doesn't stop him from using this very method for the majority of his book. This acknowledgement makes the book worse, since it shows that Chan knew better, but still chose to use that kind of rhetoric in his book.
There are also a number of other problematic aspects of the book for me. He tends to have a very strong secular/sacred divide going on. You wouldn't want to die being caught at a theater watching a play or watching TV or something because that's obviously not Godly or spiritual enough. It's a weird argument. There are many aspects of normal life that are okay. While it makes for a good story, most of us aren't going to drop dead after proclaiming the Gospel. I think that God is going to look at more than just where we were when we died, but that's something Chan brings up a few times in the book.
Chan also really loves to use and overuse the lukewarm idea. It got quite old and while he maybe didn't use it as badly as I've seen some use the image, I'm still not sure he's using it exactly in the right context. It's not so much about an attitude, but about the usefulness. Chan is kind of talking about that in what we're doing with our lives, but dips into attitudes fairly regularly as well.
Even when chapters start to get better there are still some issues around. Chapter 9 talks about some inspirational stories by people who have lived following Jesus in radical ways. While this is great in many ways, I always struggle with these short snippets of people's lives being used in this way. Did these people do great things? Yes, sure. Were they somehow perfect? Doubtful. Paring away so much of their lives until only the part you want to display remains can be inspirational, but it can also be a bit reductive.
All this to say, I didn't enjoy this work at all. It has some decent points that are worth brining up, but doesn't do this in a very loving way or by focusing all that much for God's love for us. It comes up, but it is definitely not the focus of the book. I would recommend any of the books I mentioned above for books that deal with God's love and grace, and if you're looking for something a bit more challenging us to break out of aspects of our life that may be too comfortable, I would recommend Shane Claiborne's The Irresistible Revolution. He brings things up in a much more approachable manner and without all the guilt and shame usage that Chan seems to like.
At this point I'm pretty sure that I'm just not a big fan of Francis Chan, at least as a writer. This is my third book I've read and I haven't been impressed by any of them. This was by far the one I liked the least, but he just seems to favor a very aggressive confrontational style that doesn't always look a lot like the way that Jesus interacted with people. I just really couldn't recommend this book to anyone. Which is too bad, because I was expecting a much better book here.
I just found so much wrong with this book. One of the biggest negatives of the book is that it is heavy on the guilt and shame. The first seven or eight chapters (out of ten) are constantly using phrases about making God angry or God being disgusted with us. It's about us not doing enough or being good enough, not about a God that loved us while we were enemies. A God who was willing to sacrifice themselves/Jesus in order to bring us back into relationship. That's not what Chan is really focused on here.
To be fair this critique isn't unwarranted, but the way that Chan approaches this is so heavy handed and poor that it's hard to imagine too many people responding positively to it. Maybe Christians used to the idea that you have to feel guilt and shame to do better might respond, but those who aren't in those churches or traditions will find little here to inspire. Chan even acknowledges that guilt and shame isn't the answer to the problem, but it doesn't stop him from using this very method for the majority of his book. This acknowledgement makes the book worse, since it shows that Chan knew better, but still chose to use that kind of rhetoric in his book.
There are also a number of other problematic aspects of the book for me. He tends to have a very strong secular/sacred divide going on. You wouldn't want to die being caught at a theater watching a play or watching TV or something because that's obviously not Godly or spiritual enough. It's a weird argument. There are many aspects of normal life that are okay. While it makes for a good story, most of us aren't going to drop dead after proclaiming the Gospel. I think that God is going to look at more than just where we were when we died, but that's something Chan brings up a few times in the book.
Chan also really loves to use and overuse the lukewarm idea. It got quite old and while he maybe didn't use it as badly as I've seen some use the image, I'm still not sure he's using it exactly in the right context. It's not so much about an attitude, but about the usefulness. Chan is kind of talking about that in what we're doing with our lives, but dips into attitudes fairly regularly as well.
Even when chapters start to get better there are still some issues around. Chapter 9 talks about some inspirational stories by people who have lived following Jesus in radical ways. While this is great in many ways, I always struggle with these short snippets of people's lives being used in this way. Did these people do great things? Yes, sure. Were they somehow perfect? Doubtful. Paring away so much of their lives until only the part you want to display remains can be inspirational, but it can also be a bit reductive.
All this to say, I didn't enjoy this work at all. It has some decent points that are worth brining up, but doesn't do this in a very loving way or by focusing all that much for God's love for us. It comes up, but it is definitely not the focus of the book. I would recommend any of the books I mentioned above for books that deal with God's love and grace, and if you're looking for something a bit more challenging us to break out of aspects of our life that may be too comfortable, I would recommend Shane Claiborne's The Irresistible Revolution. He brings things up in a much more approachable manner and without all the guilt and shame usage that Chan seems to like.
At this point I'm pretty sure that I'm just not a big fan of Francis Chan, at least as a writer. This is my third book I've read and I haven't been impressed by any of them. This was by far the one I liked the least, but he just seems to favor a very aggressive confrontational style that doesn't always look a lot like the way that Jesus interacted with people. I just really couldn't recommend this book to anyone. Which is too bad, because I was expecting a much better book here.
mvasso's review against another edition
4.0
This book challenges Christians to move away from a "lukewarm" faith and let God take over all areas of their lives. The author (a pastor) believes that many American Christians have become content to simply go to church and try not to curse, smoke, or drink and think that this is all they need to do. Chan says that if someone really loves God, he or she will be totally transformed and live completely differently. Instead of putting all of our efforts into making money, impressing people, and having fun, we should focus on spending time with God and serving others. Chan says that we should pay special attention to those that the rest of society often ignores and the ones who are the hardest to love, such as the poor and the ones who are opposed to Christians.
This book is really popular right now, and I find a lot of Christian bestsellers to be cheesy or oversimplified. This one is different for me, though. It was a big wake up call and it called me out on some specific things, like having judgmental thoughts about others and losing patience with people who get on my nerves (this happens a lot, since I work with the public). It made me think about the way I live my life--can people tell that I'm a Christian? Am I actually doing what Jesus says we should do? Do I make my little corner of the world a better place? I like that Chan uses the Bible to back up the points he makes and provides examples of ways to put his ideas into practice. This book is going to be on my mind for a long time, and I hope I use it to actually make some changes in my life.
This book is really popular right now, and I find a lot of Christian bestsellers to be cheesy or oversimplified. This one is different for me, though. It was a big wake up call and it called me out on some specific things, like having judgmental thoughts about others and losing patience with people who get on my nerves (this happens a lot, since I work with the public). It made me think about the way I live my life--can people tell that I'm a Christian? Am I actually doing what Jesus says we should do? Do I make my little corner of the world a better place? I like that Chan uses the Bible to back up the points he makes and provides examples of ways to put his ideas into practice. This book is going to be on my mind for a long time, and I hope I use it to actually make some changes in my life.
jennireadskang's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
svreads's review against another edition
5.0
One of the most genuine and inspiring books on Christianity that I've ever read. Because of this book, I am seeing my faith in a whole new light. How many times do we honestly seek God throughout our day? How many times do we seek material things that 95% of the world does not have and will never have? If you're feeling stagnant in your faith, or finding it hard to get past your own pride to seek a more fulfilling life in Christ, I highly recommend this one.
jonahandthetale's review against another edition
5.0
Probably the best book for Christians, other than the Bible
kirstenjonorarenfroe's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book and God convicted me as I read it. The chapter titles really packed a punch and they helped to summarize the entire chapter. I highlighted so many paragraphs. I recommend this book to everyone as it helps reminds Christians to live whole heartedly for God.
ashleycristinereads's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
travisdhill's review against another edition
4.0
Definitely numerous moving moments in the book. It is more of your typical "go and do good" book, but with some exceptionally wonderful images and tales and insight to move you.