It took me awhile to read this book for I agreed to review it before hearing about the Hatmaker's stand on subjects such as same sex marriage. I wanted to read carefully and give an honest review. Not based on rumors.
The subtitle of this book is Trading a Shallow Religion for a Deeper Faith. In many ways this is a good book. It provides a good understanding of the parable when Jesus talks about the sower, the seed, and the various kinds of soil the seed is sown into.
It also was enjoyable to read about the necessity of the Church to go out into the world to minister to the broken and the needy, especially as he tells stories of their ministry doing just that. I didn't have a problem with any of this... until we came to the last two chapters.
I read the last chapter twice to see if I was missing something but it appears that Hatmaker is questioning those who believe in an orthodox version of scripture. Especially as it concerns social issues in which he thinks the Church needs to become more modern in their view.
Both my husband and I have people we love in alternative lifestyles and they are welcome in our home any time. We are not haters of people different than us. But we will also not change our essential doctrine to go along with modern culture. So I can only partially recommend this book. I would have highly recommended this book if not for the last two chapters. It is too bad the author decided he had to include them.
Blog Only: This part will not be included on the Amazon review. If you want a good book on reaching the unchurched for Christ, this is a good one. Having not grown up in the church, I have a soft spot for those who don't fit in. I would have given the book five stars if the author had not delved into subjects that could further divide the church... which is already greatly divided.
A Mile Wide was provided by the publisher for the sake of review but the opinions are my own.
More information is available... here.*
*Most links to Amazon.com are Associate Links.
1 comment:
It is tragic and I do mean tragic when people veer off the standard that they once knew. Thank you for your honest review.
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