Skip to main content

Review: All In: You are one decision away from a totally different life. by Mark Batterson



Review: All In: You are one decision away from a totally different life.
Mark Batterson
Zondervan
2013

Interest in total commitment rises among the younger set.  Or so it seems judging from some of the titles available today and this one fits right in with them.  Will that interest translate into action?
Batterson writes “I’m afraid we’ve cheapened the gospel by allowing people to buy in without selling out.  We’ve made it too convenient, too comfortable.” (18). What follows not only illustrates his point, but also encourages the reader to look at his own life and make a few adjustments.  Radical adjustments, for some.  He expects the reader to make a decision and makes it plain that indecision is a decision.

Batterson draws from an array of biblical accounts and more recent examples including his own life.  His opening chapter sets the pace when he retells the story of a one-way missionary (missionaries who bought a one-way ticket to their particular field) whose legacy was memorialized by those he served during his lifetime. 

As Batterson progresses, he repeats a phrase “going all in and all out for the All in All”.  That phrase serves as the organization of this book.  And it sums up the book.  “It’s time to go all in and all out for the All in All.” (170) closes the book.  

Does he make his case?   For the group that he works with, maybe so.  Young, eager, looking for a cause, and not loaded down with all the worries of life quite yet.  For me, the book covered ground well trod by others and in some cases was even tedious to read.  If the reader wants something more challenging try Bonhoeffer’s Life Together or The Cost of Discipleship.  Or Elliot’s Through the Gates of Splendor”.

But, you read it and decide what you think.  This is my opinion and you are welcome to disagree.

This book was provided by the publisher in return for a review.






Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Sex, Jesus, and the Conversations the Church Forgot by Mo Isom

Review: Sex, Jesus, and the Conversations the Church Forgot Mo Isom Baker Books 2018 I picked this one up after I’d seen a video promo by the author, http://moisom.com/sexandjesus#.   Sounded like she had something to say.   She does.   And even if you don’t think it applies to you it does in ways that aren’t necessarily related to sex, but just as a human being with desires.    Isom subscribed to many of the conversations that govern relationships in general, and those with men, for her generation, the millennials.   This book is not her life story, but it does describe some moments that were important to her journey then and now.   Her openness to share those times surprised me.   Her point without spoiling the book is that she had not understood what linked sexual intimacy to ordinary life, the why’s, if you will.   Was it not taught, discussed?   Or was she not interested in hearing might be a valid...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: When God’s Ways Make No Sense by Dr. Larry Crabb

Review: When God’s Ways Make No Sense Dr. Larry Crabb Baker Books 2018 I chose this book because the title intrigued me.   When God’s Ways Make No Sense.    There have been plenty of times when that seemed truer than I’d like to admit.   Are we even allowed to say something like that?   Even if we think it.   So, an author willing to take on that topic had my attention. And mostly because I wanted his take on what to do about it? As it turns out Crabb pretty much gave away his case very early on in his book with a single scripture quote.   The basic idea is God is GOD and we are not.   His motives and actions are incomprehensible to mankind and He owes no explanation for them either.   Crabb admits near the end of his book that he is not a theologian which I knew going into this book, but his arguments are theology.   Or at least I think so.   I found his repeated circling the topic a bit frustrating. ...
1 comment
Read more

Review: Anatomy of the Soul

Anatomy of the Soul Curt Thompson. M.D. Salt River, an imprint of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 2010 This is the most helpful,insightful book I’ve read in a long time. There’s advice, guidance, explanations and examples to illustrate discussion offered by the author. Best of all, for me anyway, it explains some of what I had suspected about how things work all along. Dr. Thompson links human anatomy and physiology to the spiritual part of our being throughout the text. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. And God uses His creation of the physical body in amazing ways. The author does a great job showing God’s wisdom found in research and the discoveries that science has made recently in neuroscience. Whether science wants to or not, it is describing the wonders of creation. Read this book. The text will require thought, evaluation, and time to go through. The author’s writing style is quite readable and he covers the material well. While this isn’t a how to or self help boo...
4 comments
Read more