Book Review: The Call
The Call by Os Guinness
Few books I have read in my life have had the kind of profound effect on my way of thinking like The Call has. I got this book last summer and intended on reading it then but it had been sitting on my shelf for quite a while before I actually got around to reading it. I finally picked it up again this year about two months ago and I am so glad that I did. I have been greatly blessed. Os Guinness is a fountain of knowledge as he draws on the combined wisdom of philosophers, theologians, and artists throughout history to present a Biblical perspective on finding ones purpose in life. On to the review!
The Good: Os Guinness’ writing is so deep and profound that each chapter really does need to be enjoyed as suggested in the table of contents: one chapter a day. Each chapter is written as its own unique meditation on the different aspects and results of having a Biblical perspective on calling. While I tried to read a chapter a day, each section is so rich that I could have read and meditated on a chapter for an entire week before I would be ready to move on to another topic. The study guide questions included in the back of the book were also a great blessing as they gave me the opportunity to really spend time with each chapter.
This book covered so many topics that it would be hard to single out any as being any better than the rest. Personally, I most enjoyed the chapter titled “Patches of Godlight”. In this chapter, Guinness explains how even the lowliest and most menial of activities is transformed by knowing that what we do, we do in service to the Lord. This knowledge gives meaning and importance to all that we do. I could probably write an entire book extolling the virtues of The Call but I do have to stop at some point, which brings us to…
The Bad: While I would recommend that everyone read this book, I do realize that not everyone will appreciate it nearly as much as I have. Os Guinness’ style of writing is very much like an old philosopher passing on his wealth of knowledge. Some may find it boring and there may be some who would not be able to fully appreciate this book. To those who pick it up and get bored I would encourage you to take time to carefully read each and every chapter individually and to continue reading it, despite your sense of boredom. I promise you that you will not regret the time spent reading this book by the time you finish. Now for…
The Ugly: I simply wish every book I read was as thought provoking as this one was. This book will sit in a prestigious spot on my book shelf for many years and every book I read after this will be compared to it and will most likely be found lacking. That may be a little extreme but I don’t think I can say enough how great this book is.
If anyone buys this book and would like to read it through with someone, let me know. I would gladly read this book again and would appreciate having someone to talk to about it.
You can find the book here.
Book Review: Do Hard Things
Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations.
Recently a book has been coming up in conversations I’ve been having with kids in the Youth Group and I decided that it would be good to read it and see what the kids are reading these days. I’ve been pretty ignorant of “Christian Trends” my whole life so it wasn’t much of a surprise that I had never heard of Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris, although their names sounded familiar. Apparently they are the younger brothers of Joshua Harris, author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye. (Another trendy Christian book I’ve never read but hope to review soon.) Do Hard Things is a book, “written by teens for teens”, that challenges modern views of adolescence and encourages people to not waste their teen years as a break from responsibility. While the underlying premise is great, and I agree whole-heartedly, this book does have some major problems. Before I get to that though, lets take a look at…
The Good: Alex and Brett hit the nail on the head in Chapter 4 where they describe the dangers of not using your teen years as preparation for life. Too often people go through their life with the mentality that “high school is for fun, these are the best days of our lives” and then “college is a time to experiment” and “hey, I’m in my 20′s, the prime of life, I need to have all the fun I can”, and pay too little attention to their training for life. This book does serve as a wake up call to a generation and shows them that there is a better way and that even teenagers can make a difference in the world. Now for…
The Bad: While they do mention that the teen years should be for training, they do little to develop this idea. In fact, they do little to develop many of the ideas that they present in this book. I find it quite funny that a book called Do Hard Things is so easy to read. In the first chapter they criticize books written for teenagers as being “dumbed down” and that you “never have to read anything twice” but after reading this book, I feel that it fits right into the same category that they’re so critical of. Now, there is nothing wrong with having a book that you don’t have to reread portions of to understand, but a good book is the type that you want to reread because the words have such profound meaning. While they may have missed out on introducing the ideas of discipline or training in godliness (I Timothy 4:7b-8) they do have a lot of ideas of how to do hard things. Unfortunately, these ideas lack an adequate explanation for why, which leads me to…
The Ugly: The thing that drove me crazy about this book was its nearly total disregard for God. God was never fully explained as the reason for doing the hard things they talked about (until you read the appendix which explains the gospel which “didn’t quite fit” anywhere else), and even the explanation there is hollow and empty. While God is mentioned at various points, it seems that the Harris brothers simply think that God will help us grow when WE do hard things. God is seen as a resource for strength when we act, not as the ultimate how and why for all that we do.
The one part of the whole book (besides the three pillars of the rebelution and the word rebelution) that made me want to scream and yell and throw the book across the room was the end of the chapter on collaboration. “I was only fifteen. It makes me wonder, what more is possible when TEENS work together?…Imagine what we could do with a team of one hundred people! What could you do with three people, or ten, or a hundred? Pray and plan. Then go for it.” This portion clearly illustrates the most blatant error of this book. What could teens do? Who cares? Instead, the question should be “what could God do through us”? Who needs hundreds of people when you have God on your side? God should be the reason for any of the hard things we do. Moreover, we are incapable of doing any good, apart from God. The “hard things” we do, were prepared in advance for us by God (Ephesians 2:10), who gives us the will and ability to accomplish HIS work (Phillipians 2:13). Sure, they mentioned prayer, which is good, but why and what should we pray? Alex and Brett Harris are silent on the reasons yet again.
The story of Gideon from Judges 7 is a clear example of the power and strength of the Lord as we face “hard things”. Gideon had gathered 32,000 men of Israel to go against the Midianites but God said, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’” In the end, God sends home everyone except for a group of 300 which go on, with the help of The Lord, to defeat the Midianites. Clearly numbers don’t matter to God.
Summary: While this book does have a compelling message that will resonate with young people, the perspective and reasons given for doing hard things are so skewed that its hardly worth reading. I give it ½ a star out of 5. There are plenty of better books that teenagers are capable of reading that will inspire them to do their Utmost for God’s Highest: Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper (I haven’t read it but a respected friend highly recommends it), Disciplines of a Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes, The Call by Oz Guinness. There is also Disciplines of a Godly Woman. I haven’t read it but if its anywhere near as good as the version for Men, it would be worth looking into.
