The Vertical Self- Book Review

Incredibly impressed with the book I read The Vertical Self written by Mark Sayers.  It’s a book about discovering who God is and what is true biblical faith in the midst of a culture that says it is all about you.

If I could use one word to describe Mark it is relevant.  That term gets thrown around so loosely and almost has a negative connotation that comes with it however Mark is able to tie culture into faith and sets a biblical model of what it should look like.  The moment we realize that our faith is not about us but about a destination of connecting with Jesus is the moment that we grow closer to Him instead of closer to our own selves.  I enjoyed how Mark showed us practical ways to find our true selves.  This book appears to be written to a younger generation but I also think that by addressing this to the younger generation it may shrink the gap with young people not to be self consumed but to be consumed by God.

“By stepping into this journey of discovering what God truly desires for our lives, we won’t just discover a new way of living out our faith — we will discover liberating, revolutionary, life-embracing was of being truly human.”

The Gospel According To Lost Book Review

I just finished reading a book called, The Gospel According to Lost, by Chris Seay.  This book was sent to me by Thomas Nelson Publishers by my choice.

To be fair, I am not a fan of the show Lost.  To me the best part of the show will be at the end of the season when it ends without an ending and everybody will remain lost and sitting there with the feeling of having wasted years of their life.  With that being said I was impressed with Chris and his ability to make something that I’m not a fan of  engaging.  I did find myself intrigued at his ability to draw out real world comparisons with each character.

I like how he said in the prologue that, “The narrative of the show asks more questions than it answers.” In reality that seems to be the story of life and I loved the parallel.  What a great leadership principle as well to ask more questions than you answer.  For me the most intriguing quote of the book was on page 47, “The island has a way of recognizing each castaway’s Achilles’ heel and bringing about a healing journey as each confronts his or her weaknesses.” A healing journey as they each confront their weaknesses.  That statement stuck out to me in my own life.

Overall it was an okay book.  I do think he wrote this book because of his love for the show, not so much because of the gospel.  Each person will have a different view on this.  I am passing this book on to my wife who is extremely excited about it.  Great writer, engaging in his approach, the topic just did not resonate with me.