Tuesday, November 1, 2016

A Mile Wide By Brandon Hatmaker

amazon.com


Subtitle: Trading a Shallow Religion for a Deeper Faith
           
            Pastor Brandon Hatmaker has written a very thought provoking book on faith. He takes his title from the writings of Edgar Nye: “A mile wide and an inch deep.” Mr. Nye was talking about the Platte River. This is not a compliment about a river or about a person’s faith.
           
            At the end of each chapter, he includes a set of questions for discussion. These seem to penetrate deeper into the reader’s heart as the book advances.

            Pastor Hatmaker puts into words a stance I believe all Christians serious about their faith would adopt. “. . . the kingdom of God is not the destination at the top of the ladder we climb. Rather it’s a realm that appears when we chose to engage. Any moment we chose God’s way over our way, the kingdom breaks through. Whenever Jesus rules our day in any way, the kingdom breaks through. Anytime we choose to pray about a decision, to surrender to His will, to open the Bible for insight or wisdom, or to extend mercy or grace, the kingdom breaks through. Whether it’s the first time or the hundredth time, in that moment Jesus reigns in your life and the kingdom of God is at hand.(1)

            I recommend this book to all believers who are serious about their faith. However, there might be a few suggestions for small groups that may tend to bother some readers.Two of them concerned me.

            I received this book free from Nelson Books, am imprint of Thomas Nelson through the Harper Collins Booklook Locker Blogger review program. All they asked of me was that I write an honest review.


1.)    A Mile Wide, © 2016, Brandon Hatmaker, page 128.    

6 comments:

  1. "Whenever Jesus rules our day in any way, the kingdom breaks through. Anytime we choose to pray about a decision, to surrender to His will, to open the Bible for insight or wisdom, or to extend mercy or grace, the kingdom breaks through. "

    Amen!

    What were the two concerns you had?

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    Replies
    1. Sandi, Thank you for stopping in. I wrote out that quote and read it in my Sunday school class. The two concerns I had were activities that he mentioned that some small groups did when they met that were activities that I believe are NOT of God. These were activities that I cannot partake in. Overall the book was good.

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    2. The activities impact my decision to read the book...are you comfortable saying what they are? You could email me privately.

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    3. Give me your e-mail address and I will explain my thoughts about the activities. My e-mail address is lestercecelia@gmail.com

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  2. Hi Cecelia! I love the passages about the kingdom breaking through too. And I really reflected on the 'mile wide and an inch deep' thought. Very interesting. A body of water can look very deep, just looking at the surface. Only a close inspection will show the true depth.
    Blessings,
    Ceil
    PS It would be interesting to know what you questioned about the group instructions.

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    Replies
    1. That thought about the kingdom breaking through has changed how I think about some of the issues I see in this world. E-mail me and I will respond to your 'PS'.lestercecelia@gmail.com

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I would be honored to hear what you think about this.

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