Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

Non-fiction

Finding depth in faith: Review of A Mile Wide by Brandon Hatmaker

I’ve been reading Jen Hatmaker’s books for a few years now, and I love her perspective on living the Christian life. So, when her husband, Brandon, released a book about finding deeper faith, I was eager to read it.

A Mile Wide: Trading a Shallow Religion for a Deeper Faith is a must-read, first for those who desire to lead others toward the kind of discipleship Jesus modeled, and second, for any follower of Jesus who isn’t satisfied with the life of faith they now lead. But the warning is this: Hatmaker offers principles that lead to a deeper faith resulting from sometimes difficult choices. (Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book through the BookLook Bloggers program, and my opinion of the book was not influenced by that.)

“We are to consider deeply how the application of what we believe impacts how others view (Jesus) and his kingdom. It’s an exchange in how we think about everything.” (p. 5)

Hatmaker builds his case for deeper faith by transforming our view of the Gospel and expanding it (the Gospel in us), then transferring that new view to the work of the kingdom (the Gospel through us).

An example:

“A shallow religion survives from event to event and program to program. A deeper faith is rooted in trusting relationships where permission is granted to struggle, fail, and take risks.” (p 113)

I’m challenged and encouraged by Hatmaker’s ideas to make faith more than a checklist of things to get right. And I trust his words because he backs them up with his own stories of getting it wrong.

The book’s title draws from an 19th century saying (Hatmaker references it in the introduction): “A mile wide and an inch deep.” It’s a phrase that isn’t meant to be a compliment. In the case of A Mile Wide, the book doesn’t live up to its name, and that’s a good thing.

More than a clever title: Review of The Bad Habits of Jesus by Leonard Sweet

Sometimes I’m drawn to a book just because it has a provocative or catchy title, and that was certainly the case with this new book by Leonard Sweet, The Bad Habits of Jesus: Showing Us the Way to Live Right in a World Gone Wrong. Although I’ve not read any of Sweet’s other books, we have a few in the house and I know that his titles often draw readers in to something deeper. I found this to be true for this book. (Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the publisher and my review reflects my honest opinion.)

More than just a clever title, The Bad Habits of Jesus reminds followers of Christ that he wasn’t always a “good” person as we might define good. He broke the rules, spent time with people he “shouldn’t” have, wasn’t polite and often appeared wasteful, extravagant or like he was procrastinating. I found Sweet’s listing of these habits interesting and a reminder that my life is only “good” when it lines up with Jesus.

In the opening chapter, I was challenged to think anew about the time when Jesus spit on the ground and used the mud to heal a man. Spitting in our culture is frowned upon, at least in public, and I’ve never thought of it as an insulting gesture. Sweet says this, “From a gesture of insult, Jesus created a magnificent and powerful blessing. And isn’t that how God works anyway?” (p. 4)

Sweet’s writing style is quick-paced and he plays with words in a way that I almost envy. Sometimes his turns of phrase are a little too cute for my tastes, but he makes memorable points. In a chapter about Jesus spending too much time with children, he challenges the church to inclusion of children because Jesus cared not only about their presence but about their wisdom. Sweet writes, “Truth is truth whether spoken by a child or a king. There is no halfway Holy Spirit. The question for Jesus was not ‘How old are you?’ but ‘Do you have ears that hear?'” (p. 115) I wonder how many times I’ve dismissed my own children for thinking they can’t possibly know spiritual truth.

I was overall encouraged and challenged by this book and would recommend it as a refreshing look at what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Towards the end of the book, Sweet lists all the ways Jesus wasn’t a “very good Christian” by our definitions of that phrase. It’s convicting.