Going Deep is a FICTIONAL BOOK about some characters that go about wanting to create deep people within the church. In a growing Christian community of deep seekers, thinkers and the rise of New Calvinists like John MacArthur, R.C. Sproul and John Piper, the idea of this book is great and perfect for the times. Especially the 18-30 crowd is looking for depth and more to life than fun music, fiction, reality tv and are seeking deep readings, like the huge resurgence in Puritain authors like Jonathan Edwards.
Too bad this was a fictional book and not a non-fiction book. Most of the book was wasted on following the characters around in their daily lives and I feel like the book was a quick easy read and not deep. It is a thick book, but most of it is just fluff, so I was able to finish it quickly. Although the author has included some neat ideas inside his story, their implementation in the story is SHALLOW. For a book called "Going Deep", it was disappointing to see the book really isn't deep at all.
Although this book was insightful and made an interesting read, READERS BE AWARE!!! I don't agree with Gordon MacDonald biblically or theologically. Example: He took the verse "where two or three are gathered together, Jesus is with them" to mean Jesus is ONLY present with believers if two or more believers are present! This is completely false! This interpretation declares that if I'm all alone, Jesus won't be with me! Or if I'm marooned on a desert island, Jesus won't be with me! This is completely incorrect. This verse means, when we are applying God's teachings in the case of discipling or helping other Christians, Jesus is there guiding our application of God's teachings to our lives.
I was disappointed to watch the characters determine "the desperate need of today is for deep people." Deep is important, but I also believe Loving is right at the top for Christians. If we can't show people the love of Christ, all the Deepness won't help us to help others. The main characters are said to "know how to love people" but the congregation also needs to be able to touch others with love.
I enjoyed some of the ideas the book put forth, like the "elevator story" - you have the time it take to go from the 30th floor to the 1st floor to tell someone about your church or your faith or Jesus. What would you say? I am now inspired to write my own elevator story! But the examples of elevator stories in the book were so dry and boring, no one would EVER want to come to the guy's church or seek a Christian life based on the shallow, dry, boring, churchy stories.
Another think I did like about this story was its reminder to us that "nothing happens without training, training, training!" We need pastors to train up the body of Christ! We need to become more than just baby Christians sitting in pews, listening to sermons we forget as soon as we step outside the church doors. We need training and DEEP training! Too bad this book couldn't deliver on the DEPTH level. I could not say I would recommend this book. Save your time and read something else, would be my recommendation.
Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher for this unbiased review. I am giving my honest review, as positive reviews are not required.
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