The Sacred Romance

I had written off John Eldredge. Someone whose opinion regarding authors and books I really respected did not think too highly of Mr Eldredge's writings, so that was good enough for me. ( I have since found that many of the authors this respected person did not think much of have become favorite authors of mine, and ones who have helped me a great deal in my journey with Jesus).
Like me, many people have either read Mr Eldredge or have their minds made up about him. I have recently given him a fair approach and have come to really find his writing helpful. In The Sacred Romance, Mr Eldredge, along with his now deceased friend Brent Curtis, look at the Christian life not as a series of principles to live by, but a story to be engaged in. The authors believe that we try to boil Christianity down to 10 steps to discipleship, 7 ways to better prayer, 3 facts to know to get into heaven.
Not that the authors are attempting to throw out doctrine, but that too often, we get caught up in that while forgetting the story we are in. Claiming that books and movies tell no new stories, only retell the story of God and humanity, they illustrate the story of God with movies such as Titanic and Last of the Mohican's.
I have always struggled in trying to get my faith out of my head and into my heart. I grew up in a pastor's home and have had biblical teaching since the womb, practically. Facts about Christianity have never been in short supply for me, but true excitement and joy about my faith were seemingly hard to come by. This was also a struggle as I sought to do more than teach my teens (as a youth pastor) but engage them with God. I wish I was aware of Mr Eldredge then. But I am very glad that although I want my son to know Scripture and hold correct doctrine, I can also pass along a heart-knowledge of God.
I highly recommend this book as well as the other resources available by Mr Eldredge. For more, visit his website, Ransomed Heart

Identity Theft

Mike Breaux is one of the teaching pastors at WillowCreek. In his new book, Identity Theft, Mr Breaux addresses the issue of who we are. Too often, when we are asked to tell who we are we depend on our jobs, our family, our accomplishments and other such things about us. Those things may be true about us, but they do not get at the heart of who we are.
Mr Breaux looks to four areas ( our relationships, our success, our appearance, and our past) in which we look for identity and shows how God can transform our dependence on those areas and reclaim our identity in him. Mr Breaux believes from both personal experience and from Scripture that each of us is looking for one thing - unfailing love - and we look to the four areas (above) for that unfailing love. However, the only source of unfailing love is Jesus and it is only in getting past our relationships, success, past and appearance that we can find that rest in God.
While there are very good thoughts and important ideas within this little book, it does seem like a sermon put into a book. Mr Breaux has a relaxed writing style and uses a variety of both Scripture and personal story to back up and illustrate his point. I see this as a good book to peruse in a bookstore, or borrow from a friend, but not one to purcahse.