FIRST Wild Card Tour: Life Work by Randy Harris

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:
 

                      Randy Harris

and the book:

Life Work: Confessions of an Everyday Disciple

Leafwood Publishers (2014)

***Special thanks to Ryan Self of Leafwood Publishers for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

RANDY HARRIS is a popular speaker at conferences, churches, and college campuses across the United States and around the world. He is a professor of theology and ethics at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas, and has received numerous awards for his classroom work. He holds degrees from Harding School of Theology and Syracuse University, and is the author of God Work: Confessions of a Stand-up Theologian (2009), Soul Work: Confessions of a Part-Time Monk (2011), and other books. He is a single Christian who grew up in Bentonville, Arkansas.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

What does minimal human ethics look like? Can Christians really be followers of Jesus in the way they live today? In his own unique style, Randy Harris wrestles with these and other ethical issues facing Christians and all humanity.

Product Details:
List Price: $13.99
Paperback: 157 pages
Publisher: Leafwood Publishers
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-0-89112-459-7

My Review:

What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus Christ? This book is about ethics and Christian conduct. I found ethical dilemmas in the beginning chapters quite intriguing. The author covers different ethical theories and presents 7 principles of a minimally decent ethic. In addition, he offers what he thinks Christian ethics should embrace. He encourages believers to live a surrendered, cruciformed life. The book includes certain attitudes and practices that help us become more mature followers of Jesus Christ. The author also shares what he has learned from some dead (such as St. Francis, St. John of the Cross, Soren Kierkegaard, St. Benedict) and living Christians (such as those in the new monasticism)

The book is divided into 4 sections: On Ethics, On Cruciformity, Fellow Travelers, and Shalom. What's pluralistic deontology? He explains that, too. The author believes that the world operates by fear and power. In contrast, Christians should be living out the self-sacrificing story of the cross and should be practicing peace. He thinks silence and solitude are sorely missing among Christians. Our spiritual maturity is measured by how in tune with God we are. Life Work is a thought-provoking read. Let's make our lives count for God's glory and for God's kingdom!

"We need a strong dose of respect for autonomy and what goes with it--the acceptance of responsibility." (p. 48)

"Distraction is the single greatest threat to our spiritual lives...A great leap toward Christian maturity is becoming less distracted." (p. 83)

"What I want to do is to get so in tune with God, be so attentive to God, be so non-distracted and in sync with God, that when I act, I always act out of the Spirit of God within me." (p. 86)

"This prayer is an attempt to see the world through God's eyes, to think His thoughts after him, to love what He loves, and hates what He hates." (p. 106)

~ Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from ACU Press/Leafwood Publishers in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”