Book Review: "Chasing Elephants"

TITLE: CHASING ELEPHANTS - wrestling with the gray areas of life
AUTHOR: Brent Crowe
PUBLISHED: Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2010.

[This review was first published at my main blog YAPDATES here.]

I am so glad I read this book. This book may be light, but its contents are weighty. After turning the last page, my first word is "WOW!" Three things impress me about the book. Firstly, it clearly lays out the author's understanding of true freedom, grace in Christ, and the need to move beyond the 'why'  of belief to the 'how to believe.'   Secondly, it boldly tackles important contemporary issues that many Christians tend to shy away from, using 16 HOW-TO-BELIEVE templates. Thirdly, it pushes believers to be more Christ-focused, to see all things, boundaries, freedom, law, and cultural constraints as pointers to know Christ and to make Christ known.

At first, my temptation is to rush through the five contemporary issues of homosexuality, cyber world, social drinking, entertainment and humanitarian efforts. I am glad I restrained myself, to stuck to the author's game plan. The first five foundational chapters are core to understanding how contemporary issues need to be tackled. The book is wonderfully quotable, and is packed with wise quips on Christian living and social responsibility. Toward the end, after the last elephant has been tackled, I cannot help but feel that there is another elephant that the author is subtly trying to hint to Christian readers, and the Church at large. This may very well be the biggest elephant of all: PROCRASTINATION about Christ's mission to the world.

"For all of us, freedom in Christ is the door of opportunity to doing something significant for the kingdom." (160)

Indeed, many of us like to talk about grace. Yet, the essence of true grace demands more from us. One is only truly free, when one serves all joyfully out of pure gratitude to God s grace in Christ. I am so glad to have read this book, and strongly recommend this to any Christian desiring to grow in Christ.

conrade

5 stars of 5.

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I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. 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 Commision's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."