BOOK REVIEW: Prototype

Prototype, by Jonathan Martin, is a book you want to read if you are feeling kinda beat up and burned out in your walk as a Christian. Starting with a description of when he first really had a sense of just being alone and comfortable with God--as a boy on his bike--Martin moves through how life's tug of war on our hearts and souls can leave us overwhelmed and fried. We forget that we are beloved of God, but by looking at Jesus, who was told by the Father that He was His "beloved" Son, we can see that we, like Jesus, are so loved. We are called. Like Jesus, we get wounds. We come to places in our spiritual lives that look like resurrection. We learn how to celebrate the sacraments--not rituals, but real connections--as well as how to be in an honest, transparent community of other called and wounded people. And we learn how to show Jesus to other people the way He Himself did.

I am in a point in my walk of faith where I want to just get back to simplicity in my life and my faith. I want to hear God, and quit letting His voice be drowned out by lesser things, so Prototype is one of a few books I've read in the last few months that really resonate with me. We can be really "busy for the Lord" and yet be simply doing stuff out of an empty heart. Probably my two favorite parts of this book were remembering my "girl on the trampoline" experience as a child, where God and I just hung out; and hearing the echo in my soul when Martin writes that we need to get out in the wilderness to be able to hear God again. Because relationship with Jesus is really that simple. For me...and for you.

The book has an epilogue called "Letter to a Ravaged Bride" that speaks the heart of God to a beat up, scruffed up church. It also has a discussion guide which could be used as a four week small group study. Accompanying my free copy of this book from Tyndale Publishers for review purposes was a DVD-driven 8 week study. Each week reviews a chapter in the book and encourages participants to reflect and discuss key concepts.

If I am ever in North Carolina, I'm making a beeline for Martin's church, Renovatus. I like his blog. And if you would like to check out more information on the book itself, go here.