book review

Every so often, a publishing company will reach out to me and ask me if I'm interested in being on a launch team for a certain author.  I don't know how this all started, but I've been doing this for years now, and I've had the honor of reading and review advance copies of books they send to me.  Usually my review is only on Amazon or GoodReads, though.  I thought I'd share a blog post about this one, this time around.

When I was asked to review David Platt's newest and yet-to-be-released book Something Needs to Change, I jumped at the chance.  I've read several of his other books, and one year, he was the speaker at a student life camp I was a counselor at in Daytona Beach, Florida.  I love his heart, and the passion God has given to him for spreading the gospel.  He has a been a church pastor, and was recently the president of the IMB (International Mission Board) for four years.  Now he pastors McLean Bible Church in Washington D.C., and very recently, President Trump made a surprise visit there and David Platt prayed over our President and our nation.

This book is unlike the other books he has written.  Without giving too much away, this book reads as his journal, during a trip to the Himalayas he took with a couple of other guys.  On his trip there, he encountered severe poverty, famine, sickness, human trafficking, and a burial ritual that left him speechless.  By the end of the week he spent there, he found himself alone and crying out to God why.  Where is He, amidst all that suffering?  Why does He allow severe poverty and hunger?  Why does He allow young girls to be sold as objects in that part of the world?  Most importantly, he asked God why He would take him there to see that, and what should he do next?

Because, after a trip like that, you're never the same.  Something needs to change, after all, so what now?  The point he brings home in this book is that no matter where we are in life, God can and will use us for His glory.  We live in a world full of people who have never heard the name of Jesus.  In my own hometown, this is true, here in middle America.  He challenges us to count the cost, and to consider a life laid down, all for the sake of God's great name. 

Each chapter is written as a day, as in Day One, etc.  At the end of each "day" (chapter), there are questions for you to ponder.  This book is not yet for sale, but it releases on September 17.  You can pre-order the book at any of your local or online bookstores.  Here is a link to the book on Amazon.  This would be a great one to read with some friends and to meet and discuss it with afterward.  Mostly, it's a book that you can read that will really cause you to evaluate your life, and to make some changes.

Thanks for reading!  Now, go check it out for yourself.

Love to all.