According to Dr. Wilkinson, there are 3 stages of faith-committed, compromise, & conflict. In his newest book, he discusses how whichever level an individual is on, impacts that person’s family.
Although he does explore both the Old & New, more time is spent in the Old Testament. Joshua is used to show the committed level. Then, we travel through to Judges as the levels decrease. There’s also discussion on how knowing, relating to, & serving God shape us.
I teetered back & forth with this book. I wholeheartedly agree that our loyalty show lie with God & not man. If the elders in the Old Testament fell spiritually because they followed Joshua more than God, it makes perfect sense because then their spiritual balance is off. I agree that just repeating the same prayer word for word results in a poor prayer life. I also agree that spiritual growth is attainable & that there are many Undercover Christians (those whom no one else would know were Christians).
My misgivings in the author’s thoughts arise in lumping ALL mankind into 3 states-periods. The author allows no wiggle room. You are either a 1,2 or 3. Isn’t that a little too cut & dry? Perhaps there are millions of people who do fit the mold. I find, though, that I am somewhere between 1 & 2 & wonder how many others would feel that too. I am dedicated to Jesus & devout in my faith. I am also human & flawed. But, Dr. Wilkinson believes you can’t be in between. There are too many unique circumstances & extenuating circumstances in life.
Furthermore, confusion mounted when Dr. Wilkinson states the impact that God-fearing parents have on their children then promptly dismisses how David produced a child such as Solomon who backslid. If we follow his concise guidelines, then Stage 1 parents produce Stage 1 children. But, David didn’t. What went wrong? How can we not replicate King David’s parental boo boos? I would have appreciated a chapter on that. I just don’t see how certain Christians I know could be considered compromisers or Stage 2’s by these standards. They’ve just had a really rough go in life. It strikes me as simply unfair.
I’m not sure what ‘it’ was that I was looking for from this book. But ‘it’ wasn’t there. If I’m to learn & incorporate principles from a book, then I need tools I can understand & work with. Ultimately, I came out confused & baffled at his numbers game.
When it’s all said & done, ‘Experiencing Spiritual Breakthroughs’ equals 3 of 5 stars for having our Christian interests at heart, but teaching us little.
I received 1 eBook to facilitate the review. No other compensation was provided. To find more info on this book, visit the publisher’s website www.waterbrookmultnomah.com
