Friday, May 25, 2012

Dug Down Deep

Dug Down Deep is a highly touted book by author and pastor Joshua Harris. I expected big things after all the hype - and after reading the work of his twin brothers (Do Hard Things). I'll give you a walk through of my feelings toward this book.

The first part was excellent. Harris describes his youth in a traditional Christian church and household. His experiences resonated with me. The idea of a consumer-focused youth ministry, centered around making Bible learning "fun" and "cool" is something I can completely relate to - and something that grew more and more distasteful to me as I got older.

He got to a point where his soul started longing for a true, deep connection with God, and that's where the "dug down deep" comes into play. He set out on a journey toward an orthodox theology, striving to deeply understand the Bible and know God. Up to this point, he had me completely.

From there on though, Harris goes into explaining doctrine. As meaningful as the first part of the book was, the second part was dry and rehashed material. I nearly quit half way through.

I still give this book four stars for the first half. The second part will likely be helpful to many as well. Perhaps I've just read much of the same, so was a little disappointed that the book went in that direction.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah through Blogging for Books - their book review program. I wasn't required to post a positive review. These are my own opinions on this book.