[rating:1.0]
(Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, 2012)
195 pgs
Unleash! Follows something of a trend where pastors who have grown mega churches write a book. Perry Noble started Newspring Church in Anderson, SC in 2000. Today it averages over 18,000 people on seven campuses across the state. Noble speaks widely and his church and its satellites have become some of the most exciting places for young adults to worship.
Noble is unquestionably an engaging speaker, particularly for youth and young adults. However, I was not particularly impressed with this book. He has garnered an impressive list of endorsers including the likes of Andy Stanley, Rick Warren, John Maxwell, and Mark Driscoll. However, I suspect most of them endorsed this book because they were his friend and because they were impressed with how he has grown his church, more than because they thought this was a great book.
I should say that it is not necessarily a bad book. It just has a specific audience. Noble himself is a relatively new Christian. He shares candidly how he was addicted to pornography and had various sinful issues as a young man. He also is extremely honest about his struggles and growth through the years. His tone is clearly that of someone who is good at speaking to young people. It is obvious how he would be an engaging speaker to youthful audiences.
I have three primary comments on this book. First, it is a helpful book for a new believer or young adult Christian. His teaching is not deep or particularly profound. But he tells plenty of humorous stories and will keep the attention of a younger Christian reader. Some of his teaching seems a bit different, such as when he gives advice on how to know God’s will. He suggests you: 1) examine your possibilities (something an atheist does), 2) you consider your obsessions (something else an atheist does), 3) you consider your opposition (something few people do). It seems odd to suggest that considering those who oppose you is one of three ways to know God’s will! It would have seemed that, with only three points, there might have been a more helpful list.
Second, Noble can get a little on the edge. Even Andy Stanley alludes to this in his Foreword. Noble talks about passing out in the shower, passing gas, “peeing” in someone’s cornflakes, and “dropping the f-bomb.” You can certainly see evidence both that Noble is still relatively new as a Christian himself, and also that he has developed his craft speaking to youth audiences. For some readers, his plain speaking, to the point of crudeness, might be a little much.
Third, it isn’t a very “deep” book. That is fine if it is intended for a novice audience. It could serve as a helpful primer on the Christian life for young people. But for more mature Christian audiences, this probably will offer little that is new or insightful.
As I read this book I gained a new appreciation for what God had done in Nobles own life personally. It truly is phenomenal how God has used him to build such a large, dynamic church and to reach so many people for Christ. I also suspect that, should Noble continue to write, his books will gain a greater depth and breadth in the following years. For now, however, there are other authors who might have more to offer the serious Christian reader.
by Richard Blackaby