[rating:4.0]
( Birmingham, AL: New Hope Publishers, 2012)
237 pgs
Norman Blackaby and Gene Wilkes are experienced Bible teachers. Norman is a professor at Dallas Baptist University and Gene Wilkes is the pastor of Legacy Church in Texas. Norman has previously written several books including: Experiencing Prayer with Jesus and Called and Accountable. Wilkes has also been prolific, writing books such as Jesus on Leadership.
In their book, the authors address a critical issue both for leaders as well as Christians in general: character. They note that even secular media has recognized the crucial need for character in leaders. Blackaby and Wilkes note that for Christians, character is more than just a collection of admirable qualities. Rather, “character is defined by the quality of our intimate fellowship with God” (19). It is also seen as “an ongoing process of relating to our Lord, walking with Him and honoring Him in our daily lives” (19).
The book is divided into three sections. Part One discusses “How God Develops Character. Part Two examines the difference character makes. The final concluding chapters offer a challenge to the reader to allow God to work on their character so they experience the maximum usefulness to God.
These are good Bible teachers and they use their skills to great advantage. In the first section, the authors conduct biblical case studies of Moses, Joshua, Nicodemus, Jonah, Mary, John Mark, Jesus’s disciples, and Mary and Martha to see how God developed peoples’ character. In part two, the authors look at the servant girl and Naaman, Hannah, Joseph (Jesus’ earthly father), Barnabas, Stephen, Paul and Timothy, Philemon, and Ruth.
I found this study refreshing. While the issue of character is certainly a basic one, it often goes assumed without carefully addressing it in detail. When it is written about, the discussion is generally driven from a psychological perspective rather than from solid Bible study. These men have taught the Bible for years, and it shows. They offer numerous “nuggets” of insight into the Bible characters they examine. For anyone who teaches the Bible or who is studying leadership, I think you’ll find this book stimulating to your thinking.
I generally thought the biblical presentation was very solid. There are only one or two places I might have worded things slightly differently. For example, the authors suggest that asking God questions is a part authentic faith (83). I wholeheartedly agree. But Moses is cited as an example (Ex. 3-4). However, the text seems to indicate that Moses’ questions were driven as much by reluctance to embrace God’s assignment as it was by his desire to know God’s mind on the matter. God eventually became angry with Moses (Ex. 4:14), which doesn’t indicate God appreciated Moses’ line of questions! This book does not have many extra-biblical illustrations. However, I found this to generally be a plus. It invites you to do in-depth Bible study on an important subject, and so too many illustrations not drawn from Scripture might have been distracting.
Overall I enjoyed this book and believe it makes a good contribution to the field of discipleship.
by Richard Blackaby