Book Review – Unstuck by Arnie Cole & Michael Ross
When I learned that Arnie Cole and Michael Ross from Back To The Bible had teamed up to write a book designed to help Christians who were feeling stuck spiritually thrive and revitalize their relationship with God, I was excited. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t wait to read Unstuck: Your Life. God’s Design. Real Change. After all, I have definitely encountered some desert moments in my faith journey. So have most of the believers I know.
So, it was with great anticipation that I begun this book.
Now, I have a lot of respect for the authors and their ministry, so I wanted to like this book. I believe it contains a lot of relevant research on the state of the church today. But, as far as its stated purpose – which is to help to get believers unstuck in their faith – the book did not live up to my expectations.
I don’t think Unstuck is a bad book – but it is a dry one. To use a Star Trek analogy, it’s too much Spock and not enough Kirk. It’s written for people in need of a heartfelt, emotional and spiritual connection with God – but the facts, formulas and statistics that make up the majority of this book will do nothing in and of themselves to move or change a stuck person’s heart.
The book is written in three parts plus two appendices:
- Part One, Why We Stall Out, identifies the issues why Christ-followers stagnate and why the Bible is essential to their growth.
- Part Two, The Powered By Four Solution, teaches how you can use the Powered by Four Solution to nurture your spiritual growth.
- Part Three, Engage, Untangle, Grow, helps you to plot your own course towards a spiritual breakthrough. This is where the emphasis should have been placed… but there are only 63 pages out of 265 dedicated to this section. In my opinion, the book would have been strengthened if more emphasis were focused here.
Overall, I would rate this book 3 out of 5 stars. I would not recommend it to someone who was stuck in their faith, except, perhaps, someone who has never been engaged in a bible reading program as it did not move me personally… but I would recommend it to pastors, teachers, and ministry leaders for the research that it contains.
Unstuck – Book Trailer
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More Great Resources
If this book interests you, here’s a few more great books you may enjoy:
- A Year With God by R. P. Nettlehorst
- Deeper Into The Word by Keri Wyatt Kent
- Stuck by Jennie Allen
For more great books, visit Create With Joy – Book Reviews!
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Disclosure Of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers for review purposes. I was not compensated for this review, nor was I required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
Excellent review… thank you!
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
Thanks Wendy for your feedback – have an extraordinary day! 🙂
Twitter: selfsagacity
says:
My spiritual life is definitely getting better. I also believe that sometimes we need a little motivation and push. I agree that having a great spiritual life is being involved in God’s work – reach out and help someone, and that is how we all should live.
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
Awesome insight, Amanda… I agree that when we focus on others, it helps get us out of our own heads!
I think it’s natural to have peaks and valleys in our spiritual lives.
The trick is not to stay in the valley!
Hope your week is full of blessings! 🙂
Thanks for being honest about this book…the title intrigued me and I would have been disappointed and discouraged from the statistics…what about the reading plan was inspiring to you? I struggle with finding a reading plan that motivates me. kelrohlf@gmail.com
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
Hi Kel,
That is a great question!
The book does not contain a traditional bible reading plan… but it does contain 45 days of Spiritual Stepping Stones which contain one passage of Scripture for you to read and reflect on, and a question for you to think about / discuss / journal (depending on your bent!)
Here is an example:
Day 8: Hosea 6:1-3
What must I do to return to the Lord and begin to acknowledge Him again?
The thing that I like about the Stepping Stones is that it takes a bite-sized piece of scripture (which is probably all that a “stuck” person can handle) – encourages you to reflect upon it – and asks some really relevant questions about your spiritual life. It’s personal – and I think that’s important. Our faith is about our relationship with God… and that portion of the book will help you to interact with God in a way that is relevant to your spiritual life.
They have a site called Go Tandem (gotandem.com) where you can find more info!
Thanks for the help…
I came from Cym Lowell‘s Book Review Party Wednesday (BRPW).
I just want to leave a comment to let you know that I dropped by *and waves* …Unfortunately I also avoid “god books” with a single-minded determination *sorry!*….
Cherry Mischievous
http://www.cherrymischievous.com
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
Thanks for dropping by Cherry! I know we review different genres so I always appreciate it when you take the time to stop by and check out my latest review!
Have a wonderful weekend! 🙂
Thank you for sharing this honest review. Thank you for sharing it with us on Spiritual Sundays.
Blessings,
Charlotte
This is not something I would normally read but it sounds interesting. Thanks for the review!