Spark – Transform Your World, One Small Risk at a Time

 

I really did not care for this book at all. First off, the author claims to be Christian and seems to know scripture well but takes scripture then attempts to interpret it in a whole new way. I realize that God’s Word can give us different comforts and insights at various times or seasons in our lives but we are not given the freedom to create something new of it. Gospel is Gospel no matter how you try to twist it. If you try to twist it, it’s twisted!

For example, the back cover states, “Partner with God and others to accomplish something beautiful that serves humanity.” Now, true followers of the Lord know that we don’t partner with God and we certainly do not aim to serve humanity. We are followers and believers and doers of God’s Word, we are in no way equal to be partners with Him. We also do not strive to serve humanity in anyway. We are to love our neighbors but our ultimate goal is to serve God, not people. Galations instructs us of that very clearly (Gal 10:1 if you care to open truth and see for yourself).

In this 16 chapter book, even though it’s a quick read, it still took until the 15^th chapter to finally give a pep talk to the readers. However, in the first 14 chapters, the author makes long, drawn out attempts to take scripture and put new meaning into it by giving examples of his own ideas of what it means and how the rest of us seem to have not fully grasped what God has been instructing us for the past 2000+ years. After these useless ideas of self-empowerment, it’s not until the very last chapter that readers are given an actual ‘how-to’ idea of applying his concepts in their lives.

Christianity and most other religions that serve the living Almighty Father, God all include in their basic of basics in theology that we are to die to ourselves and serve Him. We are not to be self-empowering, self-elevating and motivating others to use God as a backup system rather than our main source of comfort, guidance and submitting to His will and not our own. Jaggard writes of God being narcissistic, like a rock star diva and those of us who truly follow Him to have no choices or power in our own lives. I feel that a true lover of God wouldn’t go anywhere near this ideology and certainly would not be teaching it to others.  

I’m a little saddened that I feel the author put many hours of hard work into this book that will do nothing for its believers except draw them into a world of self-centeredness without the total comfort and peace God has to offer us when we allow Him to show us the way instead of taking the reigns ourselves and fighting where I true destiny lies. God is soveREIGN because He and He alone reigns. I do not recommend this book to anybody whose heart is to serve the Lord.

This book was a free gift in exchange for my honest opinion of it provided by Waterbrook/Multnomah Publishing Group.