Hey friends! Long time no see 🙂 This book review is long overdue, so I’m excited to finally be bringing this to you! I’ve been having WordPress issues relating to not being “allowed to edit this post” so I’m having to write this on my phone (thus the shortness and any formatting issues)…if any of you guys have experienced this, your advice would be much appreciated! (Also, on the topic of technical issues, I’m unable right now to make a cover image so we’re gonna go without one this time)
Anywho, as this gets fixed, I should be able to post a bit more, hopefully catching up on another couple book reviews I’m supposed to do, as well as a recap of my graduation (which was over five months ago now) and my grad trip to Branson with friends (now four months ago). I’m excited to share those things with you guys and maybe share some recent happenings too in upcoming posts! Let’s get started on this post before I get too carried away though 😆
Introduction
One Small Step by the Dream Center’s founder, Matthew Barnett, is an incredibly inspiring book that will spur you to look at your life and live in a way that changes lives, one small step at a time, just as the title suggests. Let’s dive in!
(Also, thanks to the folks at Chosen Books for providing this book for free in exchange for a review!)
The Things I Liked
- This book definitely inspired me to do small things with the heart of a world-changer to bring the love of Christ to more and more people.
- I liked the emphasis on consistency as opposed to grandeur. God can definitely be glorified through our actions and words when we turn them over to Him, even if they look small.
- This guy walks what he talks in this book, and I can appreciate that from an author.
- Stories and examples bring a nonfiction Christian teaching book to life for me and this book has lots!
- Matthew Barnett writes in a relatable, understandable way.
The Things I Didn’t Like
- There’s less of an emphasis throughout this book on evangelism or on sharing the Gospel with people to whom you were kind, and I definitely think that element could have been included a bit more than it was. I totally support helping people and being kind–sometimes we are the only Bible people will read, and our actions and kind words can determine how people view faith or show them they are loved. But, truthfully, how will they come to Christ if we never tell them why we did the things we did?
- At one point, and this is by no means a major issue throughout the book, Mr. Barnett makes reference to his opinion that Jesus had some sort of status on earth and that His earthly brothers could’ve used His status to promote themselves but chose not to. While I get what he’s getting at here, it’s simply not true, in my opinion, that Jesus’ friends and family could’ve reaped some extra temporal benefits because of Who Jesus was and is.
Note to Parents
Okay, so there’s not much that is even worth including in this section as inappropriate for kids to read. At the moment, the only things I can think of that might be questionable for very young kids are the nature of the Dream Center’s ministry, which includes drug rehab and rescuing people off the street. There are not super detailed stories of these, however, so I’m not thinking of really anything that could be negative for your child to read. If you’re in doubt as to whether this book is appropriate for your young child, I would recommend pre-reading it and seeing what conclusion you come to in prayer.
Summary
This book is definitely edifying and a good read and God will use it to change the way you live if you let Him!
Feedback!
Have you heard of the Dream Center? What’s your favorite book? Do you have any questions about this book? Drop a comment down below!
Elle's Everyday 