I remember the first time I came across I Am Second. I was driving in Dallas when I saw a black and white billboard featuring Jason Witten, the Dallas Cowboys tight end. The words I AM SECOND were written at the bottom of the billboard.

What started as a collection of well-made videos telling stories of transformation has now reached its way into book format as well. Written by Doug Bender and Dave Sterrett, I Am Second tells the stories of both famous and unfamiliar people. Inside the book you are introduced to twenty different people who have all met Jesus and put him first in their life (hence, the title I Am Second).

The stories in the book are raw and honest. The reader is taken into the darkest and deepest moments in the individuals’ lives. No matter how thick the darkness, light bursts through and captures the hearts of each individual in the book.

There are a couple of things about the book that I enjoyed.

1. First and foremost, there is a clear gospel message at the end of the book. I was thankful for this.
2. Stories of transformation encourage me. The Gospel is the power to life change. The Cross of Christ is eternally effective. This is beautiful. Thus, I love stories of people being transferred from the “kingdom of darkness” to the “kingdom of his beloved Son”.
3. I really enjoyed the brevity of each story. Bender and Sterrett did a good job of story-telling without lingering or being too short. The testimonies are fast paced and capture your attention.
4. I also enjoyed the QR codes at the end of each story. These codes are placed beside other people whose testimonies are similar. This allows the reader to scan the code and go to the website to watch that person’s testimony online. I thought this was an excellent feature to the book.

I do have some personal concerns with the book.

1. I was disappointed with the lack of calling sin sin in the book. This is not to diminish the dark and painful stuff that people went through. However, I think our culture struggles to call sin sin. This concerns me out of preference more so than error.
2. I am also a little concerned with Jesus is first, I Am Second, everything is perfect now presentation in most of the stories (some stories speak of continual struggles). Even though Jesus is first in these people’s lives, they are not perfect, not yet anyway. God, through the Holy Spirit is sanctifying them. He is making them more holy. However, they have not arrived. Putting Jesus first does not always mean having your best life now, at least not in the American sense. Putting Jesus first does however mean having your best life forever. I don’t believe Bender and Sterrett are attempting to communicate this. However, the omission of sanctification in many stories does weigh on me a bit.

Overall, I was encouraged by this book. I value the testimonies of brothers and sisters in Christ who are justified, being sanctified, and one day will be glorified. If you enjoy stories of transformation, you will enjoy this book.

My Rating 4/5 Stars

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

At the beginning of each new year, I reflect back on my favorite books of the previous year. Sitting at the top of my list this year is Gospel Wakefulness by Jared C. Wilson (despite Wilson being a huge Patriot fan…haha).

Gospel Wakefulness is a gospel feast. In the foreword of the book, Ray Ortlund writes concerning Gospel Wakefulness, “It is the smelling salts of the gospel waved under our noses, startling us with realities in Christ more awakening in power than we have realized” (pg 9). This is a perfect description of the book.

We often wonder what makes our senses dull towards the Gospel. We fall into a spiritual laziness where we seem more asleep than awake. We run through systems and plans hoping to awaken to the realities of the Gospel. The truth is that it seems so far from us. Wilson writes to awaken us to the gospel.

On every page, Wilson is waving the gospel under our noses. With each pass, we are awakened to the deeps of the gospel. Let me be clear here. Wilson is not presenting an implied gospel with a set of rules to awaken us to the realities of Christ. After all, Wilson writes “An implied Gospel is a gospel FAIL.” (pg. 18). No, Wilson presents an explicit Gospel, page after page, which leaves us falling deeper in love Christ. This is what Gospel Wakefulness is. It is “treasuring Christ more greatly and savoring his power more sweetly” (pg 24). 

Wilson lays out the book in thirteen chapters including an introduction and conclusion. He begins the book with a helpful explanation of what exactly he means by the term Gospel Wakefulness. I appreciated this chapter because I didn’t have a clear understanding of the meaning going into the book. The remaining chapters of the book are written for us to behold Christ. It is the gospel that wakens us. Therefore, Wilson reminds us that it is only the gospel that can change us. He can’t change us, nor is he seeking to change us. However, he can teach us and present us with beautiful streams of gospel truth and that is exactly what he does.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. No other book (besides the Bible) this past year has shaped and ignited my passion and wonder for the Gospel. I do not say that lightly. One of the biggest encouragements from the book is seeing Wilson’s passion for the Gospel along with stories of people changed by the Gospel. It is hard to read this book without seeing that the Gospel really has captivated and consumed the life of Jared Wilson and others. The Gospel really does captivate us. It really is power and it really is beautiful! Gospel Wakefulness is a testament to that truth.

A Caution for the Reader

I do, however, have a caution concerning a portion of the book. As a reader, it could be easy to get the idea or left feeling that there are tiers of believers. What I mean is that believers who are not Gospel waken are second class Christians. However, I want to caution you because I believe that Wilson writes enough clarification in the book to dispel this idea. I also truly believe that this is not Wilson’s intention at all. He even writes “This is not to set up tiers of Christian sanctification, as if there is a first-class discipleship and a second-class, and so on. Every believer is united with Christ on the same foundation, with the full access and authority granted by being made joint heirs with Christ. And in the final day, no matter where we are in our Christian walks, we will all reach the same destination on the same basis” (pg. 31).

So really, I mention this to be fair to the book and to the reader of the book.

Overall, I highly recommend this book. I would encourage you to sit under Wilson’s passion and learn from a humble man who dwells in the Gospel. It will stir your affections and drive you to worship our King Jesus. I plan on reading it again in 2012.

My Rating 5/5 Stars

I received this book free from Crossway Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.