Author: Tim Challies

It has been a few years since I have had a substantial number of people reach out to ask my view on a particular author. Do you know anything about him? Have you read him? Would you consider reviewing some of his books? But after this break of a few years, it has recently begun anew with John Mark Comer. I, too, have heard his name and seen his books on the lists of bestsellers. Yet I had not read anything by him. Eventually, based on all the inquiries, I decided to buy and read his most recent title, Practicing the Way, which seems to be a kind of culmination of his earlier works. Practicing the Way John Mark Comer There is often a certain degree of sameness to Christian publishing and, sure enough, I was only a few pages in before I thought, “Oh, we’ve been here before!” About twenty years ago many popular authors were discovering or rediscovering the traditions of the mystics and monastics. As they did so, they curtailed or dismissed certain aspects of traditional Protestantism in favor of elements drawn largely from Roman Catholicism. And in many ways, this is what Comer has done for a whole new generation of readers. Practicing the Way has an understandable appeal. Comer focuses a lot of attention on some of the obvious and frustrating shortcomings of contemporary Evangelicalism. He addresses the common longing for a faith that is more substantial than what so many churches teach and more grounded in ancient practices. If…See AlsoFree Stuff FridaysA La Carte (8/27)Book Review – Fool’s Gold