Customer Reviews

Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God : Youth Edition

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Experiencing God totally transformed the way I thought about God, how He communicates to us and uses us, and how I need to respond to Him. I first went through this book in high school, and I am now about to go through it again with a friend who needs spiritual growth. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is serious about growing closer to God and living for Him. It does take some time to do the daily study, but it is extremely well worth it. God will reveal Himself and His ways through this study, and you will be able to know Him and to understand his purposes. This is one of the best studies I've ever done, definitely a milestone in my walk with God. And it is simple enough for anyone to understand, yet it presents spiritual truths that will challenge you.

I have done the adult version of Experiencing three times in my life. This time I am going through this version with my two children (ages 12 and 15). It is a wonderful way to get your teens to know how to relate to God, how to recognize and hear His voice, and how to join Him in His work instead of co-opting Him to join them in theirs.

I did a full study of the workbook for a youth discipleship class, and all I can say is I would most highly recommend it for individuals wanting to get closer to God, as well as for youth discipleship groups. It's easy reading, with cool illustrations, it's challenging and relevant to today's youth focuses...

This book is great! Experiencing God Youth Workbook is an interactive book, with many things to fill in, verses to read and memorize, and thoughts to ponder. It's made for you to work through a unit (about 5 lessons) in a week, and then discuss that unit with a small group, but is also good for individual study alone. This book really helped me grow closer to God!

I've used this study for several years with different students. I was just looking to buy several copies for our student ministry, but I noticed that it wasn't given a five star rating by every reviewer. So I'll add what should have been assumed about Blackaby's study.

His study is based on the assumption that you desire to build a conservative Christian worldview. Blackaby holds to an inerrant view of the Bible. He assumes that you accept that the Bible is still relevant for today, and that you'd like to build your theology based on what the Author (God speaking through the writers of the Bible) originally intended instead of what current critics would like to pick at and tell you not to worry about. That's a tough thing to do. It's far tougher today in the world students face than it was even a decade ago. That's displayed exceedingly well by the more liberal view documented in a negative review here.

So if you believe that the Word of God is true and still relevant for today, this study is for you (assuming you're a student, of course!). If you've been slammed by all of the varying voices out there that wage war for your heart and allegiance, this study is for you. If you'd like to follow hard after Christ like He calls you to, this study is for you. Jump on it. Drink it in deeply. Let God's Word and the Holy Spirit guide you in your faith walk instead of following after the voices that threaten to lead you into hopelessness! (One of those voices being the view that God doesn't have a call on your life!) Heh...

I have used this workbook twice, once with the youth staff at my church, and once with a high school guys' small group. I am convinced it is the best study book I have ever used. This book will transform how you view your relationship with God and bring you closer to Him.

9 teens and I (59 years old man) are using this workbook as part of our discipleship experience. I supplement the discipleship with daily devotional time sharing. Our pace is way slower than the book suggests. One day's work is a week for our group. I highly recommend this workbook for discipleship.

This is a great resource for personal growth in your Christian life. Not just as information, but as experience. A great workbook.

While many Christians today will be surprised to hear this, the very idea that God has a personal will for your life separate from His Sovereign or His Moral will is not uncontested. Blackaby simply assumes that his readers already agree with this view without giving any evidence for it (nor even bothering to state it). This assumption has gone unnoticed by most Christians, for this view of God's will is prevalent among evangelical churches. But the fact is that the idea of God having an individual will for every believer that can be known in advance may not be true. Blackaby's further assumptions (such as God's means of communication) are themselves based on this questionable premise. This opens the door for questioning not only Blackaby's methodology, but the most fundamental aspect of his teaching.

Further, "Experienceing God" promotes a dangerous view of God's methods (does God speak today like He spoke then? And to whom?); a dangerous view of the Christian Life (does the Bible always portray the believer's life like Moses' or Abraham's?); a dangerous view of Scripture (are only parts of the Bible God's word for us?); and a dangerous view of Christ - (did Christ have crisis of faith or make major adjustments for the Father?). These are all expanded upon here:
[..]
In light of the very questionable and unsupported assumptions Blackaby relies on for his whole system, the objectively false philosophy he espouses, the confusing and sometimes contradictory methodology he supports, the dangerous consequences that many of his principles could lead to, and the impossibly subjective and circular means of verification that the system is tested by, it is my conclusion that Experiencing God should not be taught as a means for discovering God's will today (although it would be useful as a resource for learning how God spoke to unique men and women in Biblical times in order that they might fulfill their truly "God sized" assignments).

The New Testament does not teach that Christians must try to figure out where God is at work around them so that they can join Him. We already know God's will for us in this regard, we already have our "marching orders":

* Preach the gospel (2 Timothy 4:2)
* Defend the faith (1 Peter 3:15)
* Disciple the nations ( Matthew 28:19-20)

God is at work wherever we are - what are we waiting for?