Customer Reviews

Experiencing God (Member Book): Knowing and Doing the Will of God

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This is a very good resource for Christians who want to become more open to experiencing God in their lives. The authors are Southern Baptists; they emphasize the importance of the role of the Holy Spirit in aligning Christians' lives with God's purposes while maintaining a strong respect for Biblical principle and example.

The workbook is organized as a series of 12 weekly units with 5 daily lessons each week. The workbook assumes that participants in a study or homegroup session will review the daily lessons and come together once a week to discuss the lessons. The workbook presentation method tends strongly to the formulaic or pedantic and tends to get a bit repetitive. Nonetheless, working through the material with prayer and thoughtfullness and then coming together for weekly discussions brings together the powerful dynamics of personal study and prayer with group support. The workbook is based on Bible principles and examples (Old and New Testament) and other examples from the authors. The workbook makes the important point that in order to experience God we need to give him permission to disrupt our plans and our lives. This is clearly an important point for anyone who wants to be more than a "Sunday only" Christian. This point and others led to several wonderful discussions in our weekly group.

When Max DePree was the chairman and CEO of Herman Miller, Inc., he wrote, "Our companies can never be anything we do not want ourselves to be." Bill Hybels at Willow Creek Community Church looks for the "Three Cs" when selecting team members: character, competence and chemistry. So...how important is a team member's character and spiritual journey to you?

Your team just added another year to your rolling three-year strategic plan. You've got your bells and your whistles in order. You've read books on innovation and strategy. Your consultant added value and he just paid for his European vacation. But...did you hear from God? Are your team members walking with God (character, integrity, spiritual insight)--or going through the motions?

"Knowing God does not come through a program or a method. It is a relationship with a Person," writes Blackaby. "It is an intimate love relationship with God. Through this relationship, God reveals His will and invites you to join Him where He is already at work."

Designed as a 12-week workbook, with five short studies each day, the book will work as a staff meeting focal point or as a personal study. Much like The Prayer of Jabez and The Purpose-Driven Life, God has blessed the impact of Experiencing God beyond all human expectations. If your team members have never experienced this spiritual gem, mentor them with this niche book.

Why a workbook? Blackaby adds, "When God speaks, it is important to write it down."

My church is conducting a bible study with this manual. It is very well written and easily understood. I grew up in the church and Christian school, and was a Christian all my life. This study, however, brings a fresh and exciting prospective to our group and myself, individually. The first couple of chapters really made me re-adjust my way of viewing and seeking God's will for my life. The subjects are broken down so well, and contain a guide for seeking God's will that you may not be able to hear in church (at least in such detail). I love it, and highly recommend it to any Bible study group. It is a life changing experience.

While the content of this updated member book is basically the same, the organization is much improved. The Scripture memory cards are perforated on card stock now near the back, so that each student only has to detach the verse for each week. The unit review questions are also included in the book, eliminating the need for distributing copies to each individual. The layout and artwork is more easier to read and more appealing.

If you have the choice between the original member book and this one, choose this one. Just make sure you have the leader guide and video segments that are also updated so everything fits together.

20+ printings pretty much validates the importance of this workbook. As essential in 2008 as it was when first published. If you Christian leaders out there are not using this as a basic teaching tool, you have missed the boat and have done a disservice to your life groups. The first 11 Units are pretty much intact; the 12th Unit is a rewrite with more focus on spouse and family. But get your hands on the original Unit 12 and include that material as well. It's that important. Suggestion: take your time with this workbook. We took over a year to complete it, meeting weekly. Warning: the sweetness of Henry Blackaby's writing will make you weep.

If you are looking for a book that will bring you closer on your walk with God, this is it. I've done a plethora of Bible studies, each claiming that it is the answer to all of your questions and that it can fix your life. This one lives up to the claims that it doesn't make! It is written simply and straightforward, which puts it high on my list. This book, if done the way the authors intended and if you are truly trying to get closer in your walk, can open your eyes to what God wanted you and I to experience with Him.

I am doing this study on my own and it has already transformed my life. It takes you back to the basics but in a new, fresh way, that challenges the heart and mind to "get it". I have found myself sharing the principles with other people all through the week. As I have begun to apply these basic principles in a new light - God has been able to transform my life through this daily study. I highly recommend it for personal or group study.

I bought only the workbook (not the book) in 1999. In 2001 I bought another copy to do the study again. In 2007 I went through it once more, using notebook paper for my answers. I finished in January 2008. It has been enjoyable, and helpful. Each time I go through I take about 9 months to finish so it becomes somewhat of a journal of my life in that time period. It is also interesting to check the previous 2 workbooks to see what I was thinking and how I was responding.

Your reaction to this book will depend on how you like its teaching style and how much you buy into some of Blackaby's beliefs. I found the teaching style very irritating and annoying. There are many places where it presents the three principles of xyz or the four steps of abc. Then, a paragraph or two later, or a page or two later, it will require you to fill in the blanks of what are the three principles of xyz. This might be repeated again for the same three principles, three or four pages later. Sometimes it will present an idea or a definition, and then ask you to present the same idea or definition in your own words. It is a very controlling teaching style that does not leave room for any departure from Blackaby's beliefs. I can see from the reviews that many readers are perfectly content with this teaching style, but I did not like it.

I didn't find myself buying into some of Blackaby's beliefs, which contributed to my irritation at the teaching style. Blackaby believes that the Holy Spirit speaks to us through the Bible, the church, circumstances, and prayer. Certainly I agree that the Holy Spirit speaks to us through the Bible and sometimes through prayer, and occasionally the church, but I am not so sure about circumstances. I hold to the infallibility of the Bible, but I believe that I am fallible in my understanding of the Bible. I don't think that the church is infallible in speaking to us. Further, Blackaby believes that we receive from the Holy Spirit very specific guidance to take specific actions. Sometimes I observe that someone thinks they have very specific guidance from the Holy Spirit, and it turns out badly, and it is doubtful that the person correctly perceived a message from God. I can't really identify a time when I have received God's message to take some specific action, like Blackaby describes.

Blackaby is a member of the Southern Baptist Convention. If you are a Southern Baptist, or share their beliefs, you will probably like Experiencing God. It is apparent that Blackaby accepts doctrines of Unlimited Atonement, Conditional Election and related doctrines which are in opposition to Reformed Theology. On page 8, he turns Romans 10:13 into "Ask God to save you, and He will." That is not what it says. It says "For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." I do not believe that salvation is initiated by us, by asking God to save us. On page 221, it says "We came to believe that if we would be faithful to witness on that campus, God would save many students." I wish he had said it differently, because God will save the elect.

The memory verse for Unit 9, Experiencing God Through Obedience, is John 14:23: Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home in him." As our Bible study group went through this lesson, we wondered whether Blackaby believes in justification by grace through faith, or if he believes in justification through a combination of grace, faith, and works.

I was part of a men's Bible study that used this book. One member observed that Blackaby's method is not repeatable and I agree in a sense. Any person, and any church, can look to the Bible for God's will, can love God, can honor Jesus as the head of the church, can try mightily to obey God. I don't know if every person, or every church, will correctly perceive what God's direction is for specific actions and successfully accomplish the things that God is telling them to do. I know, some will say I don't have enough faith, and maybe that is so. Blackaby seems to have a rare degree of perfection in his ability to perceive God's will and to obey God, and it is that degree of perfection that many people, and many churches, will not achieve.

There is a serious error on page 259. "The apostle Paul identified one of God's eternal purposes for every person: `Those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified' (Rom. 8:29-30)." This text is not about every person. If it were about every person, that would mean that every person is justified and glorified. That is called universalism - the false doctrine that every person is justified. There is a similar statement on page 261. "God launched His great work to bring salvation to all humanity..." I asked my pastor about this, and he assured me that Blackaby does not believe in universalism, so it must have just been carelessness that allowed this to be in the book.

While there are plenty of good reviews on this book here at Amazon; I wanted to add another glowing report. I've read a fair amount of Christian literature. I try to be selective but was getting bored w/ the books. However I found Experiencing God truly encouraging. The Blackabys & King provide one of the core Christian life principles and they do so in a clear fashion. Basically it is: rather than telling God what you will do for Him, see what He is doing around you and join His work, trusting Him for the results. After all, if you're saved, it is because you have put God/Jesus first; you live to serve Him/Them. Its similar in a way to how Old Testament winners lived. It goes back to what James was warning in his letter, 'You show me your faith (grace), and I will show you my works.'

I've seen this principle throughout the Bible, but it is coherently presented in this book. There are many examples of how it has worked in the Blackabys' ministries. (I've also seen it work in my life.) And there are many Scripture references to back up the concept (contrary to what one negative reviewer stated). I hope to go back and collect all the Scripture they provide together as a one subject 'book' from God as a type of devotional.

If you only read one Christian book, it should be the Bible. But if you read more, this book should be one of the first. Some of the popular, more recent books share some form of this principle. But to me this is the best presentation.