In short, I was disappointed. Moore would have never survived the outstanding gauntlet of scholarly review from the professors with whom he is employed (Liberty University). I shudder to think what Dr. Daniel Mitchell or Dr. Fred Smith would do with this book if it were presented for scholarly peer review. To be fair, it is somewhat experiential and testimonial, and therefore subjective; however, I am not sure his testimonies are really "qualified" to be considered as such. He cites trips he took on mission; visiting overseas, and speaking to people who saw horrible atrocities. Yet these experiences do not portray a man who has seen evil, rather someone who heard a story (albeit vivid) about it. Testimonials elevated to a bound and published book ought to have the credentials of firsthand experience rather than a STORY of a firsthand experience. His willingness to go on mission trips is commendable, but his mission trips are not the work of a missionary who has endured the horrors and difficulties of starvation, war, abuse, discrimination, etc.
Also, Moore's handling of Scripture is rather reckless at times. For example, he speaks about ensuring we feed our spiritual life so that we do not starve, citing Matthew 4:4 (74); however, this verse deals with Jesus' teaching about reliance on the whole Word of God, not just select aspects of it to fill (or distort) your need for the moment. The very verse deals with Satan distorting Scripture to fool and tempt Jesus. Ironically, Moore violates the very point Jesus tries to make in citing this verse this way! On page 88, he encourages believers to pray, and that is commendable; however, he suggests "...for a few minutes." Really? Perhaps for one who has totally turned from God, a few minutes would be reason to applaud, but for a believer who "gets it," perhaps a few HOURS might be a better goal. Moore boldly declares, "My testimony confirms what one man said: 'God never puts more on us than he puts in us'" (110), but Scripture clearly shows us God will indeed place more on our shoulders than we can handle - The purpose for this is to break us; to draw us closer to Him because we cannot do it ourselves. When we abide in Him, He alone brings us through the impossible times; and that is the point. Also, "his testimony" which encompasses his run from and subsequent return to God due to his parents divorcing, and his finite mission trips, are hardly commensurate with the testimonies that are manifest from both missionaries in the field, pastors leading churches, or the apostles in Scripture who died horrific deaths enduring real hardships. Enduring cancer, watching a fellow soldier's or police officer's life be ripped away, seeing one's son or daughter killed, suffering Third World prison for professing Jesus are examples perhaps more in line with the kind of hardship testimonies which might fill a book of examples. It is not to say we all cannot have hardships, and weighed against our own life experiences, they may be very significant, but Moore's experiences and the testimonies that manifest from them do not rise to the level of publication.
I am a huge proponent of evangelism; and Moore does well to encourage this. But he goes too far when he says, "...the only thing Jesus asked us to do on his behalf--simply to tell other people about him. This is the mission, the only mission, he has assigned to us" (130). But Jesus tells us to give everything to Him; to serve the poor and the sick, and through these acts of love, we will naturally tell others about Him through our witness (Matt 25:35-40, 19:21; Luke 12:33, 18:22). Merely talking to others is a lukewarm application of God's command and can only lead to a shallow Christian life or being deluded into thinking one is saved. Moore also suggests that Apostle Paul encouraged us to work hard and consistently by citing 1 Cor 10:31, but Paul was saying something quite different. Paul was declaring that everything we do should be with the intent to glorify God - not work hard for the hope that it might produce something good down the line. The whole point was that if we are not constantly in the pursuit of glorifying God, we are glorifying ourselves, and if we are doing that, we are worshiping false gods (idols). Paul amplifies this in 10:13-14.
While I appreciate Moore's zeal, he portrays a symptom of precisely what he sets out to correct - a shallow witness predicated by faulty exegesis and unremarkable experience as a Christian leader. There are so many Christian witnesses out there suffering every day who read by a candle light, suffer poor medical conditions, give up all their money, time, and possessions they have just to serve God. These men and women should write a book like this. I pray for Mr. Moore and that he grow into the godly man of whom he aspires. For now, perhaps Moore should spend his time on the journey before trying to write about it.
