Customer Reviews

The Pressure's Off Workbook

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Last year, Wild at Heart won the honors as the book that impacted me the most. This year, it is The Pressure's Off from Larry Crabb. And it has made an impact on me five times the amount that Eldredge's book has. That's really saying something.

This book was very convicting for me from the get go. I believe that this book has a strong effect on me because of circumstances in my life right now. As I read this book, I felt so transparent as to look at my life and realize that I truly have been seeking God's blessings more than God's presence. By doing this, Crabb says that we are really aiming for far less than God can give us.

A lot of what Larry mentions in the book is similar to what is found in John Piper's books. Our chief end on this earth is to delight in God and enjoy him. Sure, I understood that when I read Piper, but this book seems to put it in more applicable terms for me. That was one good thing about the book, that Crabb showed us his vulnerability and shortcomings through various examples in his life.

I won't go more into the book because I could go on for hours. You can read the description. It really made a lasting impact on me. I can't wait to read it again. For those of you who truly look at yourselves (like I did when reading this book), you will probably get something from the book. For who of us doesn't at some time or another put a comfortable life ahead of the presence of God? And deep down, we know that the things on earth do not satisfy, but we buy into it. This book can seriously make you question what you are living for.

No author from the last 50 years has ever impacted me as Larry Crabb has. He has been my "literary mentor" since my days in college, and it has been a marvelous ride to watch his viewpoints and convictions about the human condition evolve and mature as time goes by. I've read everything he's written (balanced against other Christian authors in his field and even his critics), and I'm still impressed with his authenticity, candor and ruthless committment to his path to Christ in the face of often rigorous criticism.

"The Pressure's Off" has to be the most insightful book I've picked up in years. A piece of literary prose, it's not. Those who are not long-time readers of Crabb can quickly become disenchanted with his personable, oft-repeating style of writing. I think Crabb has taken into account that the average reader needs a concept reinforced OFTEN before it becomes understandable and concrete in his/her thinking.

I don't think Dr. Crabb intended his work to be a step-by-step practical manual to reach a point where the "pressure's off", as some readers seem to have been expecting. Another reviewer criticized his supposed shortfall of Scriptural usage; when I meet with an old friend whom I'm aware has known Christ intimately for years, I don't expect him to be spouting Scripture in every sentence he says to me to prove spirituality, but I hear Christ in almost every word because I know where he's come from. That's Dr. Crabb to me: I'm aware of where he's come from, he's an old "literary friend" in Christ to me, and I hear Christ solidly proclaimed in every word he wrote in all of his works, and this book in particular.

This book is philosophical, not necessarily "practical." Philosophy comes before practicum and methods in most courses of learning. Many can't (or won't) be patient enough to endure this path toward maturity. I'm still learning. But I'm better off having taken a new path at this fork in my maturity path by realizing the "pressure's off" and I can live a NEW WAY! Thanks again, Dr. Crabb. I'm looking forward to your next book with great enthusiasm.!!!!

The text is not choc full of theology, nor is it scholarly. It's appeal is the ability to relate to the average middle class American. It reads like a USA Today newspaper, quick, short chapters and sentences, and clever phrasing. Dr. Crabb is even quite candid regarding his writing style ("Even biblical discussion of this New Way, what you've read so far in this book, can seem like cotton-candy theology.")
Yet, Dr. Crabb's honesty about his own personal struggles and conflicts in following Christ make this book worth reading. Eventhough a majority of the text seems to read like it was tailored for the "market" his candidness and openness shines through and challenges us to think about where we are and what we expect from our Christian lives. The overall thesis of the work resembles Paul's epistle to the Galatians. Dr. Crabb does not fear exposing the falicies of wanting God's blessings and not God and how that leads Christians into linear thinking (if I do "A" God will do "B" for me). He exposes the subtle legalism which can hinder, quench and frustrate the life of a believer. The text has confronted me with the reality of spiritual pragmatism in my own life, doing what is most effective to gain our middle-class creature comforts, using a variety of methods to extract blessings from God instead of seeking intimacy with God. Dr. Crabb proposes we've fallen short in understanding how we have been created to enjoy God through intimacy with Christ Jesus (Phil 3:10). Rather than enjoy God through Christ, Crabb says, we've fallen into the trap of believing we deserve God's blessings and thus we strive, struggle and seek out methods and devices for obtaining blessings from Christ and not Christ Himself and all His holiness. The book falls short of perfection, of course, but I am certain Dr. Crabb knows that and wouldn't want it any other way. I fall short of perfection, too, in everything I do. Where we are weak Christ is strong. Here's to the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a good book for confronting the state of our cultural religious piety, and an excellent discussion book for aiding us in returning to the Lord who loves us much more than we can imagine.

Oh no, not another self-help book. That was my initial fear when picking up this book - subtitled "there's a new way to live." I expected a 7 or 10 step plan to follow to get my life on track. The sort of plan that you can follow for a few days, maybe, and then you give up. Until you buy the next self-help book. The American obsession with self-help books is pretty incomprehensible to a lot of Brits!

But I was completely wrong - this is the exact opposite. In fact, the first third of this book is describing why this emphasis within the Christian life is wrong and, ultimately, unworkable. Larry Crabb's central theme is that we have all become far too reliant on the "if I do A, then God will do B for me" mindset. We think that if we tithe God will bless us; if we try really hard to be excellent parents our children will grow up godly Christians; if we spend 20 minutes on our quiet time every morning we will become more spiritual. The pressure to live up to a standard is overwhelming, and if we ever fail then we blame ourselves for the consequences; equally if our life doesn't work out right we assume we've not prayed hard enough or done something else correctly. And our motivations here are entirely suspect - we're doing something for our own benefit, to make our lives better, to make people respect us; we are not doing it out of love for God and a desire to come nearer to him on his own terms.

However, this is the "Old Way", the Old Testament mindset. Jesus came to sweep that away as it wasn't working. We can never be good enough, never get everything right; Jesus' new way is different - Hebrew 7:19 "a better hope is introduced by which we draw near to God." Becoming closer to God isn't about fulfilling a list of requirements, it's about coming to his fresh and with the understanding that we can't do anything to earn this nearness.

This book is very well written. Like most Christian books I have read recently there is considerable repetition of the central points (to drum them into our over-busy brains, no doubt) but the central point is so different from so many other books that it was worth the drumming!

There's an initial 6-page parable which I found rather odd and didn't add anything to the book for me, but once I started reading the main text I was hooked. I found myself agreeing with so much of what Larry Crabb said, and his examples were regularly taken from himself and his own life, warts and all, which gave it an immediacy and sense of truth that was refreshing. My only disappointment was the section on how to live the new life was harder to grasp - probably because it wasn't a 10-step plan of what to do, quite the reverse. But as a glimpse into a way of drawing closer to God without the baggage of our own performance it was a fascinating and helpful read.

Upon reading some of the other reviews, it seems that some may still be looking for the solution, to reach a goal (as Crabb puts it "we want to believe there's an {A} we can do that will lead to the {B} we want). You're saying "OK, OK, doc, how do I DO IT?" That is Crabbs point that so many, including myself, need to hear repeatedly,,,there are no formulas, ONLY JESUS!! It's not "go to HIm (A) to find out what you must do to make life work (B)". Crabbs desire is that we will want HIM more than we want life to work. We are given the ultimate blessing which is the grace he offers us: we have the precious treasure of simply being in his presence. "He offers us relationship in suffereing so that we learn to value intimacy over blessing." (quotes from book) This book was a wonderful encouragement to me that I intend to read again. May you continue to seek only Christ himself...Nothing more FROM Him and nothing LESS than HIM.

This book has changed my view of what my experience in this world is "supposed" to be like as a Christian. When I first became a Christian all I was concerned about was my relationship with God and wanting everyone He had created to know Him also. Over the years, I have found myself more concerned about the blessings of God in this life which had created enormous pressure. The Pressure's Off helped me to see this and get my focus back in order. Once I quit looking for the blessings that God was going to give me and just began loving God again for what he has already done, I have been able to experience the peace and joy of God's relationship with me once again.

In “The Pressure’s Off” the author initiates a discussion that may be overdue. Perhaps some may not want to “hear” (or read, as the case may be), the author’s view on the state of Christianity (i.e. church) in the “west”. I suspect that perhaps some may react with similar attitudes as Jesus himself encountered when He made similiar stinging remarks about the “religious system” of that day. In the least I would undertand why this book might make some preachers feel "uncomfortable".

It is refreshing to read a book that reveals so much truth in helping people make sense of the reality they see in the world today. Years ago a Bible professor (whose spouse had been martyred on the mission field), shared that “’blessings’ do not conform us to the image of Christ, only trials and testings help us to become more Christ-like." For it is in walking with Christ to Golgotha that we enter the fellowship of His suffering, death and the victory and freedom of the resurrection. Entering this fellowship will result in finding the freedom from the power of the Old Way and the power of death itself. Over the years, I have appreciated these pearls of wisdom for my spiritual journey. I trust that this book will free many that have struggled with God (in trying to please Him and gain His “blessing”). Truth always sets us free (John 8:32). This book helped me to appreciate God’s profound grace and mercy again in a deeper way.

Sad to say, there are some who have left the Christian faith in disillusionment, because they were taught that the “blessings” of God is the primary reason why we need to have a relationship with God. Ultimately after having walked the spiritual journey for a time, such individuals found that they just couldn't get it right in order to access those blessings and have given up.

For those newer in the Christian faith, the topics discussed could create some confusion, as I doubt many pastors would preach precisely the same perspective of the gospel as Dr. Crabb. I would hope that this book would cause those individuals to become like the Bereans (Acts 17:10-12) and examine more closely the full body of Biblical faith and doctrine. It would help new believers to become better established and firmly grounded in the Word of God and Biblical faith. A careful and prayerful read of this book will help turn eyes back to Jesus and help us all to re-examine our faith with refreshing outcomes. I recommend “The Pressure’s Off” to all who seek the presence of God and a living faith. I don't think any will be disappointed, but you may be delighted to find a new freedom you didn't know was available before.

I really love Dr. Crabb's style and transparency. His earlier book, Marriage Builder, helped saved my marriage years ago. However, in a later book, Inside Out, I was totally lost and I felt that the author was too.

Anyway, this book leaves me with the same feeling Inside Out did. The book lacks continuity and his main points- outlined by other reviewers- is continually hammered in a redundant drone. Many chapters seem to be carbon copies of earlier ones. I kept feeling like Dr. Crabb has a point to make but doesn't have the words to make it.

Sure, we are all legalists of sorts, we seek favors and favor from God and we try to persuade God that we deserve it by pushing all the right buttons. We need to passionately pursue God, not the blessings. Linearity, etc. OK. But just at the point where the book needs to pick up steam- "OK, OK, doc, how do I DO IT?" - we just get more of the same and are left wanting.

His "solutions" to the problem convince me that he is just as confused by the Christian life as I am. I wish he had applied more Scripture and had dealt with the difficult passages, but he didn't. For example, he shared how John was enraptured by the vision of Jesus in the first chapters of Revelation. OK, but he fails to mention that Jesus proceeds with the seven letters to the churches in Asia, and that in those letters he spends a lot ot time talking about their behavior! "You did this, but you didn't do that..." The Scriptural foundation of this book just seem weak, and I hate to say that. I agree that there is more to being in Christ than dos and don'ts, and I agree with his plea for passion for Him. But, after all the feelings and passion....then what? He raced to the ending, almost as if apologizing for not having more to say.

The book maybe should have been titled, "A New Way," which would have flowed more with the intent of the book. Read it and see if it does more for you than me. As in Inside Out, I just don't think we've gotten to the top of that mountain. On a positive note, Dr. Crabb writes from his heart, he has a passion for people, and he appears to be honest in his self-assessments. If only more writers and church leaders weren't such "talented egoists," to steal the good doctor's phrase.

The central theme of this book is that a Christian should give God first place in his life. Once this is the case the pressure of satisfying goals of self is off because these goals are no longer the most important aspect of one's life. The author reinforces this theme throughout the book with numerous examples of the "old way", putting self first and the "new way", putting God first. When we put God first we no longer are primarily after blessings from God, but are primarily after a close relationship with God.

To me this book was not a book just to read but a book to study.

This book will absolutely challenge you to examine the things in your life that you think you need to make your life "successful" (however you define success...), and will demonstrate the reality that our highest calling is to know, enjoy and reveal God. A refreshing and challenging look at what we pursue... even the good things, and asks us if they are what we were made for. I loved it!