The Unusual Suspect: My Calling to the New Hardcore Movement of Faith [Hardcover]

Stephen Baldwin (Author), Mark Tabb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 19, 2006

Stephen Baldwin explains why he compares his new life of faith to jumping out of an airplane without a parachute and calls you to take the plunge.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As the youngest son of six children, at the tail end of the (in)famous Baldwin brothers acting family, Stephen Baldwin has never done anything by halves. In this exhausting autobiographical report, Baldwin depicts himself as a wild, fun-loving extremist who mended his ways after making a personal commitment to Christ a few years back. Faced with his boldness bordering on fanaticism, readers will either love or hate Baldwin's take on the Christian life. At the outset, some may cringe at his recollections at being invited to the Playboy mansion, and his former caveman mentality toward women will likely cause some ire. Yet despite the audacious talk, Baldwin pointedly admits with some measure of humility his current struggles to "live out" a genuine God-honoring faith. He discusses how his new faith has affected his family, details the life events that brought him to Christ and offers randomly presented musings on marriage, prayer, purity, divine intervention and evangelism. If Baldwin's intent is to rev up the blood pressure of Christian readers while simultaneously challenging them to more courageous, faith-guided living, the venture succeeds. But be warned: this is not a gentle chronicle but an almost spastic spiritual memoir by someone on perpetual fast-forward. (Sept. 19)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Stephen Baldwin?actor, family man, born-again Christian. Through an impressive body of work, Stephen continues to be a popular and sought-after talent in the film and television industry. Stephen makes his home in upstate New York with his wife and two young daughters.

Mark Tabb is the author of twelve books including Living with Less and Out of the Whirlwind. He and his wife, Valerie, live in Knightstown, Indiana with their three daughters.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: FaithWords; First Edition edition (September 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446579750
• ISBN-13: 978-0446579759
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,019,189 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ramped-Up Autobiography, July 22, 2006

By 

Elizabeth C. White "bethsquill" (Mobile, Alabama) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Unusual Suspect: My Calling to the New Hardcore Movement of Faith (Hardcover)

I thoroughly enjoyed this account of Stephen Baldwin's journey to faith and his take on living for Christ. Yes, it's in-your-face, but who wants boring? Clearly Stephen has been grounded in Bible study and honestly tries to live out what he believes. This book challenged me to take a more aggressive look at how I live out my own faith. The writing style is conversational and often laugh-out-loud funny. Kudos to Mark Tabb for helping keep Stephen's hip voice, while making the prose smooth and readable.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unusual Suspect, November 22, 2006

By 

cij "cj" (U.S.A) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unusual Suspect: My Calling to the New Hardcore Movement of Faith (Hardcover)

I have read this book with an open mind and I feel that Mr. Baldwin a good understanding of the core doctrines of Christianity and a genuine desire to serve the Lord. I look forward to see him grow and his ministry and will probably read anything else he might put out there. I have to agree with the reviewer regarding Mr. Baldwin's snide remarks about Kirk Cameron. That was really uncalled for and obviously he should have contacted Mr. Cameron first before putting something like that in print. However, I have to remember that in my early years as a Christian I shot my mouth off a lot and I also recall my attitude of thinking I had everything figured out in the first few years of my walk with Christ. God is very gracious to us - He does not hammer us immediately with the things in our life that need changing. He takes one thing at a time and refines us in His time and in His way. I can also recall how I once believed that Christianity had to be "cutting edge" and my biggest worry was whether or not unbelievers thought I was cool and trying to make Christianity relevant and so forth. Now, I know that I never was cool and Jesus is relevant period...so worrying about such things don't matter anymore.

Mr. Baldwin reminds me a lot of Peter. You read about him in the gospels and sometimes he had it right and sometimes he stuck his foot in his mouth. However, when you read Peter's books which he wrote much later you see a gentle man whom God used tremendously. So, I'm glad for the Peters out there!

I recommend this book very much.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I found Baldwin's "tell it like it is" style refreshing and genuine, June 5, 2007

By 

FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unusual Suspect: My Calling to the New Hardcore Movement of Faith (Hardcover)

Over the years, I've been a bit skeptical about celebrities who become Christians and actively proclaim their faith in Jesus. I took this type of "show me it's true" attitude as I began reading Stephen Baldwin's book with the subtitle, "My Calling to the New Hardcore Movement of Faith." I have seen a few of his films and am familiar with his acting brothers.

Page by page, this book wins over the skeptics, and the reality of Baldwin's genuine Christian experience rings true through these chapters. We learn about the youngest Baldwin brother, who was raised in a middle-class Irish Catholic family in Massapequa, New York. In the opening chapter, Baldwin talks about the depth of his chasing celebrity and a story about seeing Robert Downey, Jr. at the Playboy Mansion. Downey leads Baldwin to a beautiful wine cellar where four playmates are smoking pot. Since Baldwin had stopped drinking several years earlier, he saw the meaninglessness of the situation and left.

Describing his life as blessed and lucky, Baldwin sheds light on his acting career and how it's given him a platform to talk to American youth --- and actually have them listen. Ironically, most teens recognize him from Bio-Dome, a film that the critics hated. As he writes, "God had me make this film to give me the platform that would later become my life's work. At the time, I just wanted to goof off with Pauly Shore for a couple of months. God knew that, and He also knew the plans He had for my life, plans He made sure came to pass."

Baldwin's faith story is told in detail. His wife, Kennya, hires Augusta, a Brazilian housekeeper who only speaks Portuguese. Since Kennya is from Brazil, she can communicate with Augusta. But the housekeeper has one minor quirk: she walks around the house singing about Jesus. Because of Augusta, Baldwin's wife begins to read her Bible and occasionally attend some Bible studies. During a year of prayer for her husband, Kennya shows him Jesus; ultimately, during the ninth and twelfth months, he begins to listen.

Baldwin describes his journey to grow in his faith and give control to Jesus. The Unusual Suspect covers the basics of faith for a new believer from Baldwin's perspective. His stories are unconventional, and his insights about the centrality of the Bible, the importance of prayer and the reality of love for the lost have a freshness that will resonate with many people.

Throughout the book, Bible verses are woven into the text in an appropriate and non-preachy manner. My skepticism turned to enthusiasm as I read about Baldwin's experiences combined with the skilled storytelling from writer Mark Tabb. Baldwin has had a true encounter with Jesus and is out to change his world. He doesn't claim to have all the answers, but he clearly understands that the love of God has to be balanced with the fear of God's pending wrath. Toward the end of the book, Baldwin includes some words that may startle the conservative crowd: "You can think all of this is a bunch of crap. That's your right. You can slam this book shut and say I don't know what I'm talking about. You can say that the God of love you believe in would never send anyone to hell. You can take that chance if you want. But keep this in mind: A day of judgment is coming. Don't blame me when the lever is pulled and you start falling toward hell."

I found Baldwin's "tell it like it is" style refreshing and genuine. I wholeheartedly recommend The Unusual Suspect.

--- Reviewed by W. Terry Whalin