Breaking the Rules by Fil Anderson

Want to read another book on how religious devotion is bad but a vibrant relationship with Jesus is good? Allow me to suggest Breaking the Rules by Fil Anderson

How long has this been a rallying cry: It's not about religion, but a relationship?

Following on the style of Brennan Manning (who writes the Foreward BTW), Anderson is very transparent in his failings as a human and as a follower of Christ.

He details how aspects of his religious activities trumped his relationship with Jesus.

Inside you'll get 10 chapters that cover:

Is Your Faith in God or Religion?
The Myth That Jesus Thinks Like Us
Beauty in Brokenness
What's a Picture Worth?
Right Rules or Right Relationship?
Worse Than Blindness
Why This Waste?
Doing What We Can
The Gift of Memory
Throwing in the Towel on Religion

Over and over again you see the focus away from organized religion and toward an intimate relationship with Jesus. Through his own stories, Anderson calls on us to admit our brokenness, our failures and to stop appearing as if we have it all together.

As many in the American Church are prone to do.

I didn't find this to be a book that promotes self-pity or self-bashing but aligns the truth about who we are as sinners with who Jesus call us to be.

It's a little, thick book so it may take you some time to get through it, but the personal stories and insight on the life we can live in Jesus will get you through the chapters.


This book was provided for review by InterVarsity Press