THREE STARS
REVIEW: The Briarpatch
Gospel: Fearlessly Following Jesus into the Thorny Places By Shayne Wheeler
This is Shayne’s first
book and most likely not his last. The
book is about his journey as a pastor and how he reached out in his community
and got into the briarpatch with those around him—homeless, homosexuals, those
hurting and needing help—to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Shayne’s trek into the
briarpatch did not happen without scratches along the way, but he believes it
was worth it. Through his tale of how he
reached out across the borders to others, he encourages other Christians to do the
same. He writes: “We want to ‘lead
people to Jesus,’ yet we never leave the confines of our privatized Christian
subculture and go into the places where the vast majority of our neighbors live
and play.” This statement summarizes the
book for me; and I say “Amen!”
This was a straightforward
book that showed life through eyes of a dedicated pastor and ways he has touched
others for Jesus. Reading this book will
hopefully give fellow Christians ideas on how they can do the same.
*Tyndale House
Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for an unbiased
review.
