Gene Jennings is the author of Laughing With Sarah: Thoughts on the Journey With God, a new book that focuses on contemporary spirituality.
The 13 chapters are actually a collection of sermons from Jennings. By his own admission, this is not a “greatest hits” list but a compilation that best represents the human spiritual journey.
The book is therefore what one might expect from a collection of sermons: attention grabbing introductions, memorable subpoints and a healthy balance of scripture and illustrative material. Since the book is a compilation, the most obvious feature is that none of the chapters are directly connected.
The book’s cover mentions a “small group discussion guide,” though this is hardly a selling point: the “guide” is in actuality a short list of 5 questions at the end of each chapter rather than an explicit “guide” as one might expect.
In total, my impressions of the book are quite positive. I appreciated the diversity of the book as well as its simplicity. Jennings’ writing harmonizes with my own theological tradition (though I found his references to both Charles Finney and Jonathan Edwards curious), so there was little disagreement.
The only caveat is that the book is not for everyone. It’s an excellent resource for those new to the faith or simply unfamiliar with Christian books in general, in the same category as other writers such as Max Lucado. But others, more accustomed to reading in this genre, may find themselves frustrated by the inherent simplicity of the book.
Nonetheless, I maintain my favorable impressions, and would recommend the book to new believers and spiritual seekers.
You can read Gene Jennings’ blog at www.genejennings.com or visit the book’s website at www.laughingwithsarah.com.