Intentional Faith: Aligning your Life with the Heart of God

Reviewed by:

Ellie Tiemens from Worth, IL, a Professional Writing student at Taylor University in Upland, IN.

REVIEW INTRODUCTION

Title:

Intentional Faith: Aligning your Life with the Heart of God

Author:

Allen Jackson

Publisher:

Nelson Books

Publication Date:

March 24, 2020

Format:

Print book

Length:

240 pages

OVERVIEW

In this book, Pastor Allen Jackson attempts to establish 10 practices that inspire Christians to be more intentional in their faith lives such as reading the New Testament, praying, honoring God, practicing forgiveness, and being generous. Through a series of personal stories about his life, ministry, travels, and missteps, Jackson consistently reinforces the idea that living a life of intentional faith is what brings us closest to God.

The end of this book brings a series of prayers for many situations that life offers as well as a challenge to read the entire New Testament in 100 days. Throughout the book, Jackson encourages readers to begin to implement daily practices that will draw them into a more intentional faith life and reinvigorate their entire spiritual life in the process.

ASSESSMENT

Rating (1 to 5):

4

Suggested Audience:

This book is intended for a more mature Christian who needs encouragement to boost their faith life. While many, if not all, of these practices could also be used to encourage a new Christian or even an unbeliever to establishing a strong faith life, it is clear that the intended audience is Christians with established faith lives who feel burnt out and need encouragement to try something new to get closer to God.

Christian Impact:

Each chapter of this book starts with a Bible verse that grounds the content of that section in Scripture. Jackson includes many inspiring stories and a strong action plan that force readers to feel responsible for taking charge of their faith lives. Jackson phrases the titles of each chapter with the word “intend” in it, which leads readers to declare things such as “I intend to read the Bible” and “I intend to pray daily.” Each chapter concludes with challenging reflection questions and a short prayer. Additionally, the appendix sections give readers a concrete plan for diving into Scripture and reciting prayers that will strengthen their faith lives.

Other Notes:

One thing that could have been changed about this book is the way that Jackson addresses readers. Many times, he uses examples or directs challenges in ways that exclude large groups of Christians. Most often he writes directly toward parents, issuing challenges and statements that can only be applied if you have children. While the broad topics of this book could apply to Christians from college age to the elderly, many times only middle-aged parents are addressed.