This is a repost (and update) on my review of Untamed. I posted it on my old blog. I have reposted it on here as it was one of 
the best books I read last year (in general) and one of the best books I’ve ever read on Discipleship (a topic close to my heart) and mission. I highly recommend it and it’s even half price on Amazon till the end of month (May 2012)
This morning [back in may 2011] I finished reading Untamed by Alan and Debra Hirsch and I can honestly whole heartedly recommend it! I actually won this copy of the book over on Andrew Brims blog and although it took a good few weeks to arrive, I can honestly say it arrived at just the right time.
For the last few months I felt almost as though I was plodding along not really doing/seeing or even feeling much about God. It was as though I was going around finding fire wood, having to search the ground and complete the arduous task of preparing the bonfire.
Then there was a spark.
It all started with reading something about the prevalence of Idolatry in people’s hearts, how good things can become ultimate things and displace God from his rightful place as being ”Loved with All our hearts, souls, bodies and minds”. Then I went and heard a great sermon about growing up in faith, it reminded me of how lazy I can be and how I can just try to sit back and let my faith take care of its self and How childish this really is.
So, I was already aware that I had idols in my heart, I was already aware that I needed to seriously push on with discipleship and what book should I receive that day but a book which challenges people on these two things so that they will live out missional discipleship.
Some may dismiss these as coincidences, but it is so strange how often coincidences happen when we pray [to paraphrase C.S. Lewis]
The book deals with look at our attempts to tame/be tamed by different things and how we should “untame” ourselves and our response to them.
The first is our view of God, the second our view of culture, the third is our view of ourselves and the last one is our view of mission.
At times the book can feel very uncomfortable, it feels like someone is poking at the little area’s where I realised I had become very lazy and comfortable and how this has impaired how missional I am. One of the thoughts I had during my time reading [believe me there were many which partly explains the almost non-stop blogging for the last 2 weeks] was that all my Hero’s of faith weren’t people who lived nice comfortable lives and wrote a good theological book or nice song. Some of them did this as well but all of them went out at great cost to their own comfort and made a difference.
Of course, If I read this book, enjoy it and there is no change in my life then it has completely failed and that really is the mark to measure the book by. So, keep and eye on the Blog, ask me what I’ve been up to, ask me if I have been tamed or if I am living the wild, radical life of an untamed disciple.
Ask me “Are you living an adventure, or have you just read about having adventures.”
Update: It’s actually been a year since I posted this review and through out this year things have tried to tame me. However, I am no longer such a friend of culture. I have become more critical of various aspects of culture and the world and try to hold on to the radical and wild God.
I’ve not always been successful and reading the review again has challenged me once again to be tamed by the world around me.
