SECRETS OF A FAITH WELL LIVED: Intimate Glimpses into Godly Lives

Max Lucado and Brennan Manning are recovering alcoholics. Tony Campolo never rests on the Sabbath. Sheila Walsh has been hospitalized for clinical depression, and Patsy Clairmont is a former agoraphobe. These are some of the startling revelations that adorn Coppernoll's uneven collection of first-person narratives by 14 famous Christian authors who describe their personal lives, faith journeys and individual shortcomings. For example, Larry Crabb—a psychologist who has written more than a dozen books on marriage and the family—admits that he still fights with his wife of 33 years and doesn't know how to relate to his adult children. Such candid confessions of personal failings are refreshing, but contrast sharply with Coppernoll's overall tone of celebrity worship. As the title suggests, Coppernoll upholds these writers as "godly" people who have important secrets to impart about spirituality. The authors' personal testimonies are woven thematically into chapters that promise to unlock the "secrets" of faith. These secrets turn out to be little more than time-honored clichés: into every life a little rain will fall, church is a home for every heart, etc. Coppernoll obviously asked his subjects engaging, provocative interview questions, since their personal statements are so compelling and forthcoming. But his editorial framework is hackneyed, and the book's adulatory tone undermines the spiritual purpose of having famous Christian authors describe their many flaws. (July)