Experience Jesus. Really.: Finding Refuge, Strength, and Wonder Through Everyday Encounters with God

Christian mysticism can help readers forge a closer connection to God, according to this fervent guide. Bestseller Eldredge (Wild at Heart) contends that today’s mass “discipleship to the Internet” has created a society obsessed with pragmatism and reliant on instant answers. Mysticism, on the other hand, centers “a rich sense of God’s presence and daily experiences with Jesus” that can help readers recover their sense of wonder. Drawing on the teachings of Francis of Assisi and Carmelite friar Brother Lawrence (who spoke of carrying on a “continual conversation with God”), Eldredge fleshes out mysticism as a concept—“the daily experience of God and his Kingdom” in which Christians routinely commune with Jesus and seek out his miracles—and how readers can harness it by making silent daily declarations of faith, forgiving others, and other actions. While he makes solid points about the value of cultivating a personal relationship with God, Eldredge’s assertions that Christians must abandon all else to do so feel overblown. “The World is a shipwreck from which every man, woman, and child must swim for their life,” he writes, warning readers of potential sacrifices they might have to make without clarifying why doing so would be necessary: “Jesus might ask you not to attend the annual family reunion... [or] pass up the PhD.” Only Eldredge’s most devoted fans will find this worth their time. (Mar.)