In The Gospel of Yes, Mike Glenn tackles the fallacy that Christianity is nothing but a bunch of rules, or, as he puts it, "a bunch of NOs." Glenn kicks off his book by talking about his early church experiences where it was inferred that God was only interested in setting boundaries and making sure he didn't enjoy his life. Glenn states, "I attended a church where I was told what not to do. Not doing things took on a sheen of righteousness. My friends and I would get together on Sunday and praise God that we hadn’t done anything all week. We were convinced that scrupulous inactivity was what God preferred."
Glenn's purpose in writing The Gospel of Yes is to dispel this belief; to set straight this common misconception about God. Mike Glenn seeks to offer a clear presentation of the Gospel and the way that saying "yes" to God's grace actually frees us rather than limits us. As the title suggests, Glenn's main point is that God's favorite and most powerful word is "yes," not "no." God is for us, not against us.
I like the basic message of this book. There are several chapters I particularly enjoyed, such as chapter 4, "God Says Yes a Lot," in which Glenn goes through numerous examples found in the Bible of God finding a way to say "yes" when the circumstances all pointed toward "no." (i.e. Adam and Eve) However, I personally had a hard time getting through the book. Glenn went heavy on the personal stories and self-actualization philosophy, leaving little space for much else in his book. I struggled with staying engaged in the book; therefore I found myself on several occasions setting it down and going long periods of time before picking it up again. Also, the cover of this book states, "We have missed the most important thing about God. Finding it changes everything." Despite it's aim at defining "the most important thing about God," this book fails to deliver a clear statement of what that specific "thing" actually is.
Mike Glenn's overall message in The Gospel of Yes is an important one. However, I feel that Glenn could have used more of the actual gospel to establish his objective.
My rating: 3/5 stars
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.
