Book Review: The Hard Corps

The Hard Corps: Combat Training for the Man of God. By Dai Hankey. Epsom, Surrey: The Good Book Company. pp. 128. 2012. ($12.99 Print)

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3 Stars: A Solid "Like"

Dai Hankey is a young evangelical pastor in the United Kingdom and in many ways reminds me of a Welsh Mark Driscoll. If you’re familiar with Driscoll, you may already have enough information to decide whether The Hard Corps is going on your reading list or not, but he’s been a bit of a hit or miss with me, so it’s worth considering the merits of this book in and of itself.

Hankey’s book is based on a sermon series he preached in 2010 about David’s Might Men, a.k.a. “The Hard Corps.” Each chapter takes a look at men who served their king well and performed some heroic actions that God saw fit to include in His holy Word. These chapters more or less “principlize” the passages, drawing out general principles dealing with manhood and heroics from the stories and applying them to everyday life situations men face. At the end of each chapter are some additional questions and scripture passages that open up the book to become much more of a men’s study than a mere reading of the book would produce. He also includes some helpful resources at the end of the book, which he calls an “Armoury,” to arm his readers for future engagements with the Word and with the world.

In all, I enjoyed the book. Hankey is quite conversational, and some of his British colloquialisms are foreign enough to add a little fun to the reading, such as calling his kids “bonkers,” describing a passage as “big and chunky,” or saying men are “generally pretty rubbish at relational stuff. Occasionally he dips into the same kind of juvenile humor and semi-vulgar language that has come to identify his American counterpart, Mark Driscoll, which is really where I dock him points for his book. It’s difficult for me as a reader to have someone encourage me to become more mature when a few sentences earlier the author made an off-color remark about male reproductive organs.

In all though, Hankey’s dalliances into that kind of talk is relatively sparse, and the book carries a good message to men about living for King Jesus like “The Hard Corps” served King David. If you’re the kind of person who likes to listen to audio sermons, you may want to just check out the sermon series (as an American, I really enjoy the accent). If you’re a fan of Driscoll though, you might want to pick up a copy and keep your eyes on the horizon for more from Dai Hankey. I expect good things out of him.

I received this book from Cross Focused Reviews in exchange for my written review.

Talking about God at Work

At work this week I got into a conversation with quite a few of my coworkers about religion. I'm not sure how the conversation got started, but my coworkers were discussing praise dancers. I'm not quite sure what to think of the phenomenon myself, but I believe dance is an acceptable form of worship and that in the church we are to do everything "decently and in order." Since the majority of my coworkers thought it was odd and didn't like it, I thought I'd share what I don't like about some churches.

One person's version of church was waking up on Sunday morning, watching Joel Osteen speak on the television for a half hour, and falling back to sleep. I said, "What I don't like about Joel Osteen is that he doesn't get to the gospel. He doesn't get to the central message of the Bible. I get that we need to live contently with our life situation, but anybody can do that."

My coworker didn't quite follow what I was saying, so I asked her, "You watch Joel. Answer me this: What must I do to be saved?" She's grown up with enough of a Christian influence to say something about praying a prayer, and a "Catholic" coworker said, "Yeah, and they say it doesn't matter what you do so long as you pray that prayer." In general, the people didn't seem to like that idea, which I would agree is wrong, but probably for different reasons than they would.

I'm currently listening to an audio book from Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears that touches on this. I'm praying for more opportunities to talk about the gospel with my coworkers, and I hope to bring up Romans 10:9 in that conversation.

Being a Christian means that you “confess with your mouth, that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead” (Rom. 10:9). Ask yourself, “Am I trusting the truth of the gospel?”

… Many people emphasize the moment when you prayed to accept Jesus. Some go so far as to declare that if you can’t remember the moment you prayed, then you cannot even be a Christian. But if you look in the Bible, that kind of statement is never made. Conversely, 1 John 5:13 says, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” It is real belief and not a magical prayer that saves a Christian. In fact, many who grew up in Christian homes never remember a time when they prayed a prayer or made a decision for Jesus, but they lovingly confess Jesus all the same.

Vintage Church, pg. 31

Book Review: Vintage Church

I just finished listening to the audiobook version of Vintage Church: Timeless Truths and Timely Methods by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears. The book is easy to understand, relevant, and more-or-less a thorough treatment of the subject. The authors operate from a framework that desires to remain faithful to the biblical text, a refreshing and trustworthy method that appreciates the authority of Scripture.

The book could be split into two or three parts, with the first section covering a basic theological and doctrinal assessment of the church: its functions, goals, mandate, and structure. Though I am more cautious on the woman's role in teaching, I found this section to be encouraging and biblical. If you seek to operate your church biblically (or go to one that does), this piece will definitely aid you in knowing what's important.

The second section addresses modern expressions of the church. It somewhat blends the purpose statement in the book's subtitle, so it's somewhat doctrinal and somewhat practical. The last section covers the use of technology and the church's role in effecting cultural change. The whole book was quite practical, though most methods are admittedly a bit extra-biblical and are more or less subject to individual church preference.

The narration is well-done and the voice seems almost like a more mature Mark Driscoll, so it definitely retains the distinctive character of the author.

To buy the audiobook, visit ChristianAudio.com
To buy the print edition, visit Amazon.com
For a sample chapter, check out Crossway.com


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from ChristianAudio as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."