A Contrarian’s Guide to Knowing God: Spirituality for the Rest of Us by Larry Osborne is a refreshing view of deepening your relationship with God. If you have felt frustrated by a formulaic approach to knowing God, then you may find this book helpful. He describes his approach as follows, “Contrarian thinking at its best simply asks, ‘Is that really true?’ And it speaks up when the politically correct answer or conventional wisdom doesn’t match reality – when things don’t work the way everyone says they do or thinks they do” (p. 7).

An example of a practice that is highly valued in our society is finding a work/life balance. Osborne was bemoaning his frustration on finding balance when his friend gave this advice, “He claimed that the Bible nowhere calls for us to have a balanced life . . . He argued that the concept of a balance life was more a reflection of American values than anything else, and that most of the people we typically call heroes of the faith were anything but balanced” (p. 134). Osborne delineates three helpful questions to meet life’s demands in the spiritual, physical, and workplace realms.

Another area that Osborne challenges is accountability groups, “The first thing giving me pause is that I can’t find an accountability group anywhere in the Bible” (p. 182). He advocates widening your circle to a concept he refers to as glass house living. “Glass House Living gives them permission to barge in and make the danger known before it becomes a problem” (p. 189).

As he challenges many of the beliefs and practices that we take for granted, he makes some generalizations that lack theological precision. He makes the point that we should not have any barriers to people coming to Jesus, “The fact is, Jesus came to lower the entry bar, not to raise it” (p. 112). In one sense this is true, Jesus appealed to the sinners and tax collectors; but on the other hand, Jesus actually raised the theological bar. This is the message of the Sermon on the Mount. The Pharisees had lowered the bar to outward manifestations of godliness, whereas Jesus emphasized that it’s about your heart motive. Jesus revealed that you can’t achieve righteousness in your own strength – you need a Savior.

This book may challenge some of your preconceived notions about knowing God and you may find this a helpful resource in growing in godliness. (I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review).

RickAssociate Pastor – Discipleship.  The Church at LifePark

Professor of Discipleship, Columbia International University

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