Love Changes Everything

I was recently given the opportunity, by Handlebar Publishing, to review Micah Berteau's book Love Changes Everything. Let me start by saying I was skeptical, mainly because I am a skeptical person, but also because I think that this is the trend in Christian publishing. Let's start writing books about what it means to be an authentic Christian because the world is portraying Christians in a bad light.

I will say that my skepticism was both confirmed and denied simultaneously. First off, I will honestly say that I don't like Berteau's writing style. He seems to jump around a lot, and when he tries to be relational in his writing, it comes off as cheesy. However, I really enjoyed the Biblical story of Hosea and Gomer that he wove through the first half of the book. To me, that was a pretty good picture of what Berteau was trying to convey.

And while I do appreciate his cut-and-dry voice in matters of spiritual disciplines, I did find some of his assumptions to be curt and dismissive, especially in regards to mental illness (i.e. depression and anxiety). His attempt at portraying absolutes was a bit too brash for me.

Overall, Berteau's book reads well for the new Christian, and he definitely has some good one-liners: "Anything we gain from this world is only temporary. Stop searching for eternal answers from a fading world." This book did not necessarily help me see things in a new light, however, it did bring back a wonderful Bible story and helped me understand a little better the picture of God that Berteau was attempting to portray.