I saw the authors of this book interviewed on television and decided to buy their book.  It is a fascinating book to say the least.  The big idea is simple:  Freedom of choice and being given many choices has in many ways have led to better lives in America.  The one place this has not happened is in one of the most critical areas in our lives – government.  We are locked into a two party system forcing us to make either/or decisions.  An example of this would be a friend of mine saying that in the last presidential election he decided to vote for the candidate that offended him the least.

The authors believe this will change in time.  At some point we will be given more choices and will have the capacity to make choices that reflect our convictions.  The fact that today, 31% of voters in America describe themselves as Democrats, 29% as Republicans and 39% as Independents, shows that there is a movement taking place which hopefully in time makes a difference in the business as usual way of politics.

The authors make the case for the power of freedom by looking at how it has played out in several instances.  Some of these chapters were very interesting and I have to admit I got lost in the details of other chapters.  For instance, there was a chapter on the role rock and roll played in fall of communism in Czechoslovakia.  I got totally confused reading this one.  On the other hand the story of how Southwest Airlines changed the airline industry was inspiring.

This is a very intriguing book.  I recommend it.

Some books just have a way of explaining what you have begun to think or observe and this is one of those books.   The big idea is simple and yet most Christians miss it.   Osborne does a wonderful  job of explaining the fact that there is no cookie cutter recipe for spiritual growth.   It takes place in a variety of ways and is unique for each person.

One of my favorite chapters is titled The Case for Meandering.   Osborne shares that most us do not grow by conforming to some linear pattern established to produce spiritual maturity.   Most of us tend to grow on a “need to know” and “need to grow” basis.   We can look back at our lives and see times when little growth was taking place as well as other times of significant growth.  Those times of significant growth generally were the result of some circumstance in our lives that caused us to have a “need to know” or “need to grow” mindset. 

He also has a chapter titled Fences in which he explains the danger of setting up unnecessary fences or boundaries.   These fences can cause others to be discouraged, frustrated and more importantly the fences are not Biblical.   There can be little doubt that many young Christ followers have lost their way because of these types of fences.

This book is liberating.  It helps the reader to see the freedom they possess to grow in a unique way in their relationship with God and to allow others to have that same freedom.

I highly recommend Spirituality for the Rest of Us to anyone that has chosen to follow the ways of Christ.