On Saturday afternoon I finished the last hundred pages or so of Matthew Paul Turner’s newest book, “Provocative Faith”. I was honored to receive an “advanced reading copy” of this book from his publisher – Revell, apparently after reviewing one of his previous books here on stevansheets.com.

After reading just the first chapter of “Provocative Faith”, I knew I would be hooked into reading this entire book as quickly as time would allow. In just over a week of busy “youth pastor stuff” I had finished reading this book and as soon as I finished I e-mail Matthew Paul Turner to say, “Thanks”.

Why did I e-mail the author of this book? Because of his honesty.

That’s the one-word summary of this book for this review: HONESTY.

Seriously, either I’m reading the wrong books or not enough authors are as honest as MPT. Turner writes about his highs and lows as a Christ-follower, about his bouts with temptation, questioning God, and other struggles that we experience as a part of living like Christ. I was drawn in by the ‘after-each-chapter’ interviews with various people in Turners life – interviews about their struggles, temptations, and life-stories.

The book is a quick-read, packed full of good illustrations from someone who I feel I’ve grown up wearing similar shoes as. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to acknowledge their faith-struggles and insconsistencies.

The book will be available on September 1st. You can pre-order it now @ Amazon. (I feel like a commercial.)

From the back of the book:
“It may seem like an unusual way to describe faith. But faith, done Jesus style isn’t ordinary. It causes you to grate against the norm. It blows past others’ expectations and seeks what God desires for you. It’s characterized by freedom, joy, humility, and community. Provocative faith is living passionately and loving relentlessly, yet being willing to come in last.”