Jan David Hettinga

Originally published in the Christian Library Journal March 1997.

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Why is the attrition rate of new believers so high? Why doesn’t the gospel stick with some people?

In Follow Me, Pastor Jan Hettinga explains the problem: “Somehow, we have mistakenly assumed that saving grace must be isolated from the call to follow—the call to enter into the kingdom of God, which is where followers of God live. We have become preoccupied with offering the gift, the pardon, the loving acceptance of God’s great salvation. We have forgotten that, according to Jesus, the arrival of the kingdom—the reign of God—is the gospel” (p. 21). It’s not enough to accept Jesus as Savior; to truly live in Christ, you must surrender control of your life to God’s kingdom rule.

The book covers five areas. Part One explains why Jesus is a safe leader. Part Two describes the spiritually unsafe world we live in and various false or incomplete definitions that people give to sin. Pastor Hettinga focuses on the biblical definition of sin as rebellion against God. Part Three focuses on our need to repent and allow Christ to rule in our lives. Parts Four and Five discuss how we can surrender our lives to the kingdom and show what a kingdom community looks like. Each section ends with a list of study questions. Sprinkled in the book are also prayers of confession and surrender.

“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and others digested” (Francis Bacon). This book requires digestion. It isn’t a “feel good” Christian living book; it provokes thought and convicts the heart. Drawing from 27 years in ministry, Hettinga shares with the reader, in a conversational manner, his process of discovering the kingdom of God as it is written in Scripture. The author openly and humbly acknowledges the kingdom issues he still struggles with. To illustrate his points, he uses real-life anecdotes and several diagrams to depict the kingdom-of-self versus kingdom-of-God struggle. No one reading this book can come away without wrestling with the issues it raises, for it challenges some commonly held ideas about evangelism and discipleship. But these challenges are biblical-based. This is a book that those serious about their Christian faith must reckon with.

This book inspired a new book line by NavPress called the Spiritual Foundation Line. This line will focus on helping readers become more Christlike in their daily lives.… (altro)

People are seeking peace in all areas of life. In our chaotic world today the search is even more intense. The author shares how we make our lives more distressed by seeking the peace we so greatly desire in all the wrong ways. The more we try the more elusive and distant it becomes. We attempt to create our own world based on what we believe will make it perfect. Of course anything we do is far from that. It takes a while for us to learn (and some never learn) that a relationship with Christ and turning control of our lives over to Him is the only way to have a peaceful, purposeful life.
The first part of the book addresses attitudes and actions toward God that will hinder us from having that tranquility and harmony within that we crave. Mr. Hettinga uses different people from the Bible that are an example of wrong approaches and shows us how to examine ourselves. I liked his illustrations showing how the “Kingdom of Self” operates differently than the “Kingdom of God.”
The second part of the books reveals what we must do to end our vicious cycle of restlessness and futilely searching. As in the first part, we learn from men and women in Scripture the ways to end our pursuit and have the peace God intended for us to. This book is not only a good study book, but it also gives you a lot of food for thought.
I received this book from Kregel Publications in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I expressed are my own.… (altro)

If you are looking for a book to help you speak to a non -believer, this could be a useful tool to start a conversation with. We all have moments where we are not sure which direction we should take, and the author does a good job of addressing topics just like this. There are many different topics throughout the book that can help you dig deeper into the word and also guide non -believers to what the Word says . It can definitely be used as a tool for discussions with non-believers but I think I may have to go back and do a bit of research on some of the points the author makes.

The author includes questions at the end and are very thought provoking . I did find the chapter "Curious about God" to be quite interesting . He talks about the trap that many leaders face when they are perceived not to be tempted. We all have temptations and it is up to each of us to not fall for the trap. It is sad when people get pleasure out of seeing a religious figure fall. Why is that? It is simply because we don't think they would ever be tempted and when they are, the power, pride and arrogance takes over. There are many illustrations the author uses to help bring the reader closer to a relationship with God. The choice is ours to make.

I received a copy of this book from The BookClub Network for an honest review.… (altro)

I believe this book truly speaks to those who are searching for God. The author shows how each of us is constructing our own kingdom. He also explains how unfortunately it doesn't always work out the way we plan. This is of course because God has a plan for us. This book shows you that it is ok to ask questions. We have all been restless a time or two in our lives. God is always here to answer our questions.
The chapters range from our sources of restlessness to coming to the end of it. He walks non believers step by step and allows for great discussion.
Loved how the author layed out the chapters and diagrams with passages from the bible for reference. I also liked the end of the book where he placed discussion questions for each chapter to delve deeper into conversation.
I recieved this book from The BookClub Network for an honest review.
Thank you and God Bless… (altro)