A Review of The Walk by Shaun Alexander

One of the few professional athletes who claimed to be a follower of Christ and actually lived a life that not only glorified God, but actually proved they were a follow of Christ by the way the lived was and still is Shaun Alexander.  So when I was offered a chance to read and review his book The Walk, I said yes.

I will be honest with you; I wasn't sure what to expect from reading Mr. Alexander's book.  What I did find was a man who truly loves God and does everything he can to life a life that shows Christ to the world.  

The book itself is written for the common person.  What I mean by that is that if you are looking for a grand theological discussion on Justification, Sanctification or other theological aspects of Christianity, then you will need to look elsewhere.  What you are going to find is Mr. Alexander's interpretation of how a follower of Christ grows in life.  Mr. Alexander lists five (5) stages of growth in a person's life.  These stages are:

1. Wanderer/Wonderer -- When a person is an unbeliever

2. Believer -- When a person first believes in Jesus Christ

3. Example -- When a person has been a believer and now lives it in life.

4. Teacher -- When a person begins teaching others in the faith

5. Imparter -- When a person imparts unto other people things of God.

Each of these stages are presented as a section of the book and within each section are two additional chapters besides the chapter discussing the stage.  The other two chapters are a great compliment and include a chapter  on Trials, Traps and Victories and a chapter discussing how the Apostle Peter showed the particular growth stage in his life as told by the Bible.  With all three chapters combined in each section, I thought Mr. Alexander did a good job of explaining the growth stages in his own words.

Besides the sections of the book on growth, there are other chapters giving insight to Mr. Alexander's life as a Christian and how he has gone through these growth stages.  His style of writing is warm and you feel as though you are sitting with Mr. Alexander at a coffee shop, simply discussing the life of a follower of Christ.  I do have to give a small warning though.  If you have any reservations about miracles, or what some people would call Charismatic Christianity, then you will need to read this book with more of an open mind and thoughtful prayer.  There were no "speaking in tongues" moments in the book, but there are lots of instances told by Mr. Alexander of the Holy Spirit in his life and ministry.

Overall I did enjoy this book, though it did take me a little longer to read than normal, as I decided to look up the scriptures that are quoted in Mr. Alexander's book.  I do not have any problem in recommending this book to others and I am giving it four (4) stars.

Please note that this book was presented to me by Waterbrook Press for the purpose of reviewing the book.  I did not promise, nor in any way indicate a positive or negative review to the publisher.  The review as presented is mine and mine alone.