Book Review – 6 Secrets to Living a Fruitful Life, C. Peter Wagner

From my book review published on Amazon

6 Secrets to Living a Fruitful Life, by C. Peter Wagner

I became a Christian at 16 through a young couple down the hill who hosted a Wednesday night study. They were newly charismatic and eager. We had a great time. He was a physics prof, and she taught lit, and the conversation was engaging. It seemed to us all then that the entire world was newly charismatic and was ours to pluck. The stodgy old guard kept their noses stuck in Greek and theology while we bandied about with Jesus Loves Me tee-shirts and listened to Jesus music strummed on folk guitars. 

There weren’t many books for us then, so we passed around whatever we found. What we found was usually poorly written in a kind of churchy self-help/memoir way that was also poorly published by a vanity press.

I thought of this while reading Wagner’s self-help spiritual guide for a thriving life.

Six topics or secrets. Or what everyone knows.

He funnels the fruitful spiritual life into six topics. They’re not. After reading the book, I’m convinced that CP’s method for thriving is to insert himself wherever he wants, for whatever purpose he wants. You might come away with a different view.

When I bought the book and paged through it, I was looking for something Spurgeonish or Tozierish that cleared Christian debris to a path of deep and true devotion. This is it, I thought, with a first chapter titled, Live in the Presence of God. At home, I read it twice in case I missed something. He doesn’t say how or who or what but offers the deep wisdom that it’s not easy, so keep trying. I’m sad that I paid money for that chestnut.

(If you are interested in living in the presence of the G, I highly recommend The Practice of the Presence if G, by Brother Lawrence, an mostly anonymous French monk. Get the book and find yourself a lonely place, like Jesus did. Take a couple of years or decades to meditate on it, and you should be on our way…)

Whatever you’re paying for CP’s book, it’s too much. Read through John again, and if you’re interested in the Holy Spirit, go through Acts. To really get it, read each ten times. You’ll be far ahead.

Cheers!

---

See the book here on Amazon.

Go here to Barnes and Noble.

For Goodreads, go here.

Thanks so much for reading. Do you know someone who would like the post? Please mail it to them or share it with your favorite social media using one of the icons below. And won’t you follow me? You can do so at the top of any page in the yellow bar. Thanks again, and feel free to comment! 

FWIW, I am not an Amazon Associate, and make nary a red cent if you access and buy anything on Amazon. Or any bookseller…