The Holy Wild: Trusting in the Character of God

by Mark Buchanan

I picked this book up after enjoying the same author’s Your God is Too Safe so much. While I can’t say that it met every expectation, I also can’t say that it was too disappointing. Honestly, this book was hit-or-miss most of the way through. When Buchanan was good, he was really good. The best parts of this book rivaled the best books I’ve read. Unfortunately, it was interspersed with some rather mediocre chapters.

The main idea of the book is coming to know more about God’s character so that one will be able to rest in God, as He expects. And, of course, to be able to rest in God requires that we trust in Him. It is divided into three major sections with four chapters focusing on each major theme: How God’s benevolent nature sustains us in trouble and suffering; How God’s saving nature is the foundation of our salvation; How God’s majestic nature is made manifest in the world.

Overall, this is probably a worthwhile read: the high points make up for the slower chapters. It’s just that the slower chapters are enough that I wouldn’t recommend dropping everything and running to get it right now. But if nothing else, it should give you half a dozen or more really good ideas for short talks or invitations—it certainly served that purpose for me. As always, there are things with which you will not agree theologically, so always read a man’s words in the light of the Bible’s.

The Editors do not advocate everything taught by the authors of the books we review. Like us, these authors are fallible humans and those who choose to read these books should measure them by the bible, the one true standard.