Book Review: Chris Tomlinson - Crave: Wanting So Much More of God

Genre: Non-Fiction
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
Publication Date: January 1, 2010

I really enjoy reading books by younger Christians. Don’t get me wrong, I love John Piper. I read R.C. Sproul, D.A. Carson, and many others. Men like these have been extremely influential in my theological and spiritual growth. It’s nice, however, every now and then, to read something by a younger Christian, someone who has a similar perspective to me about things, someone who can articulate many of the same thoughts I have about living out faith in Christ in our current context.

That’s why I enjoyed Chris Tomlinson’s Crave: Wanting So Much More of God so much. Tomlinson isn’t a pastor or theologian. He’s a businessman. His stories aren’t all about fighting big battles for the Lord and accomplishing giant things for Him (though like me, he wants to do those things). Instead, they’re about things like struggling to be fervent in prayer, obedient in action, and vulnerable in evangelism. Yes, Tomlinson has done some pretty cool things and been a lot of places, but his descriptions of his walk with the Lord seemed extremely familiar for me. I’m guessing it will for many of you as well.

Told in large part through stories, Tomlinson discusses a series of areas of the Christian life (Habit, Silence, Rules, Hunger, Suffering, Joy, among others). Written with some of the straightforwardness and transparency of what you’d typically get from a blog, most of the chapters begin with a story from his life that deals in some way with the topic. For example, in “Habit,” he described trying to use sticky notes to remind himself to pray for 21 days straight to make it a habit. This leads to discussion about what he learned from the experience and how he’s grown (and still learning) in that area.

One thing I really enjoyed about the book is that Tomlinson’s brutally honest about himself and his motives in the different situations. He explains, for example, why he doesn’t really want to talk to the girl next to him on the plane that seems to really need it. He articulates the struggles each of us face as we try to walk faithfully. It’s extremely encouraging, actually. I think that’s what I came away from the book with the most: encouraged. The Christian life isn’t easy; sanctification isn’t instant. We all spend our lives trying to “figure it out.” Tomlinson doesn’t pretend to have figured anything out, but he has learned enough to encourage others.

Theologically, there are clear influences from men such as John Piper, which is probably part of why I identified with his stories so much. He’s trying to live out practically the things he knows to be true theologically about God and who we are in Christ. This is what I try to do every day. I felt a connection to him through this. God is glorified when we do this, even though we constantly fail. In many ways, this is the book I wish I'd written.

If you’ve tried all kinds of different methods to stoke your fire for God, or have settled into a comfortable Christian lifestyle that demands little of you, you should probably read this book. It will challenge and encourage you to pursue God in all of your life.



This book was provided for review by Harvest House Publishers.