BOOK REVIEW: “The Walk” lacks adequate biblical foundation

While reading “The Walk” by former pro football player Shaun Alexander (published by WaterBrook Press), I kept wondering why this book had been written and published.

The subtitle of this book claims the contents provide “Clear Direction and Spiritual Power for Your Life” and it defines how a person walks with God. In that case, the book misses its mark.

In order to provide to countless readers a definition for what it means to walk with God, and how to go about doing that correctly, a writer would have to rely entirely on scripture in order to be accurate about such a significant topic. What troubled me was Alexander stretching scripture by creating his own structure for walking with God — a structure he insists must be followed in the specific order outlined to successfully walk with God.

I don’t know Shaun Alexander. From his writing, I would easily give him the benefit of the doubt his intentions were sincere. Nevertheless, in “The Walk” he lays out five stages of spiritual maturity that have some elements of truth to them, but are elements that can be as wrong for some as they are right for others.

First, Alexander claims we start as either Wanderers or Wonderers and in order to walk with God we must follow the stages of Unbeliever, Believer, Example, Teacher, and Imparter, in that order. Of course we all start as Unbelievers, and if we’re going to walk with God, we must become Believers. Scripture teaches that all Christians are to be examples, but not all are to be teachers. And Alexander’s view of an “Imparter” is one who has special power from the Holy Spirit, a view many would disagree with from a biblical basis.

In addition to the structure he provides as a path for spiritual maturity, Alexander also claims each maturing stage has its own specific “Traps, Trials, and Victories” which he describes. However, these are just his opinion, based on what he has observed. Again, these observations are given as specifics, rather than as generalities that are not universal truths for everyone.

Additionally, Alexander supposedly is drawing on the life of Peter as a primary example for his content, yet he is inconsistent in using Peter’s example throughout the book.

The problem with “The Walk” is that Alexander draws on scripture to create a structure that scripture doesn’t itself provide. Instead of creating a formula for spiritual maturity, it is imperative that Christians actually heed what scripture does say, rather than randomly placing together scripture to create your own guide. The outcome is what you have in “The Walk”: the occasionally accurate and insightful information for walking with God, as well as plenty of information that is interesting to ponder but not necessarily biblically accurate.

As a result, I could only come to one conclusion why this book was written and published. The information given about the author only refers to his professional football career, and the fact that he now travels the country speaking to thousands of people. Such speakers almost always have a book to sell. Alexander has already published one book of a more personal nature; it appears (emphasis on “appear”) that this book was written as a tool to compliment his speaking tours.

Unfortunately, it’s not a wholly reliable guide to turn to when you want to better understand what is needed to walk with God.

Scotty

I received this book free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”