“Chasing Elephants”

I have to admit that Brent Crowe’s,“Chasing Elephants: Wrestling with the Gray Areas of Life,” was not what I expected it to be. I “assumed” (Crowe challenges readers not to make assumptions) that the book would explain what the “gray area” of life are and then go on to tell us what we needed to believe. That is NOT what this book is about. Yes, it addresses controversial areas that today’s society is wrestling with; but rather than telling us what to believe… Crowe shows us how to THINK and BE in the midst of such controversy, which he grounds in Scripture. In a nutshell, he shows us not so much WHAT to believe, but HOW TO BELIEVE. He does this by giving a series of questions to ask when dealing with a “Gray Area,” that he calls the “How To Believe Grid.”

The book is divided up into 2 Parts. The first part gives a Biblical framework in order to address the gray areas of life (largely built on the “How To Believe Grid.) I like the way Crowe balances FREEDOM and RESPONSIBILITY as well as TRUTH and GRACE. The second part uses this framework to address 5 particular gray areas: Homosexuality, the Cyber World, Social Drinking, Entertainment, and Humanitarian Efforts.

I liked the way Crowe addressed the issue of Homosexuality. He does a masterful job describing how we need to balance TRUTH with GRACE. He writes, “Truth need not always be communicated through a megaphone on the mountain, but sometimes through the tears in the valley.” WOW, that really got to me. It brought home the fact that though we, as Christians, have the Truth… we don’t always wield it in a Christian way. In other words, it’s possible to be RIGHT in a particular issue, but WRONG in how we handle it.

Overall, I thought, “Chasing Elephants,” was a good book that give you the theology and the tools to not just BELIEVE the faith, but to also LIVE the faith.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review 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 Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”