Lucas on Life 2 (by Jeff Lucas)

(Amazon UK link)

In the middle of February I came to the end of the excellent 'Lucas on Life' which I thoroughly enjoyed. Jeff Lucas is a Christian minister, speaker and writer who has homes both in the UK and US; I only came across him relatively recently.

So I was delighted to spot 'Lucas on Life 2' on a friend's shelves a few day later. I asked to borrow it, and have been reading a few pages each day for the past five weeks or so. I could, of course, have sat down and read it straight through: Lucas's style is relaxed and easy to read, peppered with dry humour. But I find his writing quite thought-provoking, and preferred to pause and ponder rather than take the whole book at one sitting.

I finished it today, and am almost tempted to start at the beginning again and re-read immediately. This book is wonderful stuff. It's basically anecdotes about the author's life and thoughts, sprinkled liberally with satire and personal thoughts; the whole is well written. Topics covered (from a Christian perspective) include general attitudes, leadership, decision-making, parenting, faith... and then there are more 'obviously' Christian sections on topics such as Jesus, evangelism and worship. Within each section are essays - if that's the word - which read more like letters than anything formal.

Lucas shares stories about his past which often make him look foolish, but that in itself makes them very heartwarming. He talks about mistakes he has made, people he has upset or annoyed, and times when he didn't do something he should have done. And his pithy comments dig deeper than the average Christian book.

I found the whole thing interesting, and mostly thought-provoking. Jeff Lucas thinks in ways that resonated with my own ideas again and again; he expresses ideas and beliefs that are far too rarely expressed aloud. Perhaps we're afraid that others will judge us if we admit to boredom, frustrations, wandering minds and irritations when in church services. Or perhaps we're too busy judging others.

Very highly recommended - and I hope to get hold of more books by this author.

Not currently in print, in either the UK or US, but sometimes available inexpensively second-hand.

Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 24th March 2012