Originally published in the Christian Library Journal March 1997.

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Why is the attrition rate of new believers so high? Why doesn’t the gospel stick with some people?

In Follow Me, Pastor Jan Hettinga explains the problem: “Somehow, we have mistakenly assumed that saving grace must be isolated from the call to follow—the call to enter into the kingdom of God, which is where followers of God live. We have become preoccupied with offering the gift, the pardon, the loving acceptance of God’s great salvation. We have forgotten that, according to Jesus, the arrival of the kingdom—the reign of God—is the gospel” (p. 21). It’s not enough to accept Jesus as Savior; to truly live in Christ, you must surrender control of your life to God’s kingdom rule.

The book covers five areas. Part One explains why Jesus is a safe leader. Part Two describes the spiritually unsafe world we live in and various false or incomplete definitions that people give to sin. Pastor Hettinga focuses on the biblical definition of sin as rebellion against God. Part Three focuses on our need to repent and allow Christ to rule in our lives. Parts Four and Five discuss how we can surrender our lives to the kingdom and show what a kingdom community looks like. Each section ends with a list of study questions. Sprinkled in the book are also prayers of confession and surrender.

“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and others digested” (Francis Bacon). This book requires digestion. It isn’t a “feel good” Christian living book; it provokes thought and convicts the heart. Drawing from 27 years in ministry, Hettinga shares with the reader, in a conversational manner, his process of discovering the kingdom of God as it is written in Scripture. The author openly and humbly acknowledges the kingdom issues he still struggles with. To illustrate his points, he uses real-life anecdotes and several diagrams to depict the kingdom-of-self versus kingdom-of-God struggle. No one reading this book can come away without wrestling with the issues it raises, for it challenges some commonly held ideas about evangelism and discipleship. But these challenges are biblical-based. This is a book that those serious about their Christian faith must reckon with.

This book inspired a new book line by NavPress called the Spiritual Foundation Line. This line will focus on helping readers become more Christlike in their daily lives. ( )