I often get caught up in the details and stress of church growth. Not necessarily because I’m obsessed with having impressive numbers to brag about, but because I’m obsessed with having valuable lives responding to the Gospel. I put so much emphasis on making the cross central to everything we do and focus so much on clearly communicating God’s Call upon our lives that I often find myself laying awake at night unable to sleep, deep in thought over what the next great idea might be.
Because of my own personal bent, I picked up Mark Batterson’s Soulprint looking for a new, clever way to communicate the truth of our identity in Christ. And, honestly, the book just wasn’t clicking with me. I had committed to reading it and was determined to finish, but it was an effort of will. That is, until I read these words on page 27, “Don’t worry about church growth. If you’re growing spiritually, church growth will take care of itself.”
I had to pause, reconsider my approach and go back to the beginning. It was then that I discovered the depth of what I had been missing. Consider this, “Our greatest advantages may actually be hidden in our greatest disadvantages, if we learn to leverage them.” And this, “There is a time to be on the front lines, but there is also a time to be on the sidelines. There is a time to be in the limelight, but there is also a time to be in the shadows.”
I discovered Soulprint to be all about stepping back, out of the lights, away from the crowd, so that you can cultivate the identity God has buried within your soul. It’s not a book on church growth. It’s not full of new ideas about how to engage your culture. But it is carefully designed to be a catalyst for personal growth as you become the person you were created to be.
Soulprint will challenge your heart in countless ways. I will definitely be recommending it to the people in my community!
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, in exchange for writing an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review.
Adam Jones 
