5 Mere Christians by Jordan Raynor  

Great Read, Good Encouragement when you need it!

(Audiobook).

5 Mere Christians consisted of quick but detailed stories of 5 people in history who had meaningful impacts on the world and whose Christianity was the guiding force in all that they did. Of the five people, I already knew of two (Fred Rogers and C.S. Lewis), knew the product of one (Ole Kirk Christiansen, inventor of Legos), and was introduced to two (Fanny Lou Hamer, civil rights activist, and Hannah More, abolitionist in Britain). When I first started listening, I wasn’t paying too much attention. My mind was on other things, so I wasn’t invested in the book initially. My preoccupations as well as time restraints kept me from opening the audiobook again for 11 days. Once I started listening again, though, I finished the 7-hour book in 3 days. I wanted to listen to these stories as I found them encouraging. While the stories of such influential people didn’t always seem relatable, the author provides practical tips that, when implemented, would be impactful in developing the skills or habits these people displayed in their lives. I felt a call to action that was challenging but not intimidating. The author’s tips for implementing said skills were largely focused on what you can do in your own workplace. Being a stay-at-home parent, I had to search a bit more for the usefulness at home, but still found value in much of what he said. This book was timely for me. As I am working towards starting this blog, I often wonder if this is the calling I think it is, and whether my intentions for it are holy. While listening, I continued to think about the fact that what I write is the message that God is putting on my heart. I’m just putting words to it. The author is a good storyteller, so I felt I learned a great deal about the subjects. That said, the book was thought-provoking in that did find myself considering how I could embody the traits these five incredible people possessed. I would definitely gift this book to someone else and found myself thinking of several people who would enjoy it while listening. Overall, 4 stars. I will likely look into other books by this author.