The Imperfect Disciple

Author: Jared C. Wilson
Genre: Christian Living

​Too many discipleship books are written for perfect people who know all the right Sunday school answers. 

This book is for the rest of us--people who screw up, people who are weary, people who are wondering if it's safe to say what they're really thinking. With incisive wit, warm humor, and moving stories, Jared Wilson shows us how the gospel actually works through us and in us, even when we can't get our act together. The result is a faith that weathers storms, lifts burdens, and deepens our friendship with God.

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Reviewer: Laura J. Davis

I didn't know quite what to think of The Imperfect Disciple by Jared Wilson when I started reading it. My first impression was that this book was written by a new Christian, who was struggling in his faith. It seemed to me the author was very young as he constantly swore or took the Lord's name in vain. Something I did not appreciate at all in a Christian book. If he was trying to be funny it did not have that affect on me. But the title was appropriate. No one is a perfect Christian. I myself struggled with what a Christian was "supposed to be" for years, and like the author had to find my own way.

Wilson tells how he grew up in the church and so he did what was expected of him. His church sounded almost cult-like to me and it was apparent he was "baptized" into his parents faith without ever having had a real salvation experience. Yet he tells of sensing a calling into vocational ministry when in the ninth grade. Something I felt unusual, since in the same breath he wrote that he wasn't even sure Jesus loved him.

I understand his focus of the book was about imperfect disciples/Christians who struggle to do the right thing and yet feel far away from God. I get that. Maybe it is his style of writing, but at times I found his words to be filled more with bitterness than hope. But perhaps that was his intent. He drags you down to where most of us have been in our spiritual journey and then he gets you to look up. 

"It's interesting how often the areas of our inner selves we strive the most to hide from Jesus are the ones he's most interested in. And it's amazing that these things about ourselves we hope he doesn't see are the very things he means to cover with his grace."

It's quotes like the one above that kept me reading, because eventually the author leads you to where you need to be in order to grow as a Christian - with your nose in the pages of the Bible! The real reason Christians feel stuck or don't grow in their faith, is because they do not study their Bibles effectively. Instead, they use self-help books or rely on the latest fads or opinions of others rather than looking to the Scriptures alone..

Ultimately, the author presents a good case on how God uses imperfect people. He takes those areas of our lives we are struggling with and uses them (if we let Him) to help us grow. While I found Wilson's way of talking at times immature, he does show how imperfect disciples can still be used by God.

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Reviewer: Kelly Potts

The booked called out to me by the title alone and it did not let me down. It is by no means a quick read. I found myself stopping to re-read, to contemplate his comments or at the end of chapter my brain was mush with his insight that I needed a break. I felt compelled many times to dog-ear pages in my copy to have easy access to passages that affected me. “Wouldn’t you rather have the antidote for sin then an eight step treatment plan to simply medicate against it?” (pg 30). Jared C Wilson writes for the disciple who might not feel that they are worthy enough to be one. This book has found a permanent spot on my shelf and I plan to go in search of more by this author.

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