The Next Great Move of God (Book Review)

The Next Great Move of God
(Book Review)

Find the key to godly success in faith, family, finances, and fellowship with Him. Most Christians have understood the topic of salvation, but have never contemplated the Jewishness of Jesus. Understanding the culture in which Jesus lived will help you properly interpret the Bible. The Next Great Move of God: Christians Returning to Their Hebraic Roots will open your eyes to the Jewish world of Jesus. This profound book reveals that the Christian life is much more than salvation; it's a lifestyle of obedience to the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

According to author Dr. LaSalle R. Vaughn, "The next great move of God is for the church to know that the root of Christianity is biblical Judaism, and to learn how to look at Scripture in light of our Hebraic heritage.  As you become more like Him, He'll restore to you the love in your heart for your Hebraic inheritance.  As you read this book, my hope is that, like the Prodigal Son, you'll find your way home."  This excerpt from the Introduction explains Dr. Vaughn's main point and purpose in writing The Next Great Move of God.

The following eight chapters go on to address such topics as Returning to the Ancient Paths, Symbols of Our Faith, Understanding the Times, and Keys to the Heart of the Kingdom.

I'm having a difficult time reviewing this book.  I think some parts of it--such as understanding the culture of biblical times and learning about the symbols of the Jewish faith--are valuable.  There are parts with which I absolutely agree, such as the importance of loving God passionately and loving all people; these are two of the author's Keys to the Heart of the Kingdom.

This is a passage that I especially liked (page 64):

Spiritual growth requires us to pile up as much Word as we can even when our efforts don't seem to amount to much.  Then, in our moments of spiritual receptiveness, we will reap the rewards of our sustained discipline.  Reading the Word you may think that you're not getting anywhere.  Read anyway.  Pile it up.  Miraculously, one day the floodgates of your heart will open and the Word will come rushing in.  When life hits you so hard that you can't read your Word, can't pray, and can't praise, that's when everything that you had piled up will sustain you.

However, some of Dr. Vaughn's other points are controversial and, frankly, I don't know what to think of them.  Here are a couple of examples (these are not the most controversial ones):

• "No matter what's going on in your life, sometimes you need to wake up at midnight and pray.  Simply tell God, 'I'm not moving from this place until You bless me!' ... It seems to me that learning Torah is better between midnight and 3 AM because this is the breaking of a new day.  God will give you more revelation during this time." (pages 69 and 71)
• "Because of the separation from our Hebraic roots, I believe Christians have limited access to God's Kingdom." (page 173)

So I have mixed feelings about this book!  I hope I've shared enough to help you decide whether you'll like it or not.

Title:  The Next Great Move of God:  Christians Returning to Their Hebraic Roots
Author:  Dr. LaSalle R. Vaughn
Publisher:  Deep River Books
Publishing date:  2009
ISBN:  978-1-935265-05-4
Price:  $13.99 (paperback)

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book, at no cost to me, for review purposes.  All opinions in this review are my own.