Thoughts of a Sojourner: Saturate Field Guide by Jeff Vanderstelt and Ben Connelly and Saturate by Jeff Vanderstelt

Jeff Vanderstelt, and co-author, Ben Connelly, invite readers to experience a faith deeper than Sunday morning in their new book, Saturate Field Guide: Principles & Practices for Being Disciples of Jesus in the Everyday Stuff of Life.

Whether you're just beginning a relationship with Jesus or you've been a follower of Jesus for a long while, many of us have a hard time translating the truths we believe in our mind, to the reality of our everyday life. Given our tendency to wander away from God, we need both encouragement and tools to keep the gospel at the center of our action in the everyday stuff of our lives.

This 8-week guide offers an all-of-life approach to being disciples who make disciples of Jesus. The questions, activities, prayers, and exercises will prompt you to do exactly that---put your thoughts and theology into hands-on practice. Designed for both group and individual use, each week will build on the next, aligning your heart with the will of God, examining your core identity beliefs, and launching you into mission.

When God's people commit together to sow gospel seeds in the everyday rhythms of life, a ripple effect moves through our lives, out toward the whole earth, saturating it with the good news of Jesus.

The book, while inspired by Vanderstelt's 2015 release, Saturate, (Crossway) is a stand-alone resource, intended to be used by both groups and individuals.

My review:
(This review is for the Field Guide by Jeff Vanderstelt and Ben Connelly)

This is a very in depth book on this issue of being disciples of Jesus in every day life. I started looking through it was amazed at the work and thought these two guys put into it.

The book is geared for a group study, but as I have looked over it I can't see why it can't be done solo also.

It starts out with an introduction and some questions to answer to get you thinking about discipleship. That is followed by a suggested outline for the first meeting of a group going through the book. After that, it launches into week one of the book.

Each week focuses on a different aspect/subject:
Week 1: Jesus
Week 2: Discipleship
And so on.

Each week covers approximately 40 pages, split up into 7 days with reading material and questions for the Monday through Saturday with Sunday being set aside to rest.

The book itself is a large spiral bound book wider than the average book by at least 50%.

I have not done any of the lessons and questions yet, but I have spent time looking through it and this is a wonderful resource to help Christians. The questions require actual thought, and there is a lot of great advice in and input for Christians wanting to do better with this discipleship thing in today's world. This is an extremely well done book, and I'd recommend it for group or individual study.

This book was given to me in exchange for my honest review.

Many Christians have unknowingly embraced a lie--the idea that "church" is a once-a-week event rather than a community of Spirit-empowered people; that "ministry" is something pastors do on Sunday morning rather than the 24/7 calling of all true believers; and that "discipleship" is a program rather than the normal state of every follower of Jesus. Drawing on his experience as a pastor and church planter, Jeff Vanderstelt wants us to see that there's more--much more--to the normal Christian life than merely sitting in a pew and listening to a sermon once a week. Rather, God has called his people to something bigger: a view of the Christian life that encompasses the ordinary, the extraordinary, and everything in between.

My review:
(This review is for Saturate by Jeff Vanderstelt)

This book was written by Jeff Vanderstelt and was the inspiration for the field guide which he co-wrote with Ben Connelly.

As I read through Saturtate, I kept thinking "Man, I wish my church was like this!" The idea of the book and field guide is "being Jesus' disciples in the every day stuff of life." One way to do that, is to take the church to the world. One of the main topics covered in this book is how we need to get outside of the church and minister to people and let them see us doing things for others in the name of Jesus. The author tells some amazing stories of how people came to their church because of these efforts to take the church outside of the church walls.

I was also amazed at the way his church members help each other financially and other ways.

This book is full of ways we can go out into our communities and bring people to Christ. Even as I found myself wishing my church was more like this one, I also found myself convicted at all of the things this church is doing that I am not. We tend to not want to get out of our comfort zone or do much that inconveniences ourselves, but this book shows just how wrong that kind of thinking is and how we all need to do more.

I found the book very interesting, helpful, and convicting. It can be read completely independent of the field guide.

This book was given to me in exchange for my honest review.

About the authors:

Jeff Vanderstelt is the visionary leader of the Soma Family of Churches and the lead teaching pastor of Doxa Church in Bellevue, Washington. He also travels around the U.S. and the world equipping the church in the gospel and missional living. Vanderstelt is the author of Saturate: Being Disciples of Jesus in the Everyday Stuff of Life.

He and Jayne, his wife of 22 years, have three children; Haylee, Caleb and Maggie.

Ben Connelly started and now co-pastors The City Church, part of the Acts 29 network and Soma Family of Churches. He is also the co-author of A Field Guide for Everyday Mission (Moody Publishers). With degrees from Baylor University and Dallas Theological Seminary, Connelly taught public speaking at TCU for six years. He now leads church planting for the Soma Family in North America, writes for various publications, trains folks across the country and blogs in spurts.

Connelly, his wife Jess and their kiddos Charlotte, Maggie and Travis live in Fort Worth, TX

Are you having difficulties translating the truths you believe in your mind about your Christian faith to the reality of your everyday life? Learn how to keep the gospel in the everyday stuff of your life with a new resource, Saturate Field Guide. This 8-week guide offers an all-of-life approach to being disciples who make disciples of Jesus. The questions, activities, prayers, and exercises will prompt you to do exactly that—put your thoughts and theology into hands-on practice. Designed for both group and individual use, each week will build on the next, aligning your heart with the will of God, examining your core identity beliefs, and launching you into mission.

Join Ben Connelly and Jeff Vanderstelt in celebrating the release of Saturate Field Guide with a small group bundle giveaway!