It is not often that I review the books I have read, mainly because I don’t really fancy myself a literary critic. However, there are times when certain books bring me to the point of wanting to say something.
The book in question is Crash the Chatterbox by Steven Furtick.
Before I really dig into the book, I have to say I really wanted to like it and really wanted to like and respect the author (he was recommended by a close friend). I simply could not do either.
“I hear the voices inside my head.” “I must listen to the voices that are in my head.” Usually these are utterances from a crazy person or someone pretending to be crazy; however, we are bombarded daily with a lot of voices. That is not to say we are crazy, but from the media, family members and even ourselves we hear voices which spout that we are not good enough, that we need to live our lives a certain way, that wished we were never born.
In Crash The Chatterbox, Steven Furtick wants his readers to know God’s voice above all the other voices they hear day after day. Furtick mentions that God does speak and his continues to speak through the Bible. He wrote, “(God’s) voice rises from the pages of His Word, which is the exact expression of His will. He speaks, not only on Sunday mornings in the sanctuary where the congregation is gathered, but also in the stillness of His works scattered across the night skies” (pg. 3). Furtick starts off really strong pointing out that God still speaks through His Word. However, Furtick strays a little when he states that God speaks through creation. While there is a general revelation of God through nature, (the Bible does say the heavens declare his glory and the skies proclaim his handiwork Psalm 19:1 and the invisible attributes can be seen in nature Romans 1:20) general revelation is not the primary avenue by which God speaks to His people. It is through His Word.
The book is divided into four sections addressing the issues of insecurity (God Says I Am), fear (God Says He Will), condemnation (God Says He Has), and discouragement (God Says I Can). Furtick references his previous book Greater, which is about God making us achieve greatness that is beyond human hands, to this book saying it is to “short-curcuit the thoughts and patterns that the Enemy employs to disrupt the greatness God has initiated” (pg. 10). I know were are called to spread the Gospel,but it seems to me that all Furtick cares about is achieving greatness so people will know who you are. God equips us to proclaim His greatness. We are supposed to become less so He is more.
The more I read this book, the more it keeps looking like something the “Word of Faith” movement teaches about while making the Christian life all about the Christian and what the Christian needs. I know we all struggle with insecurity, fear, condemnation, and discouragement, but how we deal with those issues and the need to rectify them should be centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ. What Furtick tries to do is get the reader to hear what “the chatterbox” is saying about ourselves versus what God says about us; however Christianity is not about unlocking our greatness but demonstrating His greatness through us. In short, Steven Furtick’s book is filled with self-centered, me first, my feelings Christianity that has been a blight on the American church since the latter part of the 20th Century and the early parts of the 21st. I cannot not recommend this book to anyone for it fails to be theocentric and puts the saved before the Savior.
