BOOK REPORT

When Amazon delivered "Winning the War in Your Mind - Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life" by Craig Groeschel, I had hopes that it would be a book I've been looking for:  a clear-eyed look at Scriptural truth through the lens of all the fascinating research in recent years regarding how the human brain functions (and malfunctions). 

I didn't know who Groeschel was, but inside the dust jacket was this promising blurb from John C. Maxwell:

Another blurb assured me that it is a "must-read ... Packed full of research." 

There's a wee bit of science in the book, but it seems to me that Groeschel's main research likely consisted of an afternoon Googling "brain science" and reading the first few websites that popped up. 

And as for "biblical wisdom", I give him credit for quoting the Bible frequently throughout the book, but the verses he quotes tend to be the very same verses you would find on an inspirational calendar from Big Lots. And just as isolated from any relevant context.

A lot of Groeschel's most "profound" insights read like points from a megachurch sermon:

"If it's big enough to worry about, it's big enough to pray about." 

And "If it's on your mind, it's on God's heart."

And there's a good reason for that: Groeschel is pastor of the third largest church in the U.S. and this new book is the framework for the church's latest sermon series. 

I won't say there's nothing of value in the book. But it strikes me as mostly a Christian infomercial for Daily Affirmations. Which may actually be pretty powerful, by the way, but I always end up picturing SNL's Stuart Smalley staring into a mirror and reciting:

So my wife gets points for knowing what I am looking for in a book, but I am going to have to keep looking for one that exercises expertise in combining what scientists know about the human brain with what Scripture says about our minds and spirits. 

(I can now cross "writing a snarky book review" off my bucket list.)