cover image THE LOW ROAD TO NEW HEIGHTS: What It Takes to Live Like Christ in the Here and Now

THE LOW ROAD TO NEW HEIGHTS: What It Takes to Live Like Christ in the Here and Now

Wellington Boone, . . Doubleday, $19.95 (208pp) ISBN 978-0-385-50087-6

Atlanta-based pastor Boone (Your Wife Is Not Your Momma) here instructs readers on living humbly, like Jesus. Humility, says Boone, is "one of the most important words that has defined the nature and character of Jesus Christ," meaning that in descending from heaven to earth, Jesus fundamentally lowered himself. Therein, suggests Boone, is one of the secrets to pursuing the Christian life. This slim book is full of useful hints, designed to help readers actually follow Jesus' example of humility: for starters, says Boone, Christians should pray as Jesus prayed, and they should never hesitate to spread God's message. But this is not merely a religious how-to. Boone also threads musings on biblical stories throughout; for example, he points to Moses as a model of servant leadership. He draws on more recent historical personages, such as Harriet Tubman, in showing that humility does not make one a doormat. Perhaps the book's only flaw is that at times it reads like two books in one; interwoven with the discussion of humility is a great deal on leadership. Though this material is not wholly irrelevant—Boone suggests that humility is not at odds with leadership, for the best leaders are those who submit themselves to God—it nonetheless feels shoehorned. But that is a small complaint with a book so full of insight and wisdom. Boone, never ponderous, writes with a light touch, and his timely reminder of an oft-neglected virtue is sure to be accessible and inspiring to a wide-ranging audience. (July 16)