cover image Meant to Live: Living in Light of the Good News

Meant to Live: Living in Light of the Good News

Nancy Hicks. Morgan James, $15.99 trade paper (206p) ISBN 978-1-64279-328-4

Hicks (Nancy Hicks Live), former on-air host for QVC, identifies the four “camps of Christians” that should be avoided and proposes an alternative way of living a faith-filled life in this effusive if spotty guide to Christian personality types. As Hicks sees it, many Christians fall into one of four categories: “untapped,” “truth protector,” “keepin’ it real,” and “#blessed.” Using scriptural references, she describes the strengths and weaknesses of each group, and challenges readers to evaluate which camp they feel the most affinity toward. For instance, “untapped” Christians lack belief in the power of Christ (and often their own abilities, as well), but are normally wise and humble. And “truth protector” Christians commonly have high integrity and a love of knowledge, but also find it hard relax or to find “genuine joy.” After Hicks outlines her groupings, she argues that “we all have a bit of each of these camps,” and that readers should (somewhat confusingly) embrace all of them while avoiding the “sin of pride.” While her types will provide conversation starters for reading groups, her frenetic style of jumping from expounding on her system, to relating stories of her ministry travels, to digressions about societal ills and problems of abuse within Christian churches, will turn off many readers. Despite this, Hicks’s haphazard classification of Christian personality types will appeal to readers interested in personality types associated with the enneagram. [em](Sept.) [/em]