A review of Do Not Be True to Yourself: Countercultural Advice for the Rest of Your Life
The unifying theme of this small book is “the simple exhortation to serve God faithfully and counter-culturally in the next season of your life”
Kevin DeYoung, Do Not Be True to Yourself (p.xii)
Publisher Website: “In this collection of inspiring sermons and graduation speeches, Kevin DeYoung delivers a motivational, biblical call to young people: serve God faithfully—and if necessary, counter-culturally—in the next season of your life. Do Not Be True to Yourself includes practical advice for cultivating a Christ-centered worldview in every area of adult life, including relationships, work, church participation, and spiritual growth, making it a transformational resource for mentoring students.”
https://www.crossway.org/books/do-not-be-true-to-yourself-tpb/
Written Review
Who is this for? This book is for any graduate (High School or College) and applicable to every Christian. It is the right amount of book for the target audience (80 pages), and it is “a brilliant and succinct call to all Christians to reject the spirit of the age in favor of the courageous Christian faith” (Butterfield Endorsement).
Who wrote it? Kevin DeYoung (PhD, University of Leicester). He is the senior pastor at Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, North Carolina, and associate professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte. He has written books for children, adults, and academics. Kevin and his wife, Trisha, have nine children.
What stands out?
First, the brevity of the work. The last thing High School or college graduates want to do is read. But I believe this book is small enough, profound enough, and shocking enough in its contents to draw them in and keep them reading. Second, the clarity of this book and Kevin’s use of language makes this book shine. If you have yet to read a Kevin DeYoung book you are in for a treat. Kevin has a way of both speaking and writing that is whimsical yet deep, rooted in timeless biblical truth yet directly applicable for today. No doubt, being a pastor, a professor, a husband, and a dad to nine kids has allowed him to hone these skills, and we are the beneficiaries of these talents.
Third, Kevin’s heart for High School Students and Graduates bleeds through on every page. He wants them to know Jesus and to follow him all of their days. This he makes clear in the introduction when he says the unifying theme of the five chapters, each based on a baccalaureate or commencement service, is “the simple exhortation to serve God faithfully and counter-culturally in the next season of your life” (p.xii). At the core of that message is the truth that Christians committed to God, God’s Word, and the church will face opposition from the world/culture. But as Kevin says, and I agree, the life lived for God now while bringing some difficulty in this life, is the best life and the one that leads to true blessing and eternal life.
A final bonus that stands out from this read is the the appendix at the back. Kevin has gone the extra mile and has included a list of twelve books to read when you are young. You will have to get the book to see what the list is, but they are classics (in that they deal with topics that never go out of style), are rich and deep but not overly long, and each one is written in a way that “transcends their own time and culture” (p.58).
So what do you get from this book? Five solid chapters written directly to any graduate, yet applicable for any Christian. An experienced guide that encourages every reader to follow God more faithfully. And a solid resource for any young person willing to hear how their choices now, and in the next season of life, can set them on a path that truly leads to blessing and life, both in this life and the one to come.
Table of Contents & Some Highlights
(The headings are the actual table of contents, and the bullet points are quotes or truths I found personally noteworthy as I read through this work.)
Introduction
- The unifying theme of these five baccalaureate and commencement services that have now been worked into this small book is “the simple exhortation to serve God faithfully and counter-culturally in the next season of your life” (p.xii).
Chapter 1: Don’t Be True to Yourself
- Summary – Culture and the talking heads say follow your dreams and be true to yourself, but you should not be true to your sinful self… your desires will deceive you, your reasoning will deceive you, so don’t be your old self but your new self raised with Christ and committed to the faith. “The world says you are what you feel,… you must find yourself, be true to yourself, and express yourself. Jesus gave us a different and better way to live” (p.8). Therefore, you should only be true to yourself if “you have died to your old self and your new self is raised with Christ and seated with him in the heavenly places” (p.8).
- Resource – Link to the original address this chapter was based on (YouTube Link).
Chapter 2: Choose for Yourselves
- Summary – “We are high-commitment people in other areas of our life, but not with our faith. We are workaholics,” can exercise, go on a diet, plan for education, for marriage, for getting the perfect job and then complain that Christianity demands too much and we can worry about it later (p.16). But “God wants us to be all in or all out. [Just like Joshua said to the people of Israel,] choose this day whom you will serve” (p17). “But do you serve the Lord alone? If your friends are god, serve them. If your phone is god, serve it. If sports saved you from your sins, serve sports. If grades are going to make your life worth living, serve them. If movies and television and parties are what give your life purpose, then serve them. But if Jesus is God, then stop trying to hedge your bets” (p.14).
- Resource – Link to the original message this chapter has roots in (Vimeo Link).
Chapter 3: The First Day of the Next Chapter of Your Life
- Summary – “Of all the decisions you’ll face this year, the most important one may be whether you get up and go to church on the very first Sunday [at college] when no one is there to make sure that you go” (p.21). You may think I’m exaggerating. But your college chapel is not church, your faith org is not church, and you must decide now what you will do that first Sunday in college. “What you do in those first weeks on your own, especially what you do with your commitment to a local church, will set you on a trajectory where Jesus Christ will truly be Lord of your life or where he will be something that you learned as a young person and then left behind” (p.20).
- Quoting John Stott – “An unchurched Christian is a grotesque anomaly. The New Testament knows nothing such a person. For the church lies at the very center of the eternal purpose of God. It is not a divine afterthought” (p.23).
- Resource – The original speech this chapter was derived from was worked into an article for The Gospel Coalition before inclusion in this short book. You can view that article at this link (Article Link).
Chapter 4: Two Ways to Live
- Summary – “The life of Augustine reminds us that there are two ways to live. There is a way that looks like blessing but in the end leads to death, and a way that is more difficult at first but in the end leads to life” (p.31). Psalm 1 also teaches us about the two ways, one that leads to destruction and the other to blessing. It does this through “three negatives, one positive, two metaphors, and a conclusion” (p.33). “Augustine eventually came around to walk in the way of blessing. Will you?” (p.42).
- Resource – Link to the original message this chapter seems to be based on (Message Video Link).
Chapter 5: Horseshoes, Hand Grenades, and the Kingdom of God
- Summary – When it comes to the Kingdom of God, close does not count. Jesus complimented the scribe in Mark 12 about being not far from the Kingdom of God. The “bad news: close ain’t in” (p.52). So what was missing? “The difference between being close and being in is bowing the knee to Jesus” (p.54-55). You may believe lots of right things about Jesus, but is He your Savior and Lord? “No matter who you are or where you’ve come from, to all those just sort of hanging around in the vicinity of faith, Jesus says the same thing: ‘You’re close. Why not come in?'” (p.56)
- Resource – Link to the original message this chapter seems to be based on (Message Video Link).
Appendix: Twelve Old(ish) Books to Read When You Are Young
- This is an excellent starter list for any to read, but especially for those who are young. You will have to buy the book to see what titles Kevin includes on the list.
Notes
Scripture Index
Note: This product was sent to me by Crossway in exchange for an honest review.
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