I’m thrilled to announce the next title for the Book Club. We’ll be reading Walk the Narrow, by Raven’s Anvil.
I don’t say this lightly: I think this is one of the finest books on Christian masculinity ever written, and almost nobody has heard of it. As of this writing, the book has just 15 reviews on Amazon. I think that’s a tragedy, because it’s far better than most of what’s being published for Christian men right now.
In fact, I only recommend two books on Christian masculinity. Walk the Narrow is one. The other is The Redeemed Man, by Joel Beeke and others. (If you’re interested, I interviewed Dr. Beeke and his co-authors earlier this year.)
They’re very different books with very different emphases because they’re written by very different kinds of men who serve the same King. But between the two of them—and the Bible of course—I believe any man can find what he needs to live a faithful Christian life in our fallen world today.
Who Wrote It
The authors of Walk the Narrow are special forces veterans, and they’ve made the noble choice to stay anonymous. A pastor I know knows them, and I asked him to pass along an invitation to come on my podcast.
They said no.
I respect that massively, because it means this book isn’t for their glory. And according to its description, every dollar of profit goes to Christian mission work.
As we’ll see in the Book Club, the authors are also extraordinarily well read in the Western literary and philosophical tradition. You’ve heard the term “warrior poets,” now meet the real kind. They exist. There are men in this world who have actually done the thing. Reading Walk the Narrow made me feel like I needed to read more books than I already do.
On the back cover they expressed the intention behind their writing. Ezekiel 22:30:
“So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”
Why This Book
Every other popular book on Christian masculinity I’ve seen starts with what’s wrong out there in the world. It’s easy. Some might even say it’s cheap.
Walk the Narrow starts with what’s wrong “in here,” inside men’s hearts. Its first targets are pride and victimhood, which it calls the two chief tactics of the Enemy.
For those who listened to or watched the podcast I just released, think about Number 42 on that initiation weekend, puffing his chest out at the lieutenant like the quarrel was somehow personal. That moment is where Walk the Narrow begins.
Before we fight anybody else, we have to deal with the pride and victimhood in ourselves. And for many men, those two are the most formidable foes they’ll face today—though they’re certainly not the last ones.
And the ending of this book surprised me. It’s not at all what you’d expect special forces veterans to write, and I think every man needs to hear it.
I won’t spoil it. But it’s a big part of why I chose this book. The ending is what sets it apart from everything else in the genre you might read. It did for me.
How it works
This Book Club will run a lot like our Black Sun read-through, with one key difference: I want this to be an opportunity for discipleship.
Just like with Black Sun, we’ll meet live and read the book together, and you can ask questions as we go.
But this time I’m also adding private office hours. If you’ve got questions, or you just want to talk about what you’re reading and how it’s landing for you, my door is open. (Office hours are for men only and will not be recorded.)
The full read-through will go up publicly afterwards. But the live sessions and the office hours are for paid subscribers. So, if you’ve been meaning to upgrade, now’s a good time.
When It’s Happening
We start on Veterans Day, which feels right for a book written by special forces veterans.
FIRST LIVE SESSION:
Wednesday, November 11 at 2pm PST / 5pm EST
FIRST OFFICE HOURS:
Friday, November 13 at 11:30am PST / 2:30pm EST
Get your copy of Walk the Narrow here, and start reading.
If you start late, the Thanksgiving break gives you a week to catch up.
