Fan the Flame: Living Out Your First Love for Christ

by Joseph M. Stowell

Fan the Living Out Your First Love for Christ

138 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1986

About the author

Dr. Joseph M. Stowell serves as the 11th President of Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Comprised of approximately 2500 undergraduate and graduate students, Cornerstone is a Christ-centered university with a passion for global influence through the transforming power of the gospel. The University is committed to creating an environment where students thrive both spiritually and intellectually as they prepare themselves to influence our world as followers of Jesus.

An internationally recognized conference speaker, Joe has also written numerous books including "The Trouble with Jesus, Simply Jesus and You, The Upside of Down" and "Eternity." Joe also serves with RBC Ministries, partnering in media productions, writing, and outreach to pastors. His "Strength for the Journey" web ministry, www.getmorestrength.org, features daily devotionals, weekly messages and commentary, downloadable Bible study curriculum, and an audio library of his most requested messages. Joe serves on the Board of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Wheaton College, and has a distinguished career in higher education and church leadership.

From 1987-2005, he served as the president of Moody Bible Institute, and as teaching pastor at the 10,000-member Harvest Bible Chapel in suburban Chicago from 2005 to early 2008 prior to assuming the presidency at Cornerstone University. He is a graduate of Cedarville University and Dallas Theological Seminary and was honored with a doctor of divinity degree from The Master's College in 1987. Joe and his wife Martie are the parents of three adult children and ten grandchildren.

Reviews

[Randy Corn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essentially, this book is well summarized by its subtitle, “Living Out Your First Love For Christ.” He sees certain principles as essential for what I think of as the disciplined life. These are, loving God, tempeling, true love, otherness, choices, and kingdom values. He admits that there are other guiding principles in the Word of God, but he sees this as foundational. The chapters are brief and well illustrated. One quality which I like about Stowell are the number of personal illustrations which find their way into his preaching a writing. Apparently, this book was penned before he became the president of MBI and was still serving a church in Michigan. The result is that I learned some about the Highland Park Baptist Church as a side bonus.

The chapters of this book are brief and it was easy reading. I would classify it as a devotional book because the main focus is on that aspect of the faith. I suppose I might well recommend this book to someone looking for an easy to understand approach to deepening their Christian lives. I would hasten to say that while it is a good beginning, I would not want to end with this. I personally plan to read more in this area this year to deepen my faith and “fan the flame.”

[Nance Biswas Biswas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A recommendable read for those growing cold towards their relationship with God!