What do you think?
Rate this book
Journey To Authenticity by R. Sonny Misar
Journey To Authenticity chronicles the journey of the believer in finding his or her self-identity in Christ. It focuses largely in understanding the various seasons of life that believers must pass through on their way to authentic Christian living. Beginning as a spoken message that has helped many, this timely book will help believers at all stages to understand God's way of leading his own into the maturity to which we are all called in Christ.
Paperback
First published December 9, 2010
1 person is currently reading
19 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 25, 2023
Excellent read! One for the bookshelf to reread over the years. Ive read it twice
March 8, 2024
Some strong takeaways. I would enjoy working through this one in a small group.
November 14, 2024
Excellent book. Learned so much about the life process and it's made clear where I'm at. So glad I read this.
May 2, 2012
This book was an easy read. It is not theologically or doctrinally heavy but rather an observation of general stages in our journey as a believer in Christ. Formatted to be used as a devotional or group study makes this a book that begs to be contemplated beyond surface level and challenges the reader to assess which season of life they are in and their identity in that season.
I had the pleasure of hearing the author speak at our church and was deeply touched by the grace and compassion he has for the body of Christ. It was a timely message for me considering where I am in my journey as a believer, decisions I have made, life events that have happened, and where I find myself today. After he spoke I couldn't help think, "WHY didn't anyone tell me this 20 years ago when I gave my life to follow His call?!" If I were armed with such a viewpoint on authenticity and grace, perhaps my legalistic perspective on life and my unrealistic viewpoint on us believers wouldn't have needed to be broken and shattered. Perhaps in my Warrior stage I wouldn't have judged people on their journeys or judge myself on what the "ideal" Christian should look like and strive to be that. Perhaps I wouldn't have been BLIND SIGHTED by the Brokenness stage and the reality that no matter how long I have been passionately and victoriously walking with Christ I am still human. That God in His wisdom (that is not my own) will set my life on a course I would have never chosen for myself. That there is so much pain and fallout of every kind in this season but that I would be okay... sheltered in His hands IF I choose to walk in His ways and precepts. That EVERYONE will go through this season more than once in their lifetime and it is GOOD. Perhaps in the Surrender stage I would have more patience with myself as I bounce from surrender to desperately trying to control things and back to surrender. Then there is Authenticity. Where I am boldly living my story that really isn't my story...it's His story of grace, redemption, and relationship with Him and with others. That my continued purpose in life really doesn't look different than it did before the Brokenness stage. It just has a new maturity and deeper knowledge of the nature of the one who made me. That I can more effectually live my calling to teach, encourage, build up the body of Christ, and share Jesus with others. As mentioned before this was a timely message for me. I experienced a significant amount of freedom after reading this book and hearing the author speak.
As with any Christian book aimed to help the believer on their journey in life, the reader needs to keep in mind this is not gospel truth. It is an observation and a passing of knowledge as understood by the author from his experience.
Here is an overview of the main "stages" or "seasons" of the spiritual life of a believer and a brief explanation of each:
Stage One: New Life. Characterized by awakening, spiritual new birth, excitement, innocence. Strengths of the believer at this stage: freedom, forgiveness, awe of God, wonder, new life purpose and meaning. Weaknesses: sense of unworthiness, over-dependant on feelings, unaware of God's Word and ways, not fully leaving old life. Life stage axiom: "Celebrate Grace".
Stage Two: Learner. Characterized by discovery, gaining insight and experience, digging deeper, sense of rightness. Strengths: Learning identity in Christ, hunger for God's Word, love for family of God. Weaknesses: Judgmental of others, "us against them" mentality, knowledge without wisdom. Life stage axiom: "Learn All You Can".
Stage Three: Warrior. Characterized by: achieving, leading, conquering, attaining, solving, building, protecting. Strengths: Accomplishing spiritual goals, zeal and vision, buoyant in spirit and faith. Weaknesses: spiritual pride, self-strength, addicted to fruit-bearing, insensitive to the hurting. Life stage axiom: "Go For It".
Stage Four: Brokenness. Characterized by: Uncertainty, feeling out of control, confusion, despair, depression, looking for escape. Strengths: Learning to embrace weakness, humility, gaining compassion for others. Weaknesses: Giving up on God & others, escapist behaviors, cynicism, categorizing our past as a waste. Life stage axiom: "Hang On, Don't Give Up".
Stage Five: Surrender. Characterized by: Weakness, stillness, unknowing. Strengths: Broken self-will, sharing in the sufferings of Christ, becoming weak so that Christ is strong. Weaknesses: Wanting to speed up the process, anger, resistance, bargaining, losing heart. Life stage axiom: "Die Well".
Stage Six: Authenticity. Characterized by: Wisdom, being settled in identity, simplicity, loving devotion to God and others. Strengths: Richness of Christ-like character, being others oriented, compassionate, gaining life perspective. Weaknesses: using your new freedom selfishly, "spiritual retirement", living in the past. Life stage axiom: "Live to Give".
I had the pleasure of hearing the author speak at our church and was deeply touched by the grace and compassion he has for the body of Christ. It was a timely message for me considering where I am in my journey as a believer, decisions I have made, life events that have happened, and where I find myself today. After he spoke I couldn't help think, "WHY didn't anyone tell me this 20 years ago when I gave my life to follow His call?!" If I were armed with such a viewpoint on authenticity and grace, perhaps my legalistic perspective on life and my unrealistic viewpoint on us believers wouldn't have needed to be broken and shattered. Perhaps in my Warrior stage I wouldn't have judged people on their journeys or judge myself on what the "ideal" Christian should look like and strive to be that. Perhaps I wouldn't have been BLIND SIGHTED by the Brokenness stage and the reality that no matter how long I have been passionately and victoriously walking with Christ I am still human. That God in His wisdom (that is not my own) will set my life on a course I would have never chosen for myself. That there is so much pain and fallout of every kind in this season but that I would be okay... sheltered in His hands IF I choose to walk in His ways and precepts. That EVERYONE will go through this season more than once in their lifetime and it is GOOD. Perhaps in the Surrender stage I would have more patience with myself as I bounce from surrender to desperately trying to control things and back to surrender. Then there is Authenticity. Where I am boldly living my story that really isn't my story...it's His story of grace, redemption, and relationship with Him and with others. That my continued purpose in life really doesn't look different than it did before the Brokenness stage. It just has a new maturity and deeper knowledge of the nature of the one who made me. That I can more effectually live my calling to teach, encourage, build up the body of Christ, and share Jesus with others. As mentioned before this was a timely message for me. I experienced a significant amount of freedom after reading this book and hearing the author speak.
As with any Christian book aimed to help the believer on their journey in life, the reader needs to keep in mind this is not gospel truth. It is an observation and a passing of knowledge as understood by the author from his experience.
Here is an overview of the main "stages" or "seasons" of the spiritual life of a believer and a brief explanation of each:
Stage One: New Life. Characterized by awakening, spiritual new birth, excitement, innocence. Strengths of the believer at this stage: freedom, forgiveness, awe of God, wonder, new life purpose and meaning. Weaknesses: sense of unworthiness, over-dependant on feelings, unaware of God's Word and ways, not fully leaving old life. Life stage axiom: "Celebrate Grace".
Stage Two: Learner. Characterized by discovery, gaining insight and experience, digging deeper, sense of rightness. Strengths: Learning identity in Christ, hunger for God's Word, love for family of God. Weaknesses: Judgmental of others, "us against them" mentality, knowledge without wisdom. Life stage axiom: "Learn All You Can".
Stage Three: Warrior. Characterized by: achieving, leading, conquering, attaining, solving, building, protecting. Strengths: Accomplishing spiritual goals, zeal and vision, buoyant in spirit and faith. Weaknesses: spiritual pride, self-strength, addicted to fruit-bearing, insensitive to the hurting. Life stage axiom: "Go For It".
Stage Four: Brokenness. Characterized by: Uncertainty, feeling out of control, confusion, despair, depression, looking for escape. Strengths: Learning to embrace weakness, humility, gaining compassion for others. Weaknesses: Giving up on God & others, escapist behaviors, cynicism, categorizing our past as a waste. Life stage axiom: "Hang On, Don't Give Up".
Stage Five: Surrender. Characterized by: Weakness, stillness, unknowing. Strengths: Broken self-will, sharing in the sufferings of Christ, becoming weak so that Christ is strong. Weaknesses: Wanting to speed up the process, anger, resistance, bargaining, losing heart. Life stage axiom: "Die Well".
Stage Six: Authenticity. Characterized by: Wisdom, being settled in identity, simplicity, loving devotion to God and others. Strengths: Richness of Christ-like character, being others oriented, compassionate, gaining life perspective. Weaknesses: using your new freedom selfishly, "spiritual retirement", living in the past. Life stage axiom: "Live to Give".
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews