In the Gap: What Happens When God's People Stand Strong

by Wilfredo de Jesús

In this book, Wilfredo De Jesús (known as Pastor Choco) gives nine examples of courageous people in the Scriptures—men and women who recognized desperate needs and trusted God to use them to make a difference. This book, as well as a companion study guide and DVD, are available in English and Spanish. Original.

Genres: Christian, Faith, Leadership

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Wilfredo De Jesús was named to TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World list in 2013 and was a keynote speaker at Willow Creek’s Leadership Summit in 2014. Known by many as “Pastor Choco,” he is senior pastor of New Life Covenant Church in Chicago. He founded and directs New Life Family Services, a nonprofit that operates a homeless shelter for women with children. He is also the vice president of social justice for the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, which represents more than 16 million Hispanic Christians.

Reviews

[George P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

 Wilfredo De Jesús, In the Gap: What Happens When God’s People Stand Strong (Springfield, MO: Influence Resources, 2014). Paperback / Kindle (Also in Spanish: Paperback / Kindle)

Nearly eight months ago, my wife and I became foster parents to two sisters, who are 19- and 2-months old. The experience has been rewarding, of course, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that it also has been hard. We used to be able to pack our son into the car and go on extended road trips. We don’t do that anymore. We used to be able to go out for date nights. That’s now a rare occurrence. We used to get a full night’s sleep. Now, we wake up two to three times a night to feed someone else’s baby.

“A gap,” Wilfredo De Jesús writes in his new book, “represents a place of weakness, vulnerability, and danger. It is a defenseless location of exposure and limitation, a point where people face real threats.” My foster daughters were “in the gap,” so to speak, when they came into our home. It fell to my wife and me to stand in the gap for them and become a source of strength, health, and safety for them.

Based on my personal experience, I read In the Gap with real interest. Pastor Choco—as De Jesus is known popularly—outlines the traits of “gap people,” drawing on the examples of biblical characters:

Nehemiah identified a problem to solve,
Esther understood her times,
Noah was “all in,” no matter what the cost,
David was anointed by God to do the work,
Barnabas saw hidden potential,
John the Baptist was willing to take risks,
Gideon was sensitive to the voice of God,
Deborah earned a reputation of wisdom and strength, and
Caleb had a “different spirit.”

As I read about these biblical characters, I realized that my feelings of inadequacy, loss of comfort and ease, and occasional desires to throw in the towel were not unique to me. If you stand “in the gap,” you put yourself in harm’s way, you make your life more difficult, and you experience crises of faith. But you also—and this is the most important thing—do what God wants you to do by trading your comfort for the wellbeing of others. Isn’t this what Jesus—the Ultimate Gap Man—meant when he said, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45)?

Please don’t misunderstand me. I don’t think my wife and I are heroes. I know us all too well—our struggles, doubts, and frustrations—to say anything so arrogant. Indeed, I ask myself why it took me so long (I’m 45 years old) to stand in the gap for little children whom Jesus loves and blesses.

Rather, I share my story in order to explain why I profited from reading this book. This book encouraged me to keep on doing whatever I can do to make my life a blessing for others, especially those in places of weakness, vulnerability, and danger. I hope, when you read this book, it will have the same effect on you.

In the Gap includes discussion questions at the end of each chapter, which can be used for personal reflection or group discussion. It has a self-evaluation tool at the back of the book to help you determine “where God is already at work in your life…and where He may need to do a little more to sharpen and shape you.” Finally, it includes useful suggestions for how to use the book in small groups and classes.

(Full disclosure: I know Pastor Choco personally, and I work for the Assemblies of God, which is the parent company of Influence Resources.)

P.S. If you found this review helpful, please vote “Yes” on my Amazon.com review page.

[Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leitura desafiadora. Deus busca por pessoas que se coloquem na brecha - aqueles problemas complexos que fazem nosso mundo injusto e desigual. Jesus se colocou na brecha pelo maior problema de todos. O autor apresenta várias histórias da Bíblia onde diversas pessoas - Neemias, Ester, Noé, Davi, Barnabé, Gideão, Débora, entre outros - se colocaram na brecha e fizeram a diferença. Em qual brecha Deus está te chamando pra se colocar?
"Procurei entre eles um homem que erguesse o muro e se pusesse na brecha diante de mim e em favor desta terra, para que eu não a destruísse, mas não encontrei nenhum.”
‭‭Ezequiel‬ ‭22:30‬

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.

I've been very excited about reading this book since I heard about it in April. In this book, Pastor Choco talks about different people in the Bible that 'stood in the gap' for their families, friends, and even their country. I really enjoyed reading through this. He gives many examples of how others stood in the gap, the qualities they shared, and how we can stand in the gap for those that we love. It's perfect for a group study. I highly recommend this book to any Christian!

[Juan Laureano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great, biblical sound, inspiring book detailing how we as Christians can and must love all not only through our words and prayers, but also through our actions. Our actions to stand in the gap for those that need help is a necessity. From our faith emerges works that glorify God.

Pastor Wilfredo (Choco) analyzes and explains the actions of a handful of individuals from the Bible that we can look up to and imitate. He mixes enough of his life experiences to keep it interesting and personal as well.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the overall message of this book about standing in the gap for others, but found the last few chapters lacking.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good, it taught me a lot. I highly recommend it!

[Heidi Huus · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was required reading for professional development. I didn’t love every chapter, but I could appreciate most of them. Gideon was my favorite chapter! I learned a lot from this book.

[James Iniba · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of short sermons about standing in the gap for God and people.
I loved the fact that it was a book I stopped reading and had a very easy time picking it right back up.

[Sara Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

"With revelation comes responsibility..." In The Gap gives detailed biblical examples of 9 traits that characterize people who stand in the place of vulnerability, weakness and danger to help other. It's easy to understand why Pastor Choco was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People In The World. In The Gap is full of insights like,"politicians can solve problems of the heart." Bravo Pastor Choco!

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really hated giving this two stars because I think Pastor Choco is an amazing man, gifted storyteller & powerful influence. I also love the concept of the book. There were one or two chapters I really connected with but overall the book just really fell flat. Even stories that I've heard before & loved did not translate well in this book. I did like the quiz at the end & am hopeful others will be able to get much more out of this than me.

[Thomas Christianson · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book positions itself as an exposition of biblical characters, it's got more eisegesis than exogesis. De Jesus had some interesting thoughts, but it was more opinion based (with some examples of anachronism) than I was expecting.

Good potential for a group to utilize as a discussion starter rather than a theological resource.

[Anda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. I learned some interesting things about the Bible I never knew. Easy read, but long chapters. I was able to evaluate some of my strengths and weaknesses. It also gave me a desire to be a gap person. Overall good book. Worth reading.

[Anna Townsend · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should read this. Perfect to read individually or to study as part of a group