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The Jonah Complex: Rediscovering the Outrageous Grace of God
“Here is a book that is both learned and easy-to-read, well-researched and inspiring. Greg Haslam has done a masterful job in producing a work that deserves to be read by every church leader and every believer. I pray that your mind will be challenged and your heart warmed by what you are about to read.” Dr. RT Kendall The message of Jonah to us today is both provocative and prophetic. It reminds us that God has a passion for reaching people that far exceeds our own. It reminds us that He is deeply affected by human sin and consistently seeks to win people back to Him by extending His outrageous grace to them. We all have something of Jonah in us. Like him, we are often wrapped up in our own concerns. But God gave Jonah a wake-up call he would never forget, setting him back on the path to achieving his destiny – and He can and will do the same for us! We may have messed up on the past or feel disqualified from doing anything great for God, but Jonah’s life is the ultimate evidence of the “God of the second chance”. Greg Haslam takes us on a journey to help us understand and cooperate with the will of God for our lives and highlights the power of what even one person can do if fully surrendered to the Almighty.
178 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 21, 2022
Fourth book I have read on Jonah in the last month as I prep for teaching this to youth. This was a solid book and if I had read it first or second I would have really liked it. But after two of my previous reads this one was a little less insightful because a lot had already been said. But even with that I liked this book and would recommend it.
August 7, 2020
Most of us are familiar with the story of Jonah, either from reading it in the Bible or hearing it in Sunday school. Now, Pastor Greg Haslam takes us "behind the scenes," so to speak, and explains what was really happening in those four short chapters.
(I usually prefer to communicate directly with the author, but I couldn't find a contact email address for Pastor Haslam. This is a summary of the editing oversights I found in the Kindle text:
Page 7, Thank you James / Thank YOU, James ; 14, provides us with a further conundrums / provides us WITH FURTHER conundrums (omit "a") ; 22, story is it's tight narrative brevity / story is ITS tight narrative brevity ; 22, His invitation for you and I to enter / His invitation for you and ME to enter (the preposition "for" requires the objective pronoun "me") ; 25, few books possess it's power / few books possess ITS power ;
(Here's a hint for better writing: "IT'S" is always a contraction of either "IT IS" or "IT HAS". If you cannot replace the "IT'S" in your sentence by one of these phrases, drop the apostrophe and use "ITS" instead.)
Page 26, before it would completely obliterated / before it would BE completely obliterated ; 26, the attention his people / the attention OF his people ; 28, adding to it's flavour / adding to ITS flavour ; 28, The extent to which Nineveh had sunk, propelled it / The extent to which Nineveh had SUNK PROPELLED it (omit unnecessary comma) ; 30, with it's technological advancements / with ITS technological advancements ;
Page 31, the city from it's core / the city from ITS core ; 33, the face of the power of one / the FACT (?) of the power of one ; 39, the style of it's delivery / the style of ITS delivery ; 39, There is no point God speaking / There is no point IN God speaking ; 40, A ship to Tarshish anyone? / A ship to TARSHISH, anyone? ; 43, Use me Lord / Use ME, Lord ; 50, even among it's most far off / even among ITS most far off ;
Page 57, What a remarkable co-incidence / What a remarkable COINCIDENCE (no hyphen) ; 58, everything is alright with the world / everything is ALL RIGHT with the world ; 60, freshness of unchartered waters / freshness of UNCHARTED waters ; 64, We submit to it's reductionism / We submit to ITS reductionism ; 66, son of a Gloucester inn-keeper / son of a Gloucester INNKEEPER (no hyphen) ;
Page 70, This working ship, sailing inconspicuously through familiar and predictable waters was about to be tossed / This working ship, sailing inconspicuously through familiar and predictable WATERS, was about to be tossed ; 72, remained in a comatozed state / ("comatozed" is not even a
legitimate word, and "comatose" has a specific medical definition; I suggest the following alternative) remained in AN INSENSIBLE state ;
Page 72, foundations of it's past / foundations of ITS past ; 74, just as our forbears did / just as our FOREBEARS did (forebears = ancestors or predecessors) ; 78, it could issue in some kind / it could ENSUE in some kind ; 79, It's answers are the foundation / ITS answers are the foundation ; 80, to avert Gods anger / to avert GOD'S anger ; 86, allow Him speak to you / allow Him TO speak to you ;
Page 87, determined by His design not yours / determined by His DESIGN, not yours ; 89, who you will eventually effect / WHOM you will eventually AFFECT ; 90, the purpose God has for you life / the purpose God has for YOUR life ; 92, unless he changes our passions / unless He changes our passions ("he" refers to God, so should be capitalized) ; 95, the creative voice God / the creative voice OF God ;
Page 100, discarded as obsolete having failed / discarded as OBSOLETE, having failed ; 100, it is people not things that can be / it is PEOPLE, not THINGS, that can be ; 102, I saw first hand / I saw FIRSTHAND ; 105, Lord, I believe you are exposing me / Lord, I believe You are exposing me ("you" refers to God) ; 109, it is God Himself who has sentenced us / it is God Himself Who has sentenced us ("who" refers to God) ;
Page 110, Can I have my church back please? / Can I have My church BACK, please? ("my" refers to Jesus) ; 110, a ship that has keeled over in a storm and lunged to the sea bed / a ship that has keeled over in a storm and PLUNGED to the sea bed ; 113, Contained within it's four short chapters / Contained within ITS four short chapters ; 113, break our small minded thinking / break our SMALL-MINDED thinking ;
Page 121, They all had die to false hopes / They all had TO die to false hopes ; 121, George Muller caught God's heart / George MUELLER caught God's heart (spelled with "UE" in all other occurrences in book) ; 128, God who hears him commands / God Who hears him commands ("who" refers to God) ; 129, making a surprising come back / making a surprising COMEBACK ;
Page 131, to God and the leaders he has placed / to God and the leaders He has placed ("he" refers to God) ; 131, that It's not just His ministry / that it's not just His ministry ("it's" should not be capitalized) ; 131, and he can trust and use you / and He can trust and use you ("he" refers to God) ; 133, Jonah forfeited, "the grace that could have been his" / Jonah FORFEITED "the grace that could have been his" (omit comma) ;
Page 134, It is He who ministers / It is He Who ministers ("who" refers to God) ; 134, with you relationship with Himself / with YOUR relationship with Himself ; 136, God insists we we retrace our steps / God insists THAT WE retrace our steps (omit second "we") ; 138, acknowledge its not our personal property / acknowledge IT'S not our personal property (IT IS not ...) ;
Page 145, a nation that turns it back / a nation that turns ITS back ; 146, the whole town of Northampton, Massachusetts awaken / the whole town of Northampton, MASSACHUSETTS, awaken ; 151, filtered into every strata of Nineveh's society / filtered into every STRATUM of Nineveh's society ("strata" is plural; "stratum" is the singular form) ; 151, It issued in repentance / It ENSUED in repentance ;
Page 151, revival in Pensacola, Florida in the mid / revival in Pensacola, FLORIDA, in the mid ; 153, to open the flood gates of God's mercy / to open the FLOODGATES of God's mercy ; 155, notorious for it's cruel, rapacious, ruthless and genocidal, ambitions for conquest / notorious for ITS cruel, rapacious, RUTHLESS, and GENOCIDAL AMBITIONS for conquest (move comma) ;
Page 162, If our pride and religious spirit keeps people away / If our pride and religious spirit KEEP people away ("pride and religious spirit" is a plural subject, requiring a plural verb) ; 162, that he in effect he said to God / that he in EFFECT SAID to God (--OR--) THAT IN effect he said to God (omit duplicate "he") ; 165, not only whips up a sandstorm it also desiccates / not only whips up a SANDSTORM, it also desiccates ;
Page 168, He saved you and me didn't he? / He saved you and ME, didn't he? ; 169, this narrative and it's ending that isn't an ending / this narrative and ITS ending that isn't an ending .)
(I usually prefer to communicate directly with the author, but I couldn't find a contact email address for Pastor Haslam. This is a summary of the editing oversights I found in the Kindle text:
Page 7, Thank you James / Thank YOU, James ; 14, provides us with a further conundrums / provides us WITH FURTHER conundrums (omit "a") ; 22, story is it's tight narrative brevity / story is ITS tight narrative brevity ; 22, His invitation for you and I to enter / His invitation for you and ME to enter (the preposition "for" requires the objective pronoun "me") ; 25, few books possess it's power / few books possess ITS power ;
(Here's a hint for better writing: "IT'S" is always a contraction of either "IT IS" or "IT HAS". If you cannot replace the "IT'S" in your sentence by one of these phrases, drop the apostrophe and use "ITS" instead.)
Page 26, before it would completely obliterated / before it would BE completely obliterated ; 26, the attention his people / the attention OF his people ; 28, adding to it's flavour / adding to ITS flavour ; 28, The extent to which Nineveh had sunk, propelled it / The extent to which Nineveh had SUNK PROPELLED it (omit unnecessary comma) ; 30, with it's technological advancements / with ITS technological advancements ;
Page 31, the city from it's core / the city from ITS core ; 33, the face of the power of one / the FACT (?) of the power of one ; 39, the style of it's delivery / the style of ITS delivery ; 39, There is no point God speaking / There is no point IN God speaking ; 40, A ship to Tarshish anyone? / A ship to TARSHISH, anyone? ; 43, Use me Lord / Use ME, Lord ; 50, even among it's most far off / even among ITS most far off ;
Page 57, What a remarkable co-incidence / What a remarkable COINCIDENCE (no hyphen) ; 58, everything is alright with the world / everything is ALL RIGHT with the world ; 60, freshness of unchartered waters / freshness of UNCHARTED waters ; 64, We submit to it's reductionism / We submit to ITS reductionism ; 66, son of a Gloucester inn-keeper / son of a Gloucester INNKEEPER (no hyphen) ;
Page 70, This working ship, sailing inconspicuously through familiar and predictable waters was about to be tossed / This working ship, sailing inconspicuously through familiar and predictable WATERS, was about to be tossed ; 72, remained in a comatozed state / ("comatozed" is not even a
legitimate word, and "comatose" has a specific medical definition; I suggest the following alternative) remained in AN INSENSIBLE state ;
Page 72, foundations of it's past / foundations of ITS past ; 74, just as our forbears did / just as our FOREBEARS did (forebears = ancestors or predecessors) ; 78, it could issue in some kind / it could ENSUE in some kind ; 79, It's answers are the foundation / ITS answers are the foundation ; 80, to avert Gods anger / to avert GOD'S anger ; 86, allow Him speak to you / allow Him TO speak to you ;
Page 87, determined by His design not yours / determined by His DESIGN, not yours ; 89, who you will eventually effect / WHOM you will eventually AFFECT ; 90, the purpose God has for you life / the purpose God has for YOUR life ; 92, unless he changes our passions / unless He changes our passions ("he" refers to God, so should be capitalized) ; 95, the creative voice God / the creative voice OF God ;
Page 100, discarded as obsolete having failed / discarded as OBSOLETE, having failed ; 100, it is people not things that can be / it is PEOPLE, not THINGS, that can be ; 102, I saw first hand / I saw FIRSTHAND ; 105, Lord, I believe you are exposing me / Lord, I believe You are exposing me ("you" refers to God) ; 109, it is God Himself who has sentenced us / it is God Himself Who has sentenced us ("who" refers to God) ;
Page 110, Can I have my church back please? / Can I have My church BACK, please? ("my" refers to Jesus) ; 110, a ship that has keeled over in a storm and lunged to the sea bed / a ship that has keeled over in a storm and PLUNGED to the sea bed ; 113, Contained within it's four short chapters / Contained within ITS four short chapters ; 113, break our small minded thinking / break our SMALL-MINDED thinking ;
Page 121, They all had die to false hopes / They all had TO die to false hopes ; 121, George Muller caught God's heart / George MUELLER caught God's heart (spelled with "UE" in all other occurrences in book) ; 128, God who hears him commands / God Who hears him commands ("who" refers to God) ; 129, making a surprising come back / making a surprising COMEBACK ;
Page 131, to God and the leaders he has placed / to God and the leaders He has placed ("he" refers to God) ; 131, that It's not just His ministry / that it's not just His ministry ("it's" should not be capitalized) ; 131, and he can trust and use you / and He can trust and use you ("he" refers to God) ; 133, Jonah forfeited, "the grace that could have been his" / Jonah FORFEITED "the grace that could have been his" (omit comma) ;
Page 134, It is He who ministers / It is He Who ministers ("who" refers to God) ; 134, with you relationship with Himself / with YOUR relationship with Himself ; 136, God insists we we retrace our steps / God insists THAT WE retrace our steps (omit second "we") ; 138, acknowledge its not our personal property / acknowledge IT'S not our personal property (IT IS not ...) ;
Page 145, a nation that turns it back / a nation that turns ITS back ; 146, the whole town of Northampton, Massachusetts awaken / the whole town of Northampton, MASSACHUSETTS, awaken ; 151, filtered into every strata of Nineveh's society / filtered into every STRATUM of Nineveh's society ("strata" is plural; "stratum" is the singular form) ; 151, It issued in repentance / It ENSUED in repentance ;
Page 151, revival in Pensacola, Florida in the mid / revival in Pensacola, FLORIDA, in the mid ; 153, to open the flood gates of God's mercy / to open the FLOODGATES of God's mercy ; 155, notorious for it's cruel, rapacious, ruthless and genocidal, ambitions for conquest / notorious for ITS cruel, rapacious, RUTHLESS, and GENOCIDAL AMBITIONS for conquest (move comma) ;
Page 162, If our pride and religious spirit keeps people away / If our pride and religious spirit KEEP people away ("pride and religious spirit" is a plural subject, requiring a plural verb) ; 162, that he in effect he said to God / that he in EFFECT SAID to God (--OR--) THAT IN effect he said to God (omit duplicate "he") ; 165, not only whips up a sandstorm it also desiccates / not only whips up a SANDSTORM, it also desiccates ;
Page 168, He saved you and me didn't he? / He saved you and ME, didn't he? ; 169, this narrative and it's ending that isn't an ending / this narrative and ITS ending that isn't an ending .)
November 8, 2019
As nearly all Christians today have read or are familiar with the book of Jonah, author and pastor Greg Haslam has much more to cover for you in the way of practical application. Some may contemplate if fiction played a part in this story especially as it relates to being swallowed up by a whale but Haslam shares the following: "My confident conviction is that, if Christ treated Jonah as a living, historical figure and the events of his life as real events, then so should we."
Jonah's mission, you will discover, is much like ours today in terms of a mandate from God to make a difference in the lives of others. The striking question of "will we fare better in our mission than Jonah did?" will be better answered at the conclusion of the book. The author's heart is that Jonah's message will touch your emotions with the deep feelings of God that will affect your choices and actions.
Jonah ran away from God's call which you may identify with. "God will never stop pursuing us or challenging our fears and rebellion to the point where we cry out and acknowledge His perfect will for our lives.". Jonah was swallowed by a fish but you may be engulfed in pride, fear, or rebellion. The God of a second chance, Haslam believes, is ready to help us retrace our steps and get back on track. Learn the value of emptying yourself so that God will fill you anew with His power.
This is a wake up call for the church as well and the storm "at sea" will not cease until we wake up and take responsibility for our part in ignoring the warnings of God. This book is so vital for every Christian as it reveals the heart of God in His mandate commission to us as Believers. I highly recommend this book.
Jonah's mission, you will discover, is much like ours today in terms of a mandate from God to make a difference in the lives of others. The striking question of "will we fare better in our mission than Jonah did?" will be better answered at the conclusion of the book. The author's heart is that Jonah's message will touch your emotions with the deep feelings of God that will affect your choices and actions.
Jonah ran away from God's call which you may identify with. "God will never stop pursuing us or challenging our fears and rebellion to the point where we cry out and acknowledge His perfect will for our lives.". Jonah was swallowed by a fish but you may be engulfed in pride, fear, or rebellion. The God of a second chance, Haslam believes, is ready to help us retrace our steps and get back on track. Learn the value of emptying yourself so that God will fill you anew with His power.
This is a wake up call for the church as well and the storm "at sea" will not cease until we wake up and take responsibility for our part in ignoring the warnings of God. This book is so vital for every Christian as it reveals the heart of God in His mandate commission to us as Believers. I highly recommend this book.
November 14, 2017
#Recommended
I liked this book in so many ways but particularly the way the author translates the story making it both fresh and relevant for todays world. The author has an engaging style that both challenges and informs! #Recommended
I liked this book in so many ways but particularly the way the author translates the story making it both fresh and relevant for todays world. The author has an engaging style that both challenges and informs! #Recommended
December 31, 2022
The author, Greg Haslam, is R. T. Kendall's chosen successor at Westminster Chapel in London. I found a few insights in this book but overall it’s approach to exposition is more topical and eisegetical than exegetical. Others may enjoy and benefit from this style more than I did.
January 2, 2018
I can't say Jonah is a book I've seen a lot of authors write about... unless, of course, it's a part of a Bible commentary. Maybe that's why I was drawn to this one. The Jonah Complex is a short volume, written by a pastor in London who takes on the story of Jonah as something we can learn deep lessons from and feels that the message is much more than just a story for children in Sunday School.
When I started the first chapter, I was sure the main topic was going to be evangelism. After all, Jonah was called to preach to a foreign nation! But it only took a few pages to realize that the author had much more in mind than just talking about spreading the gospel - he was going to go in depth about every aspect of Jonah’s story. This is one of the main reasons why I loved this book! Haslam introduced us to Jonah in a way only someone who has studied the prophet can. He started with what Jonah was doing before his call to Nineveh, something I didn't realize was tucked away in another part of the Bible! He set the stage by explaining where/who the Ninevites were (a.k.a. terrorists of their day) and why it was dangerous for a Jew to be in that land. The first few chapters alone were worth the read.
The part I gleaned the most from was chapter five. This section was on what it means to be called by God and is one of the most beautifully written passages I've ever read in Christianity on the topic. What touched my heart the most was how this pastor emphasized that God is a God of second chances and the ministry he gave you is yours. He won't take it away from you and cast you off when you disobey. He will wait for you, restore you and reinstate you. I highlighted this from chapter five on page 70, “We hide away in our weakness and self-doubt, not understanding that God will finish what He has started in us and He will creativity lead us back into right relationship with Himself by waking us up to the truth that He wants us and nobody else.” Reading that the first time took my breath away.
Another thing I learned that kind of shocked me - mostly because I never thought of it before - was that it is believed that Jonah literally died when he was thrown into the sea. The author stipulated that not all Christians believe that way, but went on to explain his reasoning and why he holds to this belief. I won't go into every detail, but suffice it to say he really built a good case.
Conclusion: I highly recommend The Jonah Complex. This was a great study on a book we hardly hear preached on beyond a children's lesson in Sunday School. Jonah’s story has so much to offer adults as well! The author was very thorough in his teaching and research - he didn’t skip any piece of the story and I didn’t feel that any Scriptures were taken out of context. (Something you’re always afraid of discovering when reading an author that’s new to you.) I also enjoyed the writing style of the author. Being British, Greg Haslam’s choice of words were structured different than what we’re accustomed to in America, but I really liked it. He didn’t waste time trying to be cool or engage the reader by a certain personality preachers need to capture the audience’s attention, he was straightforward in his approach and I can’t emphasize how much I appreciated that. If you want to read something fresh, I encourage you to get The Jonah Complex.
When I started the first chapter, I was sure the main topic was going to be evangelism. After all, Jonah was called to preach to a foreign nation! But it only took a few pages to realize that the author had much more in mind than just talking about spreading the gospel - he was going to go in depth about every aspect of Jonah’s story. This is one of the main reasons why I loved this book! Haslam introduced us to Jonah in a way only someone who has studied the prophet can. He started with what Jonah was doing before his call to Nineveh, something I didn't realize was tucked away in another part of the Bible! He set the stage by explaining where/who the Ninevites were (a.k.a. terrorists of their day) and why it was dangerous for a Jew to be in that land. The first few chapters alone were worth the read.
The part I gleaned the most from was chapter five. This section was on what it means to be called by God and is one of the most beautifully written passages I've ever read in Christianity on the topic. What touched my heart the most was how this pastor emphasized that God is a God of second chances and the ministry he gave you is yours. He won't take it away from you and cast you off when you disobey. He will wait for you, restore you and reinstate you. I highlighted this from chapter five on page 70, “We hide away in our weakness and self-doubt, not understanding that God will finish what He has started in us and He will creativity lead us back into right relationship with Himself by waking us up to the truth that He wants us and nobody else.” Reading that the first time took my breath away.
Another thing I learned that kind of shocked me - mostly because I never thought of it before - was that it is believed that Jonah literally died when he was thrown into the sea. The author stipulated that not all Christians believe that way, but went on to explain his reasoning and why he holds to this belief. I won't go into every detail, but suffice it to say he really built a good case.
Conclusion: I highly recommend The Jonah Complex. This was a great study on a book we hardly hear preached on beyond a children's lesson in Sunday School. Jonah’s story has so much to offer adults as well! The author was very thorough in his teaching and research - he didn’t skip any piece of the story and I didn’t feel that any Scriptures were taken out of context. (Something you’re always afraid of discovering when reading an author that’s new to you.) I also enjoyed the writing style of the author. Being British, Greg Haslam’s choice of words were structured different than what we’re accustomed to in America, but I really liked it. He didn’t waste time trying to be cool or engage the reader by a certain personality preachers need to capture the audience’s attention, he was straightforward in his approach and I can’t emphasize how much I appreciated that. If you want to read something fresh, I encourage you to get The Jonah Complex.
December 24, 2014
As nearly all Christians today have read or are familiar with the book of Jonah, author and pastor Greg Haslam has much more to cover for you in the way of practical application. Some may contemplate if fiction played a part in this story especially as it relates to being swallowed up by a whale but Haslam shares the following: "My confident conviction is that, if Christ treated Jonah as a living, historical figure and the events of his life as real events, then so should we."
Jonah's mission, you will discover, is much like ours today in terms of a mandate from God to make a difference in the lives of others. The striking question of "will we fare better in our mission than Jonah did?" will be better answered at the conclusion of the book. The author's heart is that Jonah's message will touch your emotions with the deep feelings of God that will affect your choices and actions.
Jonah ran away from God's call which you may identify with. "God will never stop pursuing us or challenging our fears and rebellion to the point where we cry out and acknowledge His perfect will for our lives.". Jonah was swallowed by a fish but you may be engulfed in pride, fear, or rebellion. The God of a second chance, Haslam believes, is ready to help us retrace our steps and get back on track. Learn the value of emptying yourself so that God will fill you anew with His power.
This is a wake up call for the church as well and the storm "at sea" will not cease until we wake up and take responsibility for our part in ignoring the warnings of God. This book is so vital for every Christian as it reveals the heart of God in His mandate commission to us as Believers. I highly recommend this book.
Jonah's mission, you will discover, is much like ours today in terms of a mandate from God to make a difference in the lives of others. The striking question of "will we fare better in our mission than Jonah did?" will be better answered at the conclusion of the book. The author's heart is that Jonah's message will touch your emotions with the deep feelings of God that will affect your choices and actions.
Jonah ran away from God's call which you may identify with. "God will never stop pursuing us or challenging our fears and rebellion to the point where we cry out and acknowledge His perfect will for our lives.". Jonah was swallowed by a fish but you may be engulfed in pride, fear, or rebellion. The God of a second chance, Haslam believes, is ready to help us retrace our steps and get back on track. Learn the value of emptying yourself so that God will fill you anew with His power.
This is a wake up call for the church as well and the storm "at sea" will not cease until we wake up and take responsibility for our part in ignoring the warnings of God. This book is so vital for every Christian as it reveals the heart of God in His mandate commission to us as Believers. I highly recommend this book.
December 27, 2014
Excellent Analysis of a Seeminly Simple Story
The book was easy to read yet profound in its message. I would recommend to everyone. I can relate to many of its lessons, and it is easy to tie to everyday life. Loved it!
The book was easy to read yet profound in its message. I would recommend to everyone. I can relate to many of its lessons, and it is easy to tie to everyday life. Loved it!
January 2, 2015
While I don't agree with everything in this book I found it to be both challenging and encouraging and the best Christian living book that I have read in a long time. I highly recommend this.
December 29, 2014
Just bad. So much speculation passed off as fact, so much feel good drivel passed off as Biblical Christianity. There's almost nothing I can commend in these pages.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews