Love Secrets

by John Mark Pantana

This music-inspired book explores the love of God. Here's how to read this book: From left to right. That’s the first step. The second is equally as important: with a guarded heart. “The Bereans were open-minded in that they received the Word with all readiness and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). Open-minded but heart guarded. Don’t fully accept my or anyone else’s word for it. I received many popular Western teachings that bound me. The Bereans took what they heard and searched the Scriptures to “find out whether these things were so.” This is good practice. Also, I believe the Holy Spirit will “ring a bell” within you, testifying to truth-that-sets-you-free. Third step: expect to experience the person of Jesus. I have included prompts at the end of each chapter for you to engage the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in an experiential way. With each prompt, let the eyes of your heart open-wide for a fresh-wave of glory-enjoyment; this little practice can shake loose heaps of dormant head-knowledge. For a real knowledge, truth must be awakened in the heart. Just a few minutes of heart-connection with God could change your entire life. I’ve included blank space for you at the end of each chapter to write down anything that happens. Fourth step: listen to music! This book is intrinsically linked to my music record: Love Secrets; thirteen songs about God’s love. And now: thirteen chapters. Each chapter of this book is titled after a song from the album and explores in detail the truths I sing about. I’ve arranged the order of chapters differently from the album for a more fluid reading experience. I would recommend listening to the corresponding song during the prompts at the end. You can listen to Love Secrets on every music platform. Fifth and finally: have fun. You’ll notice this book is not prim and proper. I hope you giggle and enjoy the goofy banter. Book instructions complete.

Genres: Christian, Faith, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Christianity

165 pages, Paperback

Published July 23, 2020

Reviews

[Annalise Kraines · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was expecting this to be full of Christian touchy-feely fluff. But it was not. Pantana perfectly balances more traditional grounding in the Word with more charismatic views of life in the Spirit in a way that is truly Spirit led. I feel truly transformed and freed by the things that I've learned. My only beef is that Pantana uses SO MANY KENNINGS and uses the hyphen liberally, often in place of the comma. GAAAAAH.

[Keri Zumbahlen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gonna take awhile to process this one. I will for sure be reading it again. This often left me with more questions to think on than actual answers which I don’t normally like, but in this case, I think it was just what I needed. It invites you to experience communion with Father, Son, and Spirit, and he speaks with such realness and peace that you can’t help but hunger for more of God. There is an apparent depth to the album Love Secrets that is revealed through this book that makes me love the songs even more. John Mark has a beautifully playful relationship with the Father, and this book was freeing to say the least. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace—needed this reminder.

[John Ayena · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful little book, and honestly I'm kind of irritated that I've just had it sitting untouched on my shelf for the last two years. John Mark Pantana is not an author by trade (and you can tell by his liberal usage of hyphens), but his conversational, "don't take yourself too serious but also I'm going to brain dump on y'all" approach is just so inviting and easy to read. John Mark does a really good job of presenting the concepts of God's love and grace in average-joe terms (yes, 'average-joe'; words like 'layman' or 'practical' wouldn't be the right way to describe it), and it's helped to add another dimension to my own understanding. Five stars not because I agree with or accept everything that John Mark says - the last two chapters on heavenly experiences and speaking in tongues aren't ideas that I've taken any time to thoughtfully consider prior to reading this book - but because his love for God comes through so unfiltered and lends itself to making Love Secrets a very fun and moving read. Bonus points for how the book can be read devotional-style (with prompts to end each chapter), as well as for how the songs from Pantana's album are worked into each chapter.

...

Some quotes I liked (there are some INCREDIBLY 'interesting' quotes in this book):

"God is no longer inspecting you for righteousness. He's inspecting your offering. Are you confident that Christ is in right-standing with God? Use that same confidence to believe that you are in equal standing!"

"The current version of God being heralded from a fleshly interpretation of the Scriptures is wounding the hearts of many, and often the rejection of Christianity is not the rejection of Christ."

"If my systematics are on point, but I have not let the Kingly Husband kiss me on the lips, then I've made a silly trade." 😳

[Stewart Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the easiest 5 stars yet. Love Secrets is definitely being added to my “all time favorites” list of books because of the incredible impact it had on my friendship with God. This book is coupled with an album, so when you finish a chapter that just rocked your world, there’s a song you get to listen to and reflect on what you just read. Like wow. Such a good read. My most significant take away from this book is that God profoundly cares for us as people, and we don’t have to do jack diddly squat to earn His caring about every detail of who we are. John Mark presents a faith that’s enticing, funny, approachable, and speaks to the core of who we are as God’s beloved.


After the second read: Yes. Just yes.

After the third read: I shall be reading again next year. This book is the best.

[Jordan Southerland · Rating 5 out of 5]

gosh i love this book. i read it 2 years ago and reading through all my old notes made me nostalgic. genuinely, the easiest book to read. the prompts are so sweet and it just makes me so eager to bear hug the King of Kings. this book shows the Holy Spirit as a friend, Jesus as a husband (new covenant type beat), and God as the sweet Father that He is. i cannot recommend enough.

(also the final chapter is all about tongues and answers so many questions about tongues and it’s awesome)

[Everr · Rating 5 out of 5]

i’ll give this book millions of stars. it’s become my most treasured book ever. i cherish it with all my heart, mind, soul and spirit. it broke me in the best ways possible and put me back together. i cried so much and laughed so hard. i’ll be reading my favorite parts of it every week if not every day. there’s so much wisdom in this tiny book. it’s an invitation to intimate relationship with Jesus, Father and the Holy Spirit. it’s just up to you if you’re going to accept it.

[Sarah Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you grew up in a Christian culture where God was displayed as harsh, angry, and judgmental and the Christian church was very legalistic, this book is a game changer in revealing the character of God

[Maddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man…beautiful. I already loved this album and knew I had to read this. JMP’s writing style is so different, authentic, and hilarious. SO many good one liners and revelation. Felt my heart soften in a lot of these chapters and felt reminded of how good, big, free, wild, and loving God is. Felt old legalism and lies of condemnation break off as I read. Love seeing John Mark’s personal transformation too, and the art is 100. I’m going through it a second time to focus on the journal prompts. Very much recommend

[Sam Konstanty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me a month to read, and I think I rushed it. Will definitely need a re-read to meditate more.

[Salem Gillis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must say, John Mark Pantana is a cool guy. I found his album Love Secrets first, but then a book to accompany it... with a chapter per song!? I was all in. I was built for the immersive experience. Give me the music that goes with the book that goes with the artwork that has a TV show that released a podcast and I'll wear the merch while doing it all. *Immerse*. So already this book had a lot going for it. But then Mr. Pantana chose to blow my mind and bouy my faith with his gentle and artistic testimony of his gentle and artistic Jesus. His presentation of the grace message hit me in a fresh and shocking way. Like, legit my understanding of how God sees me has changed.This may not be everyone's experience reading this. It's nothing too scholarly or divine in the grand scheme. But I needed it and I thank this giant man and his little book for showing and reminding me of our best friend, Jesus; how understanding and accepting the cross isn't "step 1" so that we can go and strive and huff away and psych ourselves into earning it, but how the cross is the whole glorious point, the redemption of mankind and its Maker. The work is finished. Our identity, our freedom is true no matter how we feel or understand it. It's a *fact* and we are gifted the confidence and safety to live as such, always. No mistake or confusion or shame can undo it. John Mark ended each chapter with "Selah" space, just the page room to talk to God casually, intimately, like a father and friend, and write down what was said/heard. This gentle invitation gave me the boldness to ask direct questions and have pointed conversation with the Father in a no-pressure way I often neglect. I am very grateful for this book.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is unique for sure. It offers commentary and life experience background to a whole album of songs. It is written in a similar style to The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry and it made me laugh out loud on many accounts, which is impressive, as i normally do not.
Theologically it is much different than what i am used to hearing. How he uses scripture on some occasions and some of the points he draws from them i disagree with, but they are some instances in which he seemed to have used scripture correctly that led to different conclusions than i was used to hearing.
Overall, it was fun and refreshing experience to read an alternate perspective and the heart of a believer who’s been radically transformed from deep cultural christianity to holy spirit lovingness.

[Ellie Stephan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This high rating may be because this is exactly what I needed. I would say 4.7 stars, round-up was well-deserved. How refreshing this book was in the way it was inviting and not condemning! Gentle conviction was mastered by JMP, or more so the Holy Spirit I would assume.

[Hallie Moffitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

one of my goals while living in lyh was to meet john mark pantana. never did. don’t know if he even still lives there anymore, but i just know we were only like one degree of separation away from meeting

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can say is wow. And yes and amen.

I picked this up after a friend briefly recommended it on IG. I was going to read it devotionally, a chapter a day b/c there are some really really solid prayer prompts at the end of each chapter. And I wanted to savor them. But the book was so good, I’d read a few chapters at a time and had to make myself stop.

Check your religious, denominational goggles at the door and step into some serious love conversation with our True Kingly Husband, Jesus. This book could change your life! !

[Ava Jewel Ayers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Pantana’s writing was a breath of fresh air. This book provides a great reminder that faith isn’t black and white and shouldn’t look a certain way or fit a certain mold. The poetic illustrations and analogies Pantana created made me think about faith in a new way and proved that everyone’s faith journeys look different!!

[Emma Orlando · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good start to 2024 because john mark was my top artist and 3 of his songs were my top 5 in 2023 lol.

But honestly this book was delightful to read. Super simple writing- felt like I was talking to a friend. John Mark Pantana seems like somebody I would be friends with and I long to go on a bike ride and talk about this book with him. Had some cool perspective shifts and the last chapter is all about tongues and I found it really interesting and it answered many questions I had- but also gave me more.

[Meredith Hammer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t have the adequate words to describe how impactful this book is. John Mark is a man who has been touched by the grace of Jesus and his book (about his music album) is about the riches of the gospel, our new identity in Him, and the heart of God. This was my second time through and will definitely be reading again. PS- if you read this, you will be challenged. I challenge you. 😊

Some of my favorite quotes:

“Identity cannot birth from performance. But performance will birth from your identity. When we try and prove who we are by what we do, we deny what God has already said is true about us. Our job is to rest in who God says we are. You can do everything in the Christian life for acceptance or from acceptance, and this distinction is the difference between life and death.” pg. 204

“If you read the Bible, you can find some serious whack. This is a non-extensive list: death via body-turning-to-salt, talking donkeys, rods transfiguring into snakes, seas opening into walkways, bread falling from the sky, magical-ever-increasing-oil for widows, fire-tunnels, furnace-proof men, dead-raising, transportation via fire chariot, bookoos of angelic beings intimately involved in world affairs, gravity-defiance…” pg. 194

“One thing I do know: I am growing in relationship with the person of Jesus, and His heart is always becoming more gold to me. Christ, the Person, is pure majesty and wonder. He’s often removed scales from my eyes to which I can only respond: “I don’t know anything about anything anymore.” One thing I do know: I know Him more than I did yesterday. I just want to continue discovering his heart-treasures and that journey will take a pretty long time. I think eternity is a good place to start.” pg. 185

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wasn’t just a book, but an experience of God’s love for me. 13 chapters that correlate with John Mark’s 13 songs on his album “Love Secrets” with lots of space to draw, journal, create, reflect… 5/5 stars!

[Mackenzie Ware · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love Secrets by John Mark Pantana is quite possibly the most fun and easy spiritual read in the book world. Pantana is a folk inspired Christian musician who created the album "Love Secrets". Each chapter of the book shares a title and a significant amount of content with a paralleling song on the album. In both listening to the album and reading the book, it is clear that Pantana loves the Lord. The author has such a style of writing that gives the audience not only a sense of comfort, but a desire to love the way he loves. I felt as though I was a dear friend of Pantana, learning and growing as I learned more about him and the way he sees life. In the first few chapters Pantana shares his own sort of testimony: being raised heavily conservative Baptist, hitting rock bottom and losing all faith, and then having a resurrecting moment guided by the Holy Spirit. The artist thence began to take his faith into his own heart and hands. This fact has both its pros and cons. Pantana knew that the conservative, judgmental idea of religion he knew in the Baptist faith couldn't be true, but unfortunately he leaned too far in the opposite direction. From an outside perspective, though driven out of his love for Christ, Pantana seemed to create too much of his own ideas and guidelines for living a faithfilled life. His interpretations of scripture are often a little skewed and over simplified.
All things considered, this is a good book. It is not bible, but it is a good book. I would say that should be primarily considered as reading through this piece. Love Secrets is no where near all that a Christian needs in their spiritual journey. I must clarify that by no means does the author insinuate this idea that the book is "bible", I just feel that it is such an important point that I must stress. Read this book if you want to refresh and learn more about your relationship with the Lord.

[Lauren M Campbell]

John Mark Pantana has created a pretty cool companion to his album, “Love Secrets.” Artists, take notes!!!

I haven’t listened to many of his songs, but after reading this, he seems like the type of genuine, chill guy that everyone needs in their life. Each chapter reads like him journaling out how a certain scripture or story has softened his understand of God. Where he once saw a cold, legalistic judge, he now sees an “Abba.”

Sometimes, like all Christians, I feel disappointed with the church, and also myself, thinking I’m not totally as forgiving or loving, as Jesus says we should try to be. That, however, is not who Jesus is. Christianity isn’t so complicated, guys. It’s the freedom of loving and being loved. Very simple principles and heart postures and this book reminded me of that. That’s my takeaway.

[jerm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book convinced me that being a Christian is more about me believing Abba loves me than it is about me hitting the daily grind of proving my love for Him. It was the first book that effectively communicated to me that Jesus is the start, middle, and never-ending telos of life and of Christianity and that HIS start, middle, and never-ending telos is His love of me. That realization changed my heart and I think will have an everlasting impact on me - not because JMP is amazing (I love the dude), but because Abba is beautiful and loves His children, and He uses His children to bless His children.

This is probably the book that has “changed my life” more than any other book, at least in terms of explicit theology and Christian writing. You should read it.

[Katherine Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW. I can hardly contain my amazement & thanks & awe for this book and message. I recently discovered John Mark Pantana's music through Spotify, thanks to a playlist with Josh Garrells and Liv Douglas. What a treasure and a gift to learn through his art. Just as his music shows his creativity & insight into the things of God, so goes his words in book form. An absolute treasure. I will admit I hesitated to read this simply because of the heart on the cover & my own medical history (I am fairly sensitive/thoughtful toward things I read/listen to with "heart" in the title because of the amount of truth I feel must be conveyed in such few words - it's disappointing to read or listen to something that is so surface level / silly giddy along these lines), so with that in mind I am simply blown away. I want to buy copies for everyone I know! I love how each chapter coincides with a song on his album & how intricately this was planned. It is such a gift to hear the background story of how a work of art came to be, even more so when it is illustrated through an additional work of art. Absolutely mind-blowing what a treasure this truly is. The set of instructions for reading the books is a lovely addition of humor & a preface to what's inside. Deep truths in a concise illustrative manner yet fun & lovely to listen to. Thirteen songs about God's love & now thirteen chapters. How clever & thoughtful. Musicians should learn from him, to expand on your music & write a book that correlates with each album. That will help the world listen to beautiful, meaningful, life giving, theologically rich music, not just CCM with the same five phrases and chords sang over and over. I am so glad I discovered his music on Spotify just recently & decided to look into his work more. Even a few moments of connecting with the heart of God through His word & the vehicle of music/worship can literally change the trajectory of your entire life. This book is one I will read again and again and again and again, and never stop talking about. I adore it & am blown away by the truths within. Thank you more than you will ever know, John Mark Pantana, for writing this gem.

[Brynn Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm already thinking about the next time I can read this book. JMP has the most unique writing style- which added to the authentic nature of his writing. His book influenced me to consider leaving behind the ways I've treated my relationship with Jesus as "religion" and embrace a love-based relationship with Him instead.

[Kellie Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big fan of John Mark’s music and wish I read this one sooner. creative, funny, deep, packed with warm, rich, and sweet reminders of who God and the relationship we can have with Him is. Will probably revisit this one from time to time.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting point of view. Take the book with a grain of salt (as the author states). Some points I agreed with & others I definitely took with a grain of salt.
One of my favorite lines: “The Holy Spirit is the least controlling person ever…His invitation into relationship was love, not force”

[Rachel Spillar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still have so much processing to do with this book. I’ll definitely be rereading it. It made me think about the Trinity is such unique ways and opened my heart up to receive Gods love even more. Not to mention the music is pretty good too

[Avery Kornoelje · Rating 5 out of 5]

so beautiful!! I love the way JMP talks about Jesus!! so blessed by his writing in songs and this book!

[Moriah · Rating 3 out of 5]

My brain struggles with verses embedded in the text (I get distracted lol), but the content of this was sweet and his intimacy with Christ is encouraging.

[Brooks Wink · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read on the comparison of law and grace. If you don’t know how your Heavenly Father sees you, pick this one up.

[Livia Schumacher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe the most transformational book I have read.