What do you think?
Rate this book
Do Not Lose Heart: An Assault on Apathy
A scatterbrained take on spiritual formation in the modern age written by a product of the modern age. Follow a Gen Z as he urges his contemporaries to detox from the surrounding culture and immerse themselves in the ways of Jesus. "Do Not Lose Heart" is an at times in-your-face call to stop drifting through the waters of Western culture and reengage with the spiritual disciplines, community, and sacred rhythms of the historical faith.
266 pages, Paperback
Published June 25, 2021
1 person is currently reading
12 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
October 7, 2022
Had a darn good time writing it
February 4, 2025
I respect Griffin so much for writing this book. Do Not Lose Heart (An Assault on Apathy) is his heart-cry for the Church. And its message is timely and relevant in this day and age.
The Western Church is in a battle against apathy - people who don’t feel enough to care or to act. And Griffin poses this question, “In a faith that requires all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, how do we cope with a generation that doesn’t care that they don’t care?” His book tackles answering this question.
Griffin has what I would consider a God-ordained and special anointing for aggregating data. For researching a topic and fleshing out each and every aspect with solid and credible sources, giving his own voice to it, and bringing it all together in a way that is easy to understand, remember, and act upon. I appreciate this so much because it is something that I don’t always do well. It reminds me how, even among writers, God has gifted each of us with specific skills that display the fullness of Him to the world. I have mad respect for what he does as a writer.
And…I also laughed out loud too many times to count. How Griffin can so seamlessly infuse wit into spiritual formation is beyond me, but, by golly, he does it. Manna called “sky carbs?” Pure genius.
I don’t want to summarize everything he said in this book, or give too many key points - because I think it is vital that each and every one of us get a copy and read it for ourselves. But I will tell you what I learned from it.
There are areas of apathy in my life, and I didn’t even realize it. The roots of any apathy I have toward my faith or God lie in my own indulgence in self-pity. This self-pity, and subsequent failure to act, likely stems from my incorrect or incomplete view of God. I don’t know Him as truly and perfectly as I’d like to think I do.
My apathy manifests as inconsistencies in the way I behave in front of others and when I’m alone. I’m “cleaning the cup only on the outside,” to make a point from the book. But the antidote to this apathy exists in the form of reigniting my first-love passion for God by coming into a more accurate view of who He really is. I can do this through adopting rhythms in my life that point me to Him, redirecting my eyes from the world and back to Him. I need to pray for a more complete understanding of God. I need to develop a consistent rhythm of time in His Word. And finally, I need to remain in constant forward motion through praying and contending for revival in this generation and the generations to come. After all, true revival starts in the heart of each and every Christ follower. As more of us are changed on the inside, the overflow will start to manifest on the outside, resulting in the cultural shift from apathy toward passionately following Jesus again.
Do Not Lose Heart (An Assault on Apathy) was an extremely impactful read for me, and I highly encourage you to purchase it, read it, and act because of it.
I know this was Griffin’s first book, and I look forward to reading more from him. He should be very proud of this work. Only up and onward from here, my friend!
The Western Church is in a battle against apathy - people who don’t feel enough to care or to act. And Griffin poses this question, “In a faith that requires all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, how do we cope with a generation that doesn’t care that they don’t care?” His book tackles answering this question.
Griffin has what I would consider a God-ordained and special anointing for aggregating data. For researching a topic and fleshing out each and every aspect with solid and credible sources, giving his own voice to it, and bringing it all together in a way that is easy to understand, remember, and act upon. I appreciate this so much because it is something that I don’t always do well. It reminds me how, even among writers, God has gifted each of us with specific skills that display the fullness of Him to the world. I have mad respect for what he does as a writer.
And…I also laughed out loud too many times to count. How Griffin can so seamlessly infuse wit into spiritual formation is beyond me, but, by golly, he does it. Manna called “sky carbs?” Pure genius.
I don’t want to summarize everything he said in this book, or give too many key points - because I think it is vital that each and every one of us get a copy and read it for ourselves. But I will tell you what I learned from it.
There are areas of apathy in my life, and I didn’t even realize it. The roots of any apathy I have toward my faith or God lie in my own indulgence in self-pity. This self-pity, and subsequent failure to act, likely stems from my incorrect or incomplete view of God. I don’t know Him as truly and perfectly as I’d like to think I do.
My apathy manifests as inconsistencies in the way I behave in front of others and when I’m alone. I’m “cleaning the cup only on the outside,” to make a point from the book. But the antidote to this apathy exists in the form of reigniting my first-love passion for God by coming into a more accurate view of who He really is. I can do this through adopting rhythms in my life that point me to Him, redirecting my eyes from the world and back to Him. I need to pray for a more complete understanding of God. I need to develop a consistent rhythm of time in His Word. And finally, I need to remain in constant forward motion through praying and contending for revival in this generation and the generations to come. After all, true revival starts in the heart of each and every Christ follower. As more of us are changed on the inside, the overflow will start to manifest on the outside, resulting in the cultural shift from apathy toward passionately following Jesus again.
Do Not Lose Heart (An Assault on Apathy) was an extremely impactful read for me, and I highly encourage you to purchase it, read it, and act because of it.
I know this was Griffin’s first book, and I look forward to reading more from him. He should be very proud of this work. Only up and onward from here, my friend!
July 17, 2024
Well done, Mr. Gooch!
For his first book, Griffin Gooch comes out on fire. He’s passionate, with a desire to ignite young people his age. I happen to fall into that demographic (Gen. Z & Christian) so I knew I had to read this. In a lot of ways it feels reminiscent of Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I was first introduced to Gooch when I read an article he put out with Ecstasis, and I’ve been intrigued by him ever since. I knew I had to get his book, if it was anything like that article.
The middle portions of the book dragged a bit for me, but that may be my own personal problems weighing on my mind (living in unemployed limbo rn).
Sure, the book is rough around the edges, but it’s still a challenging and thought-provoking read. I think Gooch’s writing style will sharpen over time, so I look forward to his future work. In fact, I already find his shorter (and more recent) essays to be refined.
There are a lot of quotes from this book I need to remember, and I filled quite a few pages with sticky notes and scribblings. Really compelling stuff that I need to stew on.
For his first book, Griffin Gooch comes out on fire. He’s passionate, with a desire to ignite young people his age. I happen to fall into that demographic (Gen. Z & Christian) so I knew I had to read this. In a lot of ways it feels reminiscent of Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I was first introduced to Gooch when I read an article he put out with Ecstasis, and I’ve been intrigued by him ever since. I knew I had to get his book, if it was anything like that article.
The middle portions of the book dragged a bit for me, but that may be my own personal problems weighing on my mind (living in unemployed limbo rn).
Sure, the book is rough around the edges, but it’s still a challenging and thought-provoking read. I think Gooch’s writing style will sharpen over time, so I look forward to his future work. In fact, I already find his shorter (and more recent) essays to be refined.
There are a lot of quotes from this book I need to remember, and I filled quite a few pages with sticky notes and scribblings. Really compelling stuff that I need to stew on.
July 18, 2022
Can't wait to dig into this book! Love this author and the way he writes!!!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews