Your God Is Too Safe: Rediscovering the Wonder of a God You Can't Control

by Mark Buchanan

Here's a thoughtful, probing exploration of why Christians get stuck in the place of complacency, dryness, and tedium -- and how to move on to new levels of spiritual passion! Buchanan shows how the majority of Christians begin their spiritual journey with excitement and enthusiasm -- only to get bogged down in a "borderland" -- an in-between space beyond the "old life" but short of the abundant, adventurous existence promised by Jesus. Citing Jonah, he examines the problem of "borderland living" -- where doubt, disappointment, guilt, and wonderlessness keep people in a quagmire of mediocrity -- then offers solutions ... effective ways to get unstuck and move into a bold, unpredictable, exhilarating walk with Christ. Inspired writing!

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Theology, Christian Living, Christianity, Faith, Religion

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Mark Buchanan lives in Calgary, Alberta, with his wife, Cheryl. They have three adult children, Adam, Sarah, and Nicola. He was a longtime pastor, an author of many books, and now serves as a professor at Ambrose University College in Calgary.

Reviews

[Kait · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it's unfair to say "this book was great", because each reaction to it will be so individualistic. Sure, the writing was easy to read, the editing process certainly did it's job... but was it good? Well, that all depends on what I do with the information, how my life changes.

I found Buchanan deeply profound. He spoke to directly where I am, and inspired me to leave that place, this Boarderlands as he calls it, and to take my Christian faith just a little bit further, just a little bit closer to God.

I think this will be a book that I come back to again and again - a constant re-addressing my spiritual sloth.

[Randy Alcorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

“C. S. Lewis said ‘Aslan is not a tame lion,’ and Mark Buchanan shows us what that means. The undemanding God-in-the-bottle genie who exists to serve us is a modern heresy. It’s the God of the Bible who calls the shots. We are servants of a fierce King, who is gracious, but never manageable. Your God is too Safe reminds us what it means that Jesus is God—and we’re not! Dangerous faith in our untamed Savior leads us to the joy we crave. The breath of life rises off the pages of this book.

[Naomi L · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think someone gave me this book a long time ago, and I finally got around to starting it. I was really intrigued and heard good things but I strongly disagree with the premise of it.

In one of the first few chapters, the author asserts that we ask a lot of God when we’re in need, but not what to do with our abundance. And that Christian culture encourages any asking of God, where we should be careful what we ask for and only approach him when our requests are selfless and focused on furthering our relationship with him.

This is where I stopped. God tells us again and again that he wants us to come to him like little children, even if we’re not sure what we want or what’s best for us. We can ask and talk to him about anything, because it’s about the relationship that we’re building and not approaching him being all put together or knowing the answers. We don’t have to wait to talk to him until we have the right heart posture but we can come to him whenever.

It’s probably true that we miss the holiness of God in a lot of our Christianity. But that’s why it’s amazing that a holy God wants us to be like children and to admire his holiness from that angle, not one of distance from afar.

[Chris - Quarter Press Editor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buchanan can write. All too often, especially in the Christian realm, writers of Christian books cannot write. I was pleased to see that this is not the case. Plus, he makes you think. This isn't something to expand your knowledge of God and what it means to be a Christian; Buchanan forces you to rethink your picture of God, to take particular note to all the glossed over characteristics of God--His wrath, His anger, His (really there isn't a better word for this) murderous tendencies--and embrace them. God is not all peaches and cream, whatever and however people want to show Him. He is a dangerous fellow amidst all that goodness. Really, it shouldn't be that much of an eye-opener, yet it is. Who knew? God is a complicated being.

A very good book for anyone, Christian or not, that has a problem with the "traditional" picture of God and what He expects of His followers.

(However: I do think this was QUITE heavy on personal opinion and other theological ideas rather than Biblical bases. True, Buchanan uses a fair amount of scripture, but he seems to fall back more on his personal experiences and ideas rather than use scripture as a backing.)

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I expected a book about the miraculous power of God and the need for us to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit even when it takes us to wild places, but I found a (very good) book on the spiritual disciplines.

[Ruth Paterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love love this. Totally recommend to anyone wanting to grow in faith.

[Dustin Tramel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love rereading this book. Buchanan is a very poetic author (sometimes his flowery words get annoying). I didn't realize that this was a book about Christian spiritual disciplines until I was mostly through it (a very great accomplishment on the part of the author). Reading this book made me excited about practicing spiritual disciplines. The author does not make you feel guilty but rather he inspires you with the reality of a spiritually disciplined life. I highly recommend this book!

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a pretty good overall wide general challenge to your Christian lifestile and how to avoid getting stuck in a faith rut. At the same time the tone is nonjudgemental or threatening and the book is quite easy to follow.

[JM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Awesome read! I like Buchanan's matter-of-fact speak of how much Christians pigeon-hole God into their own image. The metaphor of "borderland" will always be with me. I absolutely loved this book. I strongly recommend it to anyone who is looking to re-evaluate their faith.

[Rodger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learn about serving a God who has more in mind than your comfort and safety.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book changed everything...
I very soon encountered a much less safe God and following Him into the mission field and nothing has ever been the same again!
But... wow. I am so thankful!

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several years ago I picked up this book and started to read it. I didn't finish it because at the time it felt like just another rebuke of the church. However, picking it up this month, it came across as a more compassionate yet stern warning against life on the "Borderland." There is so much of a routine of comfort that takes place in our lives, but something that I appreciated in Buchanan's books is that while we tend to be drawn to these routines, there is a reason why. There is strength in routine, we've just picked the wrong ones and for the wrong reasons.

Your God Is Too Safe is a solid read with insightful thoughts about how we have tried to sanitize God not only for others but also for ourselves. Several of Buchanan's rebukes will well-timed for this stage of my life.

[John Sagherian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading “Your God Is Too Safe”, by Mark Buchanan. Great challenge to stop playing it safe and to instead plunge into the adventurous relationship that God wants to have with us. Practical, moving, easy to read but it made me think about my own relationship with Him. It’s hard to let go of the safe God we’re used to. I highly recommend it.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

living in borderland.

This book reveals life lived in borderland vs. life lived in the holy wild. And habits are shown that help us move from borderlands to the holy wild. Highly recommended.

[Josh Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of the thirty-four books that I have read this year, this book has pierced my heart in ways that none of the others did. I picked up this book by happenstance (it was the Lord's directing) in a thrift store for $1 while living in Indiana. I was not familiar with the author, but the title intrigued me and I purchased the book.

If you read this book, prepare for a challenging, convicting, inspiring, motivating, and yet honest look at the region called "borderland" that all of us too often live in. The illustrations and the way the book was put together completely grabbed a hold of me and didn't let go until the end.

Every chapter had a succinct truth that drove home different points. I aim to read through this again in the near future and meditate on its truths a bit more.

Made the list of the top ten Christian books I have ever read.

[Havebooks Willread · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was outstanding. I took my dear sweet time reading it to let the truths sink in.

He is also a wordsmith--I always enjoy authors who use words with such precision and poetry. In addition to savoring his points, I frequently had to savor the way he expressed them.

I loved his analogy of the borderland where the "saved but not sanctified" reside. I was going to highlight some of my favorite points, but it turns out I can't narrow it down to three or four. I'm really glad I own this because I'm going to need to read it again sometime. It has been a true blessing to me during this season.

[Charlie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Have to say I have struggled through this book and cant wait to have it finished and move on to something else. It does get better towards the end if you persevere. I struggled from the start to really understand what he was getting at. He doesn't seem to be clear. He is trying to deal with issues on why we struggle on in the Christian life [I think] and how to overcome issues that maybe the cause of it. The second part deals with 'holy habits', things we should do to help us grow and mature. Though this section is good there are better books on the market.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this on the plane on the way to India and probably underlined 75% of the book! It rocked me in a good way...I will never forget my view of God changing as I read this sitting on a bed in India, feeling so isolated, but also so enveloped in the encompassing love of God that could reach me all the way in India, all the way across the world from everything I knew to be safe.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read for a Christian at any level. We attempt to put God into boxes, He is in the business of breaking them. Too often we end up abandoning that God for the one we understand, we substitute the real one for something less.

Mark Buchanan reminds us that the gods we've fashioned are lame. God is ferocious, scary and wonderful.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best Christian help books that I have ever read, and I have read a ton of them. Mark Buchanan, you have done an amazing job of putting your thoughts together in this book. I have found it to be a perfect read along with my early morning Bible Study, and it has made me seriously think about many aspects of my faith. Thank you for a great read.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agreed with most of the substance in the book, but the style left much to be desired. The writing is extremely repetitive. He relies on detailed situational anecdotes that often have little to do with the point he’s trying to make. And he does have some great points, but I was expecting a little more depth at times.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisitely written and very challenging book. A treatise on leaving behind a casual, easy, self-centered Christianity and embracing a deeply God-centered and wild Christian experience. Highly recommended.

[Nicholas Maulucci · Rating 4 out of 5]

another highly enjoyable, superbly written, and spiritually challenging book by this author. Thank you, Josh, for the recommendation. fresh perspective. unique outlook. recommended for all servants of God.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mr. Buchanan makes some good points. His book is well-written, but I've read several books on the subject and it didn't strike me as being an improvement on any of them. For someone who has done no reading on spiritual disciplines, it'd be a good place to start.

[Talia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm one of those people that loves to hear stories whenever someone is preaching or teaching through a book or sermon. It is the fuel that keeps me interested, & I love it when people can show me something in a story. I feel like I listen/pay attention more when told a story than when someone just says, "Don't be afraid" instead of someone telling me an incredible story of conquering fear. Mark Buchanan is good at adding in stories that connect & make a point. He has a story in almost every chapter so far. I haven't been bored once even in the non-story parts.

Every chapter feels like meat instead of milk to me, and it keeps convicting me over and over again. & I need it! I want to grow & learn. My favorite chapter, I think, was chapter 10, Holding On to a Holy Must.

One thing that I liked was that the author illuminated a part of the Bible that I never understood. The verse was:

"Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may become clean too!" -Matthew 23:26 NET

From a human perspective, a modern day perspective at least, I know that the entire cup needs to be washed before it is considered clean. So this never made sense to me. The author described what Pharisees believed about cleanliness, how they believed that being clean outwardly had something to do with being pure and holy inwardly. This is why Jesus called them white-washed tombs--how beautiful on the outside they appeared, but inside was nothing but what is dead. I would post the whole quote here but it is quite long. Nevertheless, I was glad to finally have that mystery explained to me.

Some of the topics covered in this book are prayer, fasting, connecting with God, being still in the silence to wait on God, how people stay vibrant and alive in God for some many years.

The entire book was like one good sermon. It was meaty, convicting but encouraging, and inspiring. It tells you what was wrong with the safe, nice, bored-to-death "borderland" life so many of us live, and then Mark Buchanan lays out the steps you can do to get out of borderland to live in the amazing, holy wilderness of God. It's one of those books that I wouldn't mind reading again and probably will read again. Totally worth reading and taking notes on!

4 stars .

[Christopher Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

OH! MY! GOODNESS!

I had never heard of Mark Buchanan prior to December 2, 2017 when he was the guest speaker at a Pastor and Spouse breakfast held at one of our denominational churches in Batavia, NY. I was blown away by the 20 or so minute talk that he gave, and wished I could have heard more.

He mentioned this book he had written, "Your God Is Too Safe", and the title alone would have intrigued me. But listening to him for just a few moments solidified that this was a book I needed to read. Thankfully, having a Fire tablet I was able to just download it and began immediately. There were moments that I couldn't put it down. I'd come back after a few hours and go right back to reading it.

The book is in two parts of roughly 10 chapters each. The first part of the book deals with what Mark calls "Borderland", a place where we're safe, but apathetic, because to us God is either a parody or completely of our own making. The point he's making is that "Borderland" leads us to a lifeless, fruitless existence, because the God we have there is nothing like the God the Bible describes.

The second part of the book he describes as living in the "Holy Wild", where spiritual disciplines are cultivated, and we come to understand that, as C.S. Lewis put it in "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" He's not safe, but He's good. He's the God that has come to bring life, and bring it more fully. He's the God who wants us to party with Him.

Would I recommend this book? Absolutely! Will it challenge you? I hope it does! Will you want to chuck it across the room because you're being described in it? Probably. Is it worth reading all the way to the end? Absolutely!

[Nathan Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a place called “borderland”—a place that is safe and familiar. “It’s ground that can be staked out, marked off, well trod, packed down. It holds some things in and keeps some things out. It may take endurance to live there, but not much else: It’s the endurance of inertia. Life there requires no discipline but falls into neat routines. It’s domesticated lawlessness. It’s chaotic, but predictable. Borderland might be dangerous, but even more, it’s safe.”

Such is Buchanan’s description of Busia, the city that lies along the border between Uganda and Kenya. But rather than dwelling on the geographical borderland of Busia, he uses its existence to springboard into a discussion of a spiritual borderland—a place where too many Christians make their residence: attempting to leave the world behind, but not quite moving into God’s kingdom. And so they sit in the middle, looking into both lands, but moving toward neither.

In Your God Is Too Safe, Buchanan seeks to outline some of the characteristics of life in borderland in the first half of this book, offering the reader the opportunity to see if his spiritual life is one that lies in borderland. In the second half, he explores the ways that men and women of all ages “keep the fire in their hearts ever brighter, ever hotter.”

[John Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buchanan points out that it is hard for Christians to accomplish much when they only believe in a safe God who demands little of His followers. Rather, the author says, God isn't "nice," He isn't safe, and He doesn't wink at our sins. Many people have a shallow understanding of God's majesty, thinking He merely exists for them to get a parking space close to the store entrance of to make sure their golf outing won't be rained out.
"We want a God who provides, but isn't intrude, who protects but never demands, who never judges, never meddles," Buchanan writes. "We want a God who keeps His distance and doesn't crowd us."
We don't ask for God's direction of how to spend the money when we come into an inheritance, yet we plead for His help when we are in dire financial straits. Life isn't necessarily fair. The idyllic, undisturbed life might or might not happen. We might face an early, untimely, painful death. But God is still God.

[Jonathan Brooker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buchanan has quite a way of weaving words together! While it does at times get to be a bit overpowering, he finds ways to be so descriptive and wordy in a way that further allows you to appreciate the vastness of the English language.

Then there's the content of the actual book: Buchanan argues that many Christians have found themselves in the borderland of not living quite where they were but not where they're meant to be either. As he unpackages that thesis into it's parts he develops an argument for a variety of ways we can dare for more. I do wish he had been a bit more intentional about bringing order and perhaps clarity to the thought process that guided his chapters because they can at times feel like well-written articles that were pieced together.

An excellent book for someone who is looking to have their faith gently challenged in regards to their understanding of God.

[paden · Rating 2 out of 5]

if you walked away from this book feeling changed, i’m happy for you. however, everything felt very surface-level to me. “borderland” was a simple metaphor stretched thin across 250 pages. buchanan leaned heavily on fake anecdotes and copy-pasting scripture to get his points across, but his “points” never inspired much further thinking than the obvious.

the only parts of this book i enjoyed were the pages on wounds. i loved the way buchanan described wounds as gifts from God rather than just obstacles used for growth/a greater purpose. jacob’s limp served as a reminder of his literal grapple with God and to continue following His path. it wasn’t something to overcome, it was something to keep.

overall, “Your God is Too Safe,” ironically, played it too safe with shallow messages and serves more as a rulebook on Christianity than a true spiritual guide.