The Sacred Slow [book review]

Let's talk about buzzwords, shall we? The last couple of years, we've been all about creativity, intentionality, and "slow" living. Don't feel bad if you've jumped on the bandwagon--I have, too. And there's actually nothing at all wrong with any of it. Being intentional and living at a slower pace are GOOD things. And God himself is the ultimate measure of creativity, so why would anyone disparage us, His creations, from developing or expressing the measure of His creativity in us?

The issue I have is when authors take those buzzwords and use them to repackage and resell a basic concept. They're not coming up with anything new at all--just reframing something old with whatever is cool at the moment to sell more books.

Now sure, I can see ways in which such an approach might be helpful, particularly if it really gets readers to think about a concept in a new way. But most of the time, this is not the case.

Alicia Britt Chole's The Sacred Slow: A Holy Departure from Fast Faith feels very much like one of these repackaging schemes to me. In just the introduction and the first few chapters, readers are bombarded with language so heavily laden with buzzwords that it's hard to see past them to what she's really trying to say. Sometimes it took a few times through a passage to even make sense out of the writing.

The book is set up with 52 "experiences" (because apparently "chapters" aren't cool enough anymore) in twelve "movements." You could read one experience a week for a year or one movement a week for twelve weeks (which is what she recommends). Each experience is pretty short and concludes with two options for an activity/further reflection.

The basic premise of the book is that we need to stop rushing through life and make time to nurture our faith life on a regular basis. It's a relationship that, like any other, needs time and attention to flourish. She talks about how people rely on conferences or big moments to "feel" God, but how that's not a strong foundation for true faith. We need to be deliberate, not ruled by emotions.

None of that is bad, at all. But the book felt like a watered-down version of meatier, more valuable philosophies. I'd rather read writings of the saints to explore these concepts. And Chole's chapters are too short to provide any depth to contemplate. In fact, far from encouraging slowness, the brevity makes me feel like I'm being rushed through the book.

Of course, Amazon has primarily positive reviews, so I suppose you can take what I say with a grain of salt. And perhaps, if you were working through the book with a group instead of as an individual, you might get more out of it. But for me, this was a no-go.

I received a copy of this book for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.