A searchable, downloadable PDF of the original article appears below. David Stewart David Stewart is a Th.M. graduate of Regent College.

The Race: Discipleship for the Long Run. John White, Downers Grove, IL.: InterVarsity, 1984, 212 pp. $5.95.

In recent years few Christian authors have been in print as regularly, and on such a wide range of subjects, as Dr. John White. This latest volume reflects this diversity of interests and concerns in a collection of some of his contributions to Christian periodicals over about the past twenty years.

And yet The Race is more than a simple “replay”. The author has skillfully edited and arranged these earlier pieces, with a result that is surprisingly unified. His subjects are organized under four broad headings: Christian Beliefs; Christian Witness; Christian Discipleship; and Problems of Christian Discipleship.

A book of this type makes no attempt or claim to be complete (for how much can one say in 4 or 5 pages?), either in its treatment of individual subjects or in its approach to the general topic of discipleship. Instead it aims to treat in brief a number of related sub-topics, and in so doing to present a sort of primer or reader on Christian nurture and discipleship. The Race accomplishes this very well indeed.

For example, Part I (Christian Beliefs) raises and confronts major issues – Christ, Man, Scripture, etc. Part II (Christian Witness) encounters several of the difficulties and principles of evangelism, drawing from White’s missionary experience in some in

stances. Part III (Christian Discipleship), reminiscent of the author’s earlier books, such as The Fight, begins with the lordship of Christ, and then treats some of the implications of confessing Christ as Lord: prayer, quiet time, faith, the peace of God, guidance, etc. The fourth and final section of The Race concerns itself with specific struggles and obstacles of discipleship: gossip, lust, self-interest, and interestingly enough, something that White terms “Fiction Addiction”. The discussion of these diverse subjects is sharpened and enhanced by the author’s skillful use of fantasy, parable, and reminiscence.

This book will be of greatest benefit when read “bit-by-bit”: each of its 28 pieces needs some time for reflection. Lively, enjoyable, and insightful, The Race offers us some of John White’s best.