Right Side Up by Paul Grimmond

"I refuse to buy any more books from Matthias Media" I complained to Anna, who was one of the trainee staff at uni and worked part-time in the Matthias office. "They're all the same" I snorted in the type of upturned lip sneer that could only possibly come from a male second year uni student. "What do you mean?" Anna replied. "Well, firstly they introduce the book by listing off the sort of questions you have about the particular topic of the book. The following eight chapters just retell the gospel. And then the final chapter informs you, that you were asking the wrong questions. Predictable."

As it turns out, Anna wore this comment with a badge of pride and swiftly recounted my "complaint" at the Matthias staff meeting that week.

Right Side Up by Paul Grimmond, one of the latest releases from Matthias could not have that claim leveled against it. Grimmo doesn't even bother with listing the types of questions you might be asking, and instead launches quickly and lengthily into a retelling of the gospel message. In fact he never really stops, as the unfolding message of biblical theology culminating in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus is developed over the vast majority of chapters. The book is largely successful as it seeks to focus on what life should be like as a new Christian. This is achieved by using the big picture of the Bible as a launching pad into the big Christian doctrines and various aspects of righteous living.

Grimmo is a nice guy. He's kind of like the anti-Mark Driscoll. I mean, both men love Jesus and I'm sure if they were aware of each other would be supportive of the others ministry, but where Mark Driscoll is known for his bluntness and abrasiveness, Grimmo is the kind of guy who with both his preaching and writing almost reaches out to give you a warm hug. He takes you alongside and gently informs you where you are deficient in your thinking and ultimately points you to the solution in Jesus. He certainly doesn't hold back from the difficult truths of scripture, but rather than punching them out in a verbal assault instead seeks to calmly put forward the truth in as unoffensive a way as possible. It's good stuff. His tone, his words and his illustrations are very pastorally aware. Paul Grimmond is the kind of guy who I imagine would nurse a sick kitten back to health. This tone of the book which is reflective of its author I believe is one of its great strengths.

Grimmo's history as chaplain at the University of NSW is also evident in much of the content. Many of the chapters contain the executive summary of the many Mid Year Conference topics that Paul preached on during his time at UNSW. This includes the church, the Holy Spirit and the resurrection, each of which are examined in a brief form of systematic theology.

One interesting editorial decision was the lack of Bible references within the text. This is not to say the Bible is not central because the truth is that the study of the Bible is the driving force of the whole book. But a large chunk of scriptural explanation is given in unreferenced summary form. I would like to point out that this is not a criticism. Being familiar with Matthias resources means I am certain this was a deliberate choice as a result of the intended reader being the new Christian. There is enough Bible referenced and quoted to be certain where the authority is from, without being overrun with thousands of footnotes or bracketed verse references to distract from the reading. And I say thousands quite deliberately because it is clear were they all to be referenced the number of footnotes may well have reached this point. It is clear that Paul's summaries are extrememly thorough and absolutely bathed in scriptural reflection.

In his own words Paul "set out to write a book for new Christians, to explain what it means to be a Christian and what the lifelong adventure of following Jesus is like." Though the remainder of the blurb on the back cover suggests that the discovery during writing was that the seasoned saint needs to hear exactly the same thing, I would temper this statement with the disclaimer that this is true only in the very broad sense that we must never tire of hearing the gospel and the call each day to live with Jesus as Lord. The content of the book however is not necessarily of the greatest benefit to seasoned saints apart from this broad sense of practicality. There would perhaps be better books on the market to encourage older Christians.

My verdict on the book is that it is a great read. Paul has a friendly writing style which I look forward to digesting more of in the future. Theologically it is to the same high standard that we have come to expect from all Matthias releases. My only hesitation before a blanket recommendation is that I am concerned there may be just too much content for the new Christian taking their first few steps in walking in faith. However there is an inherent self-awareness of this potential within the book where Grimmo warns the reader they may need to re-read some chapters. At other times (with another warm hug) Grimmo ensures he stops to recap once a lot of content has been covered.

Right Side Up is a good read with sound theology and is well targeted towards its focus audience.