Book Review - the Map

I have recently read a book which was sent to me by booksneeze.com. Called 'The Map' it's all about men and the Church

Book Description

A map, hidden in the gospel of Matthew, is the key to awakening the sleeping giant in the church—men.

Sounds like fiction, but it's true. The apostle Matthew embedded a map into his gospel. History's greatest men, including Christ himself, followed this map.

The Map begins as a fictional tale of murder, deception, and greed as three men fight to uncover the most important discovery since the Dead Sea Scrolls. Then, using the tale as a parable, Murrow shows men what the map looks like, where it is found in the Bible, and how to walk its three ancient pathways today:

* Submission
* Strength
* Sacrifice

David Murrow stumbled across the map by accident in 2006. After three years of research and writing, he is ready to reveal it to the world

My thoughts:

No matter what you think about the state of masculinity and manhood in the 21st Century the fact is there are fewer men going to Church - and Murrow seeks to address this. He does this in an interesting way, part adventure story, part reflection on that story. It's a good yarn in the first half, and rather than spoil it I will just say that it's worth reading. The Second half is somewhat more patchy - his arguments of what constitute masculinity and femininity have some merit, and critique of the feminisation of the Church hold water but his specifics about 'manly' behaviour I found less useful - rubbing the face of a bully in the dust, and using firearms are much more about Murrow's attitude than a healthy approach to 'manhood', I think.

The Three journeys offer food for thought, especially for those of us responsible for leading men but also for any man seeking to be a disciple. I would recommend this book, but mainly for the story - some of Murrow's later thoughts I found frankly adolescent rather than reflecting the maturity that is the aim of the book. If you're willing to take with a good pinch of salt then it's worth the read!


You can check out The Map: The Way of All Great Men by David Murrow at Thomas Nelson's website, just click this link!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

You can get it on Amazon here: