Official Review: "All These Things Are Against M...

[Big_B99]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of ""All These Things Are Against Me"" by Skip Joannes with Paul Lewis.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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All These Things Are Against Me by Skip Jonnes is, as the book cover says, about the first Calvary Chapel pastor in Australia, but it is much more than that. This book is the autobiography of Skip Jonnes, who, along with many other achievements, started the first Calvary Chapel churches in Australia. Calvary Chapel is a denomination of Christianity that is defined by their going through the entire Bible verse-by-verse, instead of by subject.

The book starts with Skip’s early life in, as he called it, "a horrible, messed up family". I will not go through all of the details here, as they are all explained in the book, but just know that his was not a perfect childhood.

However, Skip persevered, and not only finished school and joined the military, but he went to college and moved to Australia, first as a missionary, and then finally as a pastor. The book is filled with some of the amazing experiences and events in Skip’s ministry, and, if they are able to be believed, then this man has truly lived an action-packed life.

I really enjoyed this book and all of the events that went on in Skip Jonnes’ life. According to his autobiography, he started the first Calvary Chapel church in Australia, and thus became the first Calvary Chapel pastor in Australia. In all, Skip started six Calvary Chapel churches, and appointed men under his charge to lead them.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. Why not four out of four? Well, even though this book is almost 150 pages, it could easily have been twice that many pages. There is just so much that I could tell had happened that was not put in the book, and many times it felt like vital facts and information was left out to conserve space. One of the most glaring examples of this was that the book ended suddenly. It would have been great to have more than just a couple of paragraphs detailing Skip Jonnes’ life back in America, and what exactly he did once he got back home. It would have given the book closure, and not seem rushed at the end.

However, that was the only thing that I did not like about this book; it was really great, and I enjoyed reading it. I would recommend All These Things Are Against Me by Skip Jonnes to not only those familiar with the Calvary Chapel movement, but with all Christians in general, and also those who enjoy a fast, action-paced book that is not only a page-turner, but is also a true story.

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"All These Things Are Against Me"
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Dear Reviewer,
Thank you foot reading my book. You are right when you felt the book ended abruptly. This was a constant dialog between Paul and I. I probably have at least 50 more stories that could have been in the book. When we returned to America I started the first Evangelical high school in Montery, California. The school was and still is a tremendous success. For example, during 2001, the first year of the school we only had 35 students. I made performing Arts a manditory subject knowing this would help the kids bond together. Our first play, with only those 35 students drew a crowd of almost 3,000 people. The joy and love that came from the students overwhelmed the audience. We had to do the play seven different days to accomadate the crowds. Afte 8 years in Monterey I served as a principal in San Diego and helped start three schools in Mexico. Our San Diego had over 500 students. The Monterey school grew to maximize the facility with 125 students.

[Big_B99]

Thank you for responding and giving some of the back story not given in the book. It is really interesting stuff.

I really enjoyed reading and reviewing your book, and I thank you for giving me the chance to do so.