Review of “The Walk”

Though not my favorite football player of the last few years, I have heard of Shaun Alexander’s faith for some years, so this book intrigued me. The Walk is Alexander’s “path” to spiritual maturity, one through which he has led men around the country, both in private studies and in more public speaking engagements.

One positive of the book is that it does not focus on Alexander to football player as some sort of “proof” that he is a religious man. Far too  many athletes are given a pass in the realm of religion, just because they can run fast or do other amazing feats. While the book obviously mentions football several times, that is not the focus.

The “walk” described by Alexander is 5 steps, that go from being an unbeliever to a believer. The believer, then, is encouraged to become an example, then a teacher, and finally an imparter. Alexander claims that the one who reaches this final “step” can perform miracles of varying types, a statement that clearly contradicts Biblical teaching (see First Corinthians 12-14). Other than this, though, the steps are ones that are quite normal.

Alexander claims that the Apostle Peter was his inspiration for these steps, and he ends each section by going back to the biography of Peter. It is an interesting part of the book to see that connection.

Football fans will be somewhat disappointed, since there is little football in this book. The book does have some interesting stories, and it sheds some light on a religious man, but the stretching and misuse of Scripture is hard to get past. I would pass on this book, unless you are a big fan of Shaun Alexander.

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I received a copy of The Walk for free from Blogging for Books, run by WaterBrook Multnomah. I was not compensated for this review, except through the free book.