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Flashbang


Flashbang. Allow Mark Steele to provide the definition;

There is a weapon used by our nation's police force and military that is, in fact, not a weapon.... One that sounds off a resounding concussion [and] emanates a stunning bright light that is not actual fire... An explosion but not an explosion. A distraction with no destruction. A big noise and a lot of flash that leaves no lasting mark.
It is called the flashbang. (Flashbang, pg.xvi)

I first read this book in 2010. Why I've never officially reviewed it here is a mystery, because it is one of my favorite books. Mark Steele is a comic and runs Steelehouse Productions, doing all sorts of creative and artistic things.

Mark has written other books, which I have reviewed, but I return to this book from time to time for a few reasons. First, it's a hilarious read. Mark writes in a style where one feels like you might be having a conversation with him right in the room. He openly admits to adding details to stories for the sake of entertainment, without leaving out the truth of the matter.

Secondly, Mark writes here about topics that I need to hear about. Getting over oneself and living for maximum impact for the sake of Jesus. These are things I should never forget, a theme Mark returns to in this book frequently.

Filled with stories, this book will not keep you from the large stack of other books you may be feeling the need to get to. The dog-eared pages of the copy I own have many underlined passages, reminders of things I should be working on, stories that have helped me see truth in a new way.

Make no mistake about it, this book is not merely for entertainment, although it accomplishes that. Mark writes with an unrelenting purpose that people get over themselves for the sake of living with another purpose. God. But not just God as an idea or a concept. God as a person to chase after, at the cost of leaving ourselves behind. The bottom line can be summed in one more quote I will leave you with, found near the end of this book.

The staggering truth was that God loved me raw though I only chose to come to Him refined. (pg.234)
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