Seeing as to how I've let the cat out of the bag on two occasions now, why not give an overview of the book itself? To repeat myself somewhat, this is covering the book and not the CD that comes out next month.

On the whole, Israel Houghton's book is as familiar as it is unique. Familiar due to those who have seen him in action have some familiarity with the message that's been building up to this book/CD project. Especially familiar if you saw his sermon a few weeks ago. In the book, Sister Sandpaper gets an entire section of a chapter devoted to her.

But the uniqueness has to do with the writing style. It's a uniqueness I've been led to believing I should relate to. Israel's book reads very much like his speaking style. It's as if the book might have been simply transcribed and edited however slightly to fit together in book form. That's not intended to be a criticism ... it just takes some getting used to.

Another peculiarity of the book is it's intended audience. Israel seems most at ease when he's aiming his message at fellow worship leaders. It's an area he obviously speaks with a great deal of confidence and authority on. And maybe that was the original mission of the book. But there is more than enough of the message that spills over to a more accessible audience. If there's a criticism warranted, it's probably that a more consistent focus might have been kept in mind for the writing. There are times when I feel Israel is speaking directly to me and there are times when I feel he's speaking more directly at worship leaders.

That message, however, is what really makes the book worth reading. As part of the preparation for the recording of the CD, the entire New Breed band went on a 40-day fast. The intent, predictably since we know the title, was to find a deeper level of worship to commit themselves to. Each chapter highlights a particular aspect of that journey. Both the good and the bad are covered here. And not just for Israel ... various band members offer an aside on all of the topics covered. From deepening their commitment to serving God's will to ridding their life more and more of sin, the book covers numerous areas of Christian growth. None incredibly deep for a mass audience readership, but all intensely personal and singular in the lives of the band members doing the writing.

What you get is still predominantly Israel's tone of voice throughout. The other band members are brought in as if soloing on stage during praise & worship. Each member's telling varies in terms of the transparency and universality of their message. But what I loved about the entire reading is much of what I look for in other areas of Christian writing ... particularly blogs. In too many instances, we see a substitution of the personal for the passive. After all, there's a wider audience who will read Max Lucado, John Eldredge, or Michael W. Smith talk about some topic or another pertaining to Christian growth. Chances are, even I'll be quick to snap up their book. Those can still be great books, after all. But what about the personal journey of a Max Lucado, John Eldredge, or Michael W. Smith? Suddenly, the interest narrows a bit and sales projections drop from the tens of thousands to ... perhaps something as low as the tens period. It helps, of course, to have an interesting backdrop to the story like have an interesting run-in with a news event like Ashley Smith; win a Super Bowl like Tony Dungy. Then, maybe we've got a book worth reading.

Israel's tale does have a few hills in need of climbing. But the central narrative is woven around dealing with whatever it takes to get to that deeper level of worship, reverence, and purpose. Those are stories that we all can probably get a lot more out of - unless you plan on reading "Purpose Driven Life" to a criminal or winning a Super Bowl, that is. By all means, more power to you if that's your calling.

For my own journey, I'll take Israel's message to heart. It's a great story that I think helps anyone gain renewed focus on their own walk - assuming again that it's aimed at the more practical, everyday Christian. There's a lot to learn in the book that goes beyond Israel Houghton or anyone else in New Breed. Look for it when the CD comes out on September 4th.