Six Men - Encountering God

Six gripping true stories of men encountering God and the difference he has made in their lives.

Foreword by Francois Pienaar

• 1. Peak experience A rock climber faces death, survives and then seeks to know what - or who -it was that 'saved' him.
• 2. If the hub cap fits A successful businessman and car lover encounters God through his wife's rediscovery of childhood faith.
• 3. Spur of the moment A cynical canoeing enthusiast meets God at an outdoor adventure centre.
• 4. Good friends A lively young man enjoys a string of relationships and then realises that a lot of the nicest girls he knows are Christians...
• 5. Wholly Spirit An ambitious young man comes from Malaysia, climbs the ladder of social and economic success and is then surprised by the Holy Spirit.
• 6. How low can you go? An intensely selfish, opportunistic man finds God first reaching out to him when he is on the brink of suicide.

Brad Lincoln lives in Cheshire with his wife Morna and three children. He is a company director and balding Arsenal supporter, who'd love to write like Nick Hornby, but has to content himself with looking like him. He and his family previously spent five years working in Nepal, where he oversaw the International Nepal Fellowship's work in the western region of the country.

From: Woman Alive

Here's a book to encourage the men in your life that God and Christianity are not just for women. Though, interestingly, women seem to play a key part in each story! Meet the rock climber facing a fatal fall, the wheeler-dealer whose life turns sour, the cynic whose prejudices are confounded and others who share their stories of how they came to realise that God is for real and that he can change their world.

When I first saw this book, I wondered whether it would appeal to the average reader of the Church Times. Many books in this genre have been published recently; their quality has been mixed, and they have not infrequently left the reader with feelings of profound irritation.

This book was different - I was gripped by it. The foreword by Francois Pienaar sets the tone: reflecting on the victory of the team he captained in the 1995 Rugby World Cup, he shows that his Christian faith infuses the whole of his life.

He sums up this book as telling the stories of six men who met the Lord for themselves in different ways and places, and 'found that knowing Him made all the difference'. But it does not pretend that becoming a Christian solves all life's problems. In his conclusion the editor writes: 'Their lives did not immediately becomes one long string of answered prayers and uninterrupted blessing. One has since been married and divorced, and another has experienced business insolvency. They all found that becoming a Christian...can bring challenges, persecution and problems as well as blessing and joy.'

It is the integrity of the six writers, and the variety of ways in which they came to faith, that make this book attractive and striking. Their different stories are told in a compelling way; and the fact that all are told by men make this a great book to give to men. The key parts played by individuals encourage those of us who might be hesitant to share our faith to do so, however stumblingly. This book answers a clear need. It is worth every penny.

Reviewed by The Revd Jeremy Crossley, Rector of St Margaret's Lothbury and Area Dean of the City of London.From CLC World July 2008

Six stories about six men - all very different with different life - experiences but with one thing in common. They all lived their lives without reference to God. Fortunately that didn't affect the fact that God knew each one of them (just as he knows you) and was preparing to intervene in their lives - as he may intervene in your life, especially if you dare to read the book. The one thing these men had in common was that they all met God for themselves - in a variety of situations. Lincoln's writing is crisp and contemporary, and every story is unique showing how each individual man learned to face up to his own failings and weakness and trust in God. The consequences make compelling reading.

Reviewed by Betty McKay

From The Methodist Recorder 17 April 2008

A collection of very different accounts of turning to Christ is contained in Six Men - Encountering God by Brad Lincoln.

Told in a well-written, absorbing detail, the stories include those of a Malaysian economic migrant who fulfilled his material ambitions and the mountain climber who begrudged giving up time to pray. A book for our time

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