Bishop Derek Calhoun encourages Christians to fight for the presence of God in their lives in his post-pandemic call-to-action Press Into Power.

Drawing from a New Testament story (Mark 2:2-12 and Luke 5:17-26) for inspiration, Bishop Derek Calhoun makes a strong argument for fighting for the presence of God in one’s life in order to “hear His will clearly and be able to carry this will out with the absence of the fear of men and reprisal.” His focus is on encouraging Christians to find their life’s purpose and then “yielding or surrendering [their] will for the will of the Father.”

Calhoun advocates for “a new vanguard” of Christians who “are willing to walk in obedience…regardless of the sacrifice.” He doesn’t shy away from the difficulties and hindrances to such a life: obstacles like technology, lack of time, doubt, defeatism, trepidation and more. But he encourages readers to do whatever it takes to “press to get into His presence.”

The author writes with a compassionate but firm tone. There’s no sugar-coating his message nor room for excuses. Despite his tough love approach, readers will appreciate that he cushions his message with hope. For example, he states that addiction must “be faced head-on” and that “[r]esistance is the hallmark of doing the will of God.”

Calhoun does a skilled job of defining religious terms and ideologies to help clarify his message, but unfortunately there remains a decent amount of phrasing that may be lost on readers unfamiliar with the language and stories of the Bible. He throws around concepts like “balm of Gilead”; “valley of dry bones”; “snake into the fire at Malta” and more with no explanation or reference for clarification. This seems a misstep, given the target audience,

Regardless, Calhoun’s book is an effective call to action for Christians feeling stagnation in their faith and seeking true power that will change not only their own lives, but also the lives of others.

Also available in hardcover and ebook.