CalledToBetter

The Way Forward by Joe Barnard: A Review

Joe Barnard’s The Way Forward: A Road Map of Spiritual Growth for Men in the 21st Century was published by Christian Focus in January 2020. It runs 168 pages. Barnard pastors Holyrood Evangelical Church in Edinburgh and runs Cross Training Ministries, a discipleship work aimed at men.

The structure, which is the point

Barnard organizes the whole book around three moves: problem, solution, plan. He names why men stall, argues for what actually addresses it, and then gets specific about what to do. Plenty of books do the first two. The third is where most of them quit, and it is where the real value here sits.

His diagnosis is worth the price on its own. Barnard’s contention is that most Christian men are not in rebellion, they are drifting, and drifting is harder to notice than rebellion because nothing dramatic happens. You just gradually stop growing while continuing to attend, serve, and describe yourself as a Christian. He is unsentimental about how ordinary that is.

The fitness metaphor runs through the book, which fits given that his ministry is called Cross Training. He treats spiritual growth the way a coach treats physical conditioning: you need a diagnosis, a program, and a schedule, and good intentions are not a program.

What it asks of you

This is not a comfortable read, and it is not supposed to be. Barnard is direct about the gap between what men say they want spiritually and what they are willing to schedule. He pushes on habits, on time, and on the excuse that a busy life is a reason rather than a choice.

He is also careful not to turn the whole thing into self improvement. The plan is a means of grace, not a way to earn anything, and he says so.

Practicality and readability

Short chapters, clear prose, no filler. At 168 pages you can finish it in a few sittings, and its length is deliberate: Barnard would rather you read it and act than admire a doorstop on the shelf.

We could not confirm that the book includes formal discussion questions, so if you are considering it for a group study, look at the preview before ordering copies. The chapter structure lends itself to discussion whether or not the questions are printed.

Who it is for

The man who is stuck and cannot say why. Anyone who has been a Christian for years and quietly knows he has plateaued. Men’s groups that want something with a plan rather than another round of encouragement.

Less useful for a brand new believer, who needs the basics before a growth program makes sense.

Bottom line

One of the better books in the men’s discipleship space precisely because it refuses to stop at inspiration. Short, honest, and it tells you what to do on Monday.

Find The Way Forward on Amazon.