A MAN CALLED BLESSED By Ted Dekker & Bill Bright

A Man Called Blessed is the sequel to Blessed Child. These stories were created by Bill Bright and written by Ted Dekker. (Bill Bright was the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, and passed away in 2003. These books were published in 2002/2003.)

The main character in both these books is "Caleb". In Blessed Child, we first meet him as a child with special God-given "powers". Having grown up very innocently in a monastery in Ethiopia, he was brought to the US, and then exploited for these powers.

In A Man Called Blessed, we find Caleb, now a grown man, living and working in the very monastery in which he grew up. He is still a believer of God's powers, but seems to have lost the simple faith of his youth. As he puts it, he's "misplaced" his first love.

Rebbecca Solomon is a decorated Israeli soldier, who leads a team into Ethiopia to find the Ark of the Covenant. Specific information has led them to believe that Caleb holds the key to finding the Ark. The catch is that Caleb is totally unaware that he has the key to finding the Ark.

Meanwhile, Palestine has gotten word of Rebbecca's mission, and since they know that the discovery of the Ark is a threat to the Muslim world, they want to stop it from happening. Ismael, a Muslim soldier has a personal vendetta against Rebbecca, and therefore volunteers to head up this job.

So we have a Christian man, a Jewish young lady and a Muslim assassin. Caleb and Rebecca are trying to get the Ark to Jerusalem. Rebecca wants it there so that Temple can be rebuilt. Caleb wants to help Rebbecca get it there, but is trying to convince her that God's presence dwells in us, not in an Ark. Ismael is trying to prevent the Ark from getting to Jerusalem at all. And he's trying to kill Rebbecca because he hates her for killing his brother. All of them are willing to die for their cause. And any one of their actions can plunge the Middle East into war.

As usual, Dekker's book is full of action. He really has a knack for making his characters come to life. I think the ending leaves the story open to a possible sequel in which Caleb is one of the end time "witnesses" in Israel. I can't be sure if that's just my take, or if that was Bright's original intention for the story. Since Caleb is compared to Elijah a couple of times in the story, it seems a probable conclusion. But, as I mentioned above, Bill Bright passed away in 2003, so Caleb's story probably ends at this point.

I always recommend any book by Ted Dekker, and this one is no exception. This isn't as great as his later works, but nonetheless, its got his "signature" on it.

THR3E

I watched this 2006 movie in the theater when it was released. It fell a little flat. But when I recently saw that it was going to show on cable, I thought, what the heck, maybe its not a bad TV movie. Before I tell you what I thought, I'll tell you a bit more about it. It's quite probable you've never heard of it. It wasn't a big release. It's actually a movie based on Ted Dekker's novel of the same name. If you know me, you know that Dekker is my all time favorite author....ever! So back when this movie was being released, I was excited and yes, I was there on opening night to support it! Part of the problem in the theater was that it was full of teenagers. And they kept laughing at the most inappropriate times. It made it hard to evaluate the movie on its own merit, although I do remember that I thought it was a bit...hmmm...too low budget. Maybe even a little cheesy. That's why I thought that if I gave it a second chance and watched it in my own controlled atmosphere, it might be a pretty good flick.

The story starts out with Kevin Parsons receiving a mysterious call, telling him that unless he confesses his "sin", he will die. The caller also gives Kevin a riddle to solve. Kevin has no idea what "sin" the caller is talking about. He escapes death that time, and soon, with the help of Jennifer, a police officer, and Samantha, a childhood friend, Kevin is trying to stay alive by figuring out what sin he is supposed to confess, and why the caller knows about it. The deeper the story goes, the more Kevin begins to dig into his traumatic childhood and finds a secret that only he knows. THR3E truly is, as it's tag line says, "a story of good, evil, and all that lies in between". This is one of Dekker's best books - very suspenseful, lots of action, twists and turns, and a shocker of an ending that leaves you breathless. This story should have made an awesome movie.

Should have.

I regret to say that the movie, even on TV, was just as cheesy as I first thought. The actors were a bit stiff, so you never quite connect with the characters. Yes, it's true that a book has a lot more time to make that connection, but it IS possible to translate that to a movie, and this one just didn't pull it off. The worst part was that the shocker ending was not anywhere near as powerful as it was in the book.

It pains me to give this movie a bad review, because I'd love to support anything that Ted Dekker does as a storyteller. But this movie was way below his usual level of brilliance. That said, I would highly recommend that you get your hands on the book. Once you read this one, you'll be hooked on Dekker.

BONEMAN'S DAUGHTERS By Ted Dekker

Ted Dekker never ceases to amaze me. He truly is a master of suspense. But his gift goes far deeper than that, because he is able to reach down inside your heart and mind, to change the way you see and understand things.

He's a Christian, but the stories he tells are not necessarily "religious". Then again, if you think about it, a story about a man finding a treasure in a field and doing everything in his power to get that field in order to possess the treasure, isn't a very religious story, either. At least not at face value. And that's the thing about Ted Dekker. The "story" is not all there is the story.

Here's how it usually goes when I get to the last page of one of his books: I usually feel like I've read a great story. I understand what he's trying to show the reader. I see the illustration of a deep truth. But then, when I think that's all there is, he adds one more line to the book, and an even bigger light bulb goes on in my head. A sort of "A-ha!" moment, where I feel that not only do I get it, but I GET IT deep inside. It's like my heart has wrapped around something that my mind has known for a while. It may sound like I'm being vague, but it may be that you just have to experience it for yourself. I also don't want to be too specific because for me, its the element of surprise that gives his books their power.

Boneman's Daughters is about a serial killer who so far has taken six girls in a quest to find a "perfect daughter", because he believes he is the perfect father. When each girl fails to meet his expectations, he kills them by breaking their bones one by one, without breaking the skin.

Special agent Ryan Evans is the top in his field, and after coming home from a traumatic event in Iraq, he re-evaluates his life. He realizes that he's neglected his wife and daughter. However, they haven't had a life changing experience, and they want nothing to do with him.

Soon Ryan discovers that Boneman has taken his daughter, Bethany, as his 7th victim. Now Ryan has to use his professional skills to play Boneman's game in an attempt to outwit him to get his daughter back. The problem is, the authorities think Ryan might be Boneman himself.

I really wanted to summarize what Dekker says in his blog about the violence in this book. Boneman's Daughters is violent. And it is disturbing. But that's his intention here. You, as a reader, are meant to be disturbed. But it is not gratuitous - there is a purpose for it. Dekker is trying to open your eyes to great truths. His perspective on why he wrote this is explained in one of his blogs, titled "Why We Fear Violence" ( I truly hope you'll follow that link and read the article). He says that some of us "...will read BoneMan’s Daughters and be disturbed, as you should be, and you will be moved...and you will wonder what you should do with all the feelings this book evokes." He talks about how in our society, we have a great fear of violence and death, and that "Anything that threatens a comfortable life is deemed evil; prosperity of flesh is exalted over prosperity of spirit". So much so that we are afraid to get in the trenches and help those that are suffering or are in bondage in some way.

Boneman's Daughter is a great story on its own. Feel free to give it to someone and trust that they will enjoy it just as much as they'd enjoy any "secular" thriller out there. But more importantly, it is a beautiful parable of of a father's love for his child. Of The Father's love for His children.

I'll end this with a video of Ted talking about the book, and a little bit about how he got his inspiration for it from true events in his life.

(if you received this by email and don't see the video below, go to this link to see it: Ted Dekker/Boneman's Daughters)

ADAM By Ted Dekker

First, I'd like to say that I hope you'll go to the link above and click on the video in which Ted Dekker talks about this book. He explains it beautifully - that this book is about the very real supernatural world.

It's about an FBI agent, Daniel, who has been in pursuit of a serial killer. Actually, he is obsessed with the capture of this killer, to the point that it's destroyed his marriage. Finally, Daniel comes face to face with the deranged murderer and is killed himself...but is resuscitated. Now he's desperate trying to remember the killer's face, as well as tormented with horrible panic attacks. While he has no memory of what he saw, he knows it must lurk deep in his brain...if only he could go into his mind to retrieve that memory...but how? And now the killer is threatening to come after Daniel's wife. He wonders if re-experiencing his "death" could somehow bring those memories to surface.

The story starts out with part one of a magazine article about the serial killer, who has been caught. It tells the life story of this murderer, and how he came to be who he is. But then it switches back to the actual story, in which Daniel is trying to find the murderer. We go back and forth throughout the book. So while Daniel knows nothing about him, we are given a glimpse to who he is, before he even appears in the main story. It was a fascinating angle to take.

One of the reasons I want you to go hear Ted's own explanation of the book, is because he feels its one of the most important books he's written to date. It is about demon possession. It is about the reality of the spiritual realm. It is about how the greatest danger is to not believe in evil at all. Which is how I see the world going now.

Ted Dekker is one of the best. His books hook you from the first sentence, and while they are riveting in their own right, he also manages to include some profound spiritual truth or lesson.

BLESSED CHILD by Ted Dekker & THE GIFT by Richard Paul Evans

THE GIFT by Richard Paul Evans, reminded me of BLESSED CHILD by Ted Dekker, (and even a little bit of the movie, THE SIXTH SENSE ). They are both tales of boys with remarkable gifts of healing.

THE GIFT is the story of Nathan, a lonely guy with a tormenting secret from his childhood. He meets a young family - Mom Addison, daughter Lizzy, and son Collin. Collin has a gift of healing people, yet this gift comes with a cost; the more he heals, the more life drains out of him. In fact, Collin has Leukemia. Those who love him struggle to protect him from his "gift", while wondering if stopping him from helping people so that he can survive is the right thing to do. After Nathan meets Addison, Lizzy and Collin, his life is changed in ways he could have never predicted.

BLESSED CHILD is the story of Caleb. This little boy survives an attack on the monastery where he lives in Ethiopia and is brought to the U.S. by Jason (a peace corp worker), and Leiah (a red cross nurse). They soon discover how special this little boy is, and also that his enemies have continued to pursue him. We gradually learn who his enemies are, and why they want him, but that's only one problem. The other problem is that Caleb has powers - he heals people, and this has everyone who meets him debating where his powers come from. Millions of people want a piece of this boy - some for their own healing, and others for their own selfish profit. In the end, Jason and Leiah have to take extreme measures to keep him safe from all who want to harm him.

Both stories have similar characters. In THE GIFT, Nathan has scars from his childhood; In BLESSED CHILD, Leiah has physical scars - her body is disfigured with burn scars. But both of these characters struggle with feelings of inadequacy, and an urgency to help the helpless. In THE GIFT, Collins' deadbeat dad comes back when he finds out that he can profit from his son. In BLESSED CHILD, the minister who becomes Caleb's guardian organizes "events" at which people can buy high-priced tickets to come receive healing.

BLESSED CHILD is based on this scripture: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Caleb has his gift simply because he has unwavering faith in God his Father and in the fact that God can heal. His relationship with God is very real to him.

THE GIFT is based on this scripture: God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. Collin crosses into the afterlife, and returns to this world with his remarkable gift. He also sees and speaks to dead people - hence my comparison to the SIXTH SENSE. Although you get the idea that the author is referring to God and heaven, he doesn't quite come out and say it.

Both books were great - I read both quickly. THE GIFT especially seemed to go fast. The chapters were short and it felt like I kept turning pages. BLESSED CHILD was non-stop action from the first line, as is Ted Dekker's style. His books are always hard to put down.

Despite the similarities, both books are worthy reads on their own merit, although I am a big Ted Dekker fan and would favor his book if you asked me which I 'd recommend more. Not that THE GIFT is not as good - it's just that I have been a Ted Dekker fan for a few years. As a matter of fact, I would definitely pick up another book by Richard Paul Evans now that I've enjoyed THE GIFT. While Dekker's book has action, suspense and plot twists - Evans' book was the kind that makes you ask yourself what choice you would make if you were in that situation. Similar themes, yet different experiences!

"HOUSE" by Frank E. Peretti & Ted DeKker

My favorite two authors...Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker...TOGETHER!

I just finished "House" by these two and it really pains me to admit that I was not as thrilled as I thought I'd be.

The story immediately sucked me in. I was scared and kinda creeped out as the story unfolded. The first half kept me turning pages and I kept trying to guess what was REALLY going on. Would it be supernatural (like Peretti's "This Present Darkness")? Or would there be a logical-but-still-spiritual explanation (like Dekker's "Three")? However, at a certain point in the story, I began to feel exhausted by the repetitiveness. They ran and hid, and then they ran and hid some more...

With all this running and hiding it seemed a little confusing when BAM! out of the blue, the "answer" to the problem is revealed. While I don't want to give the story away, it seemed like perhaps the characters, who were not "Christians", understood it too easily. You'd think they would need a little more explanation to fully understand what needed to be done. More build-up to the climax, if you will. Furthermore, I didn't find the "redeemer" all that likable, so it was hard to reconcile that with the ending.

Maybe my expectations were too high for this collaborative effort. Maybe I had preconceived notions that ruined it for me. I admit that I was expecting a story about a "house" that ended up being the story of what was inside a person - ("Lord, I'll let you clean out this room where I keep my gossiping tongue, but I wont let you in this cob-web-filled room where the bitterness monster lives).

Like I say, these two authors are my favorites. I do look forward to any future works they create, whether it's individually, or as a team. I give "House" a "so-so" rating.