Mirror Ball: Living Boldly and Shining Brightly for the Glory of God
Matt Redman
David C. Cook, 2011, 176 pp., $12.99

Mirror Ball was an easy read that left me wishing for something deeper. While I understand the use of the title and how it fits with the theme of the book, I would adjust or change the picture on the cover. This is not a book I would use directly with youth, but more indirectly through my own reading and study. As I read through the book, there were a few insightful statements that really struck me, but I really was anticipating a more in-depth treatment of worship, so much so, that by the end of the book I found myself skimming the paragraphs just to get done.
–Steve Bonner, Assistant Professor of Youth and Family Ministry/Director of Youth and Family Ministry Program, Lubbock Christian University

When we think/talk about worship, it is often that music is what we are thinking or talking about. However, in Mirror Ball: Living Boldly and Shining Brightly for the Glory of God, Matt Redman wants to change that by showing us that worship is not defined by the songs we sing, but in the lives we live. Each one of us is a mirror designed to provide no light of our own, but to reflect God’s light into a dark world. “Worship doesn’t start with you. It begins and ends with…God.” This is a great resource for any youth worker who wants to inspire true worship in the lives of his or her students and groups.
–James Watson

I enjoyed Redman’s thoughts about how living a life of passionate worship allows God’s light to radiate through us. This could be a great resource for helping students understand what it really means to worship God with all of life. I’d especially find it useful with the students who lead worship musically in our youth ministry — a lot of what Redman says in Mirror Ball paints a great picture for us of what it looks like to live a life that leads others to worship when we’re not on the stage. He doesn’t lean too heavily on music, though, so I could see small discipleship groups going through this book together, as well.
–Mike Andrews, WestWay Christian Church; TheoQuest.blogspot.com

Matt Redman says in Mirror Ball that life “is about living a big, bold, bright life of worship,” and it absolutely is! He describes this life authentically, passionately and with Christ right smack in the center. The book is framed around great questions, clear challenges to greater discipleship, and tremendous biblical encouragement. The book is very readable and includes a study guide which makes it a must for those working with youth and young adults. I plan to use this book with the youth at my school this coming fall.
–Andrew Steinke, Chaplain, Concordia Lutheran High School, Tomball, Texas

Matt Redmon uses his poetic abilities to the full in Mirror Ball, giving a glimpse of the glory of God using carefully crafted language that leaves the reader in awe of Him and looking to reflect this glory to others. His thoughts laid out in this book and the accompanying discussion guide are especially useful to youth workers who are looking for a resource for worship teams or other small groups that are seeking to reflect God’s glory to those around them.
–Dennis Poulette, Youth Ministry International

As I flipped the pages of Matt Redman’s new book Mirror Ball, thoughts and visions and constant streams of activities flooded my mind. For a youth worker who is always seeking more and desiring to take my students into a deeper relationship with Jesus, Mirror Ball is a jackpot! A plethora of good material with the potential to sear right into the hearts of students is held in these pages. Themes for retreats, ideas for talks and opportunities for my students to grasp the concept of a life that reflects the glory of God were running through my mind as I took in each word.

One of the hardest parts of being a youth director is constantly swimming upstream in a culture that throws new things in the faces of our students with each new day. Matt Redman’s careful words help us reflect on the culture in which we live and the example’s Jesus set for us about how to live in a place for which we weren’t created. There is truth written in the pages of Mirror Ball about passion being a story of “guys and glory, pain and purpose.” Redman says that it’s “not about you and your best efforts. It is about the light, power and love of Christ illuminating our fragile lives”; and those words will speak directly to the hearts of students because the material is so authentic and true.

I recommend Mirror Ball to any youth worker who is looking to take his or her students into a deep place of reflection and purpose seeking. I’m so excited to share this with my students beginning in the fall — great curriculum from a book where the ideas shared are worth reflecting on personally before beginning to dive in with them!
–Megan Faulkner

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