BORN AGAIN: The Journey Begins (One Man's Walk with God) is a Christian devotional built around L. Brien Elvins’s personal testimony and return to faith after many years away from the church. Through personal experiences, prayers, poems, scripture passages, and reflections, Elvins shares the events that shaped his spiritual journey and the lessons he believes God taught him along the way.
One of the book’s strongest qualities is how personal it feels. Elvins is not trying to present himself as an expert or theologian. The personal stories are where the book feels most alive. He is at his most engaging when writing about uncertainty and the questions that accompanied his return to faith. In one particularly honest moment, he admits, “What have I done? I feared the unknown. I didn’t know God.” Passages like this give readers a clearer picture of the struggles behind his spiritual transformation.
Several of the book’s reflections grow out of specific experiences from Elvins’s life. One memorable section connects a moment of spiritual peace while sitting beside a pool with a later visit to a homeless encampment in Tacoma, Washington. What begins as an observation about where people live gradually becomes a larger reflection on belonging, faith, and his belief that a person’s true home is with God. Moments like this help ground the book’s spiritual lessons in real-life experiences, rather than abstract ideas.
This is not a traditional memoir. Alongside personal stories, Elvins includes poems, prayers, scripture passages, reflection questions, and even worship music recommendations. Readers looking for a straightforward life story may find the format unusual, but those who enjoy devotional reading will likely appreciate the opportunity to pause and reflect between chapters.
Faith sits at the center of nearly every page: “If we have faith, we will never be spiritually sick […] Stop and see what God wants us to see.” That perspective shapes much of the book and influences the way Elvins approaches both hardship and healing. Whether discussing personal failures or difficult circumstances, he repeatedly returns to the idea that faith offers guidance, hope, and a renewed way of seeing the world.
The personal stories are often the book’s strongest moments because they convey the experiences that shaped Elvins’s beliefs. At times, however, BORN AGAIN returns to familiar lessons about faith, forgiveness, and trusting God. Because these themes appear so frequently, a few sections may seem redundant.
Even when certain themes begin to feel repeated, the heart behind the book remains clear. Elvins writes with the hope that his experiences might encourage someone else who is struggling, and that sense of purpose gives the book much of its appeal. BORN AGAIN is ultimately a heartfelt account of spiritual renewal. Those who enjoy Christian testimonies, devotionals, and inspirational faith-based nonfiction will likely connect with Elvins’s message and honesty.
L. Brien Elvins’s BORN AGAIN: The Journey Begins (One Man's Walk with God) succeeds most when it draws from the author’s personal experiences and reflections on faith. Thoughtful, sincere, and encouraging, it offers Christian readers a heartfelt message of redemption and spiritual growth.
~ Katherine Crucilla for IndieReader