Guru Ratings
John Eldredge
Bad.
Remember my ratings criteria. I’m not judging these gurus on “global” or moral values, but very specific criteria. Many of my favorite books would be rated “bad” by my criteria for self-help (probably, because they are not self-help books). My ratings don’t reflect how well an author met his own goals, but how well they met my criteria for useful, accurate self-help.
Eldredge adapts Iron John’s “embrace the wild man within” message for Christian audiences. Each of his books has about 3 pages of advice and 200 pages of pop culture references, metaphors, and anecdotes. Some people love that. But it doesn’t fit my criteria.
As with most Christian gurus, he recommends you surrender much of your self-efficacy to an invisible friend.
Wild at Heart (2001)
The book that made him the Robert Bly of evangelicalism. “God made men to be wild, blah blah blah.” See my general comments above.
Captivating (2005)
His book for women. Eldredge says a “truly alive” man is “wild at heart.” It’s the role of a “fully alive” woman to (1) be romanced, (2) look pretty, and (3) have her own adventures (with a definite focus on the first two).