Book Write-Up: Eat Your Ps, by William Carter, Jr.

William Carter, Jr. Eat Your Ps. Crosslink, 2018. See here to buy the book.

William Carter, Jr. is a pastor and has worked in the Christian music industry. This book discusses seven “P”s of the Christian life: praises, purging, prayers, promises, persecution, proverbs, and purpose. Carter artfully ties each “P” to a variety of pea, using a characteristic of that pea to make a homiletical point about the “P.” At the end of the book, he gives a recipe for black eyed peas and rice.

This book stood out to me because Oprah’s Dad recommends it. You hear about Oprah’s book club. Well, here is a book that Oprah’s Dad likes!

Also recommending this book is the President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a group that was instrumental in the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement.

But what especially made me want to read this book is the author’s multidenominational background: his father was a Methodist, and his mother was a Holiness/Pentecostal. People’s religious journeys interest me. Maybe that is because I enjoy reading about different beliefs and have myself traversed the wild world of religion in my own searches for churches.

One of the endorsements on the back cover says, “It’s hard not to feel like you’re walking with a friend when you read his words.” I found that to be true in reading this book. It has its shares of anecdotes and insights, along with a friendly tone.

There were two parts of the book that I especially enjoyed. First, there was Carter’s delineation of the differences between the Methodist and the Holiness churches of his upbringing. The Methodist church was accepting, whereas the Holiness Church was intense. Carter appears to gravitate towards the Holiness view. Second, there was Carter’s story about the co-worker who mocked his frequent church attendance, and how that co-worker came to accept Christ. That story made me want to keep reading, wondering what would happen next.

The book tends to stress what we can do for God, rather than what God in Christ has done for us. I tend to lean more towards the latter, thinking that it glorifies God more. This book, however, has a “do more, do more” attitude. Still, Carter conveys a thirst for God and a devotion to God, and to what he believes God is doing in the world. That is edifying to read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through Bookcrash. My review is honest.