Joy Bomb: Unleash Jesus’s Explosive Joy for an Extraordinary Life

Singer and pastor Wells debuts with a clumsy attempt to prove that joy is rooted in divine love. Contending that people mistakenly tether their sense of fulfillment to “fleeting and fragile” sources, he argues that forming the “right” relationship with God provides a permanent feeling of “rest and security” that is rooted in unchanging divine love and precludes the need for other sources of approval. The bulk of the account considers how Christians can create such a relationship with God by taking small, everyday actions—spending more time in prayer, reading the Bible, or trying to connect with God—and communal ones, like attempting to broker peace between individuals and communities. Unfortunately, Wells’s energetic case is undercut by a tendency to veer into platitudes and awkward metaphors—including the book’s overarching comparison of pursuing a holy life to creating a bomb that explodes into “joy and strength” instead of destruction. The author’s good intentions aren’t enough to save this. (May)