Sunday, November 23, 2014

Duck Commander Faith and Family Bible {a BookLook Blogger review}

When The Duck Commander Faith and Family Bible came up as a review option from BookLook Bloggers, I knew I had to get it for my husband.

As I mentioned in a recent post, we do watch Duck Dynasty -- though we can't stay current.  We enjoy the crazy antics, but what we really love are the more serious moments, where we see the "faith and family" aspects really shine.

This seemed like a perfect Bible for my husband, especially as I know he likes the New King James version.



From the publisher:
The stars of the hit TV show Duck Dynasty are committed to upholding five core values both on and off the screen: faith, family, fellowship, forgiveness, and freedom.

The Duck Commander® Faith and Family Bible features new stories and testimonials by Phil, the Robertson family patriarch, and his son Al, a pastor with more than 22 years of experience. Together they offer fresh wisdom on biblical values and how everyday people can apply them to their lives.
Powered by relentless dedication to sharing the gospel and celebrating Christ’s kingdom, the Robertson family has become influential to contemporary evangelism and discipleship. The Duck Commander® Faith and Family Bible unleashes the power of their practical insight into critical faith issues, founded on God’s Word.

Features include:
  • Full text of the New King James Version Bible
  • A personal welcome note from Phil and Al Robertson
  • 125 articles on the top 24 most-searched topics on BibleGateway
  • Life application and scripture references supplement each article
  • 30 days of life-changing testimonials
  • Topical index and reading plans

My thoughts:

As you can see in the image linked above, this Bible looks nice without looking all "churchy" or anything.  I like that.

This is primarily the Bible text.  There aren't thirty-seven little symbols to alert you that they are about to explain something biographical, cultural, etymological, or whatever.  Mostly, this is "just" a Bible.

What does set it apart is a couple of things:
  1. Introductory material telling you who Phil and Al Robertson are and why the Bible is important.
  2. Thirty Lifechangers stories (one page each) in the introduction.  These talk about transformed lives.  Half are written by Phil, and half are by Al.  These are located all together in the introductory materials.
  3. 52 Days...  This is the little notes, essays, whatever that are scattered throughout the Bible.  There are 52 Days with Phil, and 52 Days with Al.  Each man has essays on the topics of Faith, Family, Fellowship, Forgiveness, and Freedom.  The idea is to read one a week for a year.  Well, two years.  One with Phil, one with Al.
There is also some material at the end of the book, like a topical index and some reading suggestions.

I love that this is fairly simple.  Down-to-earth.

You could read through the Bible, using any sort of reading schedule, and just read the essays as you come to them.  You could read through the essays at a one-a-week pace, following each up with reading the appropriate sections in the Bible.  Or you could read one Phil essay and one Al essay each week in a similar way.

Each essay gives an overview, tells a story, and gives a key verse.  It then also gives links to other similar essays.  And finally, there is an "On the Hunt" section which gives a list of other Bible verses (with the verses spelled out, not just referenced) on the same topic.  And there are elegant line drawings of ducks flying across the top of the first page of the essay and the bottom of the second page.

I really like this format.

Apparently, from the publisher's info about this, the Robertson's chose what to write about based on the most-asked questions at BibleGateway.  So they are trying to address the issues that real people care about.

I think they succeeded.

My husband is liking this Bible.  He isn't really good at "all that reviewing stuff" when it comes to books, but he does appreciate that there aren't a lot of distractions, yet there is still enough additional content to justify the Duck Commander label being on it.


I find it amusing that I'm writing up a review of this particular Bible as my eldest son is preparing to go process an elk and a deer.  With his hunting buddies.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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