‘Restoration Road: The Master Key to a New and Satisfied Life of Authenticity’ by Mitch Kruse and Derek Williams – Book Review

I have a confession to make….  I have had ‘Restoration Road’ in my book review pile for a little longer than most.  I was not sure what to expect from it.  Being the chick that I am (!), I wasn’t sure if it would be too male-oriented – having the Dusenberg car on the cover and all.  So imagine my surprise when I finally started reading it, and discovered so much rich practical and Godly wisdom!  What had I been waiting for?!

Here is a book trailer for ‘Restoration Road’:

Living in Michigan, I was familiar with Kruse International, in neighboring Indiana; I have driven past its headquarters in Auburn, Indiana, many times.  Kruse International is one of the world's leading auction firms and the largest collector car auction company, selling more vintage cars than all other firms combined.  Mitch ran the business with his father, Dean, for seventeen years.

July 1, 1992 is a day that changed Mitch’s life forever.  That was the day the IRS raided the office of Kruse International.  Although Mitch had grown up in church, he completely surrendered his life and his future to his Savior on that night.  He decided to reevaluate his life and his calling in this life.  He sold his company to pursue his calling to communicate God’s restoration through grace and wisdom evidenced in leadership.  He earned his Master of Arts and Doctor of Religious Studies degrees with high distinction from Trinity Theological Seminary.  Mitch volunteered as teaching pastor at Blackhawk Ministries, a church of two thousand members.

‘Restoration Road’ chronicles Mitch’s story paralleled with Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32).   He intersperses his business dealings and accomplishments with Godly principles.  He also draws comparisons between the  process involved in restoring vehicles with the process that is involved with God restoring our lives and our hearts.  He aims to lead people to the intersection of the vertical (our relationship with God) to the vertical (our relationship with others).

Mitch describes three steps involve in the restoration process – both for vehicles and for us; surrender is a primary theme:

1.   The Old is Surrendered – each one of us needs to surrender our old basket case of a life to the Restorer.

2.   The Pieces are Surrendered – the Restorer begins to disassemble and renovate the components of our lives, piece-by-piece, whether they be unrestored or self-restored.

3.   The New is Surrendered – as the restoration process unfolds, we learn that we are designed to bring authentic restoration to others.  We surrender the new for this purpose and continue to surrender any old parts that corrode again over time.  (p. 16)

Our objective is to have a heart of clay, as opposed to a heart of stone or a heart of sand.  Here is Mitch’s description of the heart of clay:

A clay heart lives in the sweet spot where the vertical intersects with the horizontal – where the relationship with God intersects with our relationships with others.  A heart of clay is a humble heart.  The word “humility” and “humanity” comes from the same Latin word, humus, which means “from the ground.”  Humility involves bending the knee.  It means “to make ourselves lower than.” Consequently, humility always has an objective. (p. 21)

Mitch provides an acronym for CLAY that helps us remember how to live with a humble heart:

          C – we confess to God our proud sinful heart

          L – we learn His design for our lives from the Bible

A – we apply what we learn from the Scriptures to our daily tasks and       relationships

          Y – we yield the outcomes to God

Dr. Kruse shares with us that Jesus is the key to restoration:

Because Jesus is alive, the humble are “in,” and the proud are “out.”  Jesus Christ, the humility of God, lived the perfect example of being restored from the inside out so that those on the outside could come in.  Christ’s Master Key unlocks the gate to Restoration Road as our hearts are fully surrendered to love God, to worship him, and to service Him only.   Then we can begin to experience the limitless love, peace, truth, and power of the Father. (p. 139)

The Lord has been showing me lately – time and time again – that Jesus Christ is the key to everything.  Here is more affirmation of that truth!

Jesus needs to restore the four chambers of our heart; it is separated as follows (pp. 147-155):

1.   The will is the chamber of our choices

2.   The intellect is the chamber of our thoughts

3.   The spirit is the chamber of our prayers

4.   Our emotions represent the chamber of our feelings

Mitch shares in ‘Restoration Road’ the eight characteristics of Christ which demonstrate His sufficiency to restore us (p. 300):

1.   Christ is gracious (John 14:6)

2.   Christ is the light of God (John 8:12)

3.   Christ is the peace of God (Ephesians 2:14; Romans 5:10)

4.   Christ is the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24)

5.   Christ is the power of God in whom we find the hope of a relationship with the heavenly Father (1 Corinthians 1:24)

6.   Christ is the truth of God (John 14:6)

7.   Christ is the love of God (John 3:16; 15:13; 2 Corinthians 8:9)

8.   Christ is the forgiveness of God (Matthew 9:6; John 8:11)

I found this book to be so jam-packed with helpful and practical information that is life-transforming.  I think it would make a terrific gift for any man in particular; Father’s Day is coming soon!  A DVD set and study guide are also available; this would be terrific for a men’s small group!

I greatly appreciate Dr. Kruse’s insights, and am glad to see that he is well on his road to restoration!  We are all on our own individual journeys, and I think this book will be helpful for anyone who wants to be restored to the person that God wants us to be.

Mitchell lives with his wife Susan and their four daughters in Auburn, Indiana, on their family farm homesteaded from the Indiana state government by his great-great-great grandfather in 1854.

Dr. Kruse’s co-writer, Derek Williams lives in Los Angeles with his wife of 19 years.

You can order this book here.

This book was provided by the B&B Media Group for review purposes.