Book Notes

I had the chance to download for free a chapter of Bo Bosher's book, “The Be-With Factor: Mentoring Students in Everyday Life.” Here are a few of my favorite quotes from this 1st chapter...

"Despite all the apparent “failure,” Jesus unblinkingly proclaimed that he’d completed what the Father sent him to do." (John 17:4)

“We need to re-evaluate our definitions of success and instead take a close look at the depth of impact he made on a few key individuals.”

“Jesus was a success despite his dismal numbers, because the measurement that mattered wasn’t just a short-term body count. We believe the standard by which Jesus measured his own success – and how we also ought to measure our success – was deep, lasting change in a few. As Dallas Willard has suggested, Christians must be weighed, not just counted."

"Deep transformation of a few continue to influence others is the measure we invite you to embrace. And the one word that best captures how to accomplish this is mentoring."

"So the heart of any ministry that seeks to emulate Jesus – no matter how expansive or public its outward manifestation may be – there must be a commitment from the leaders to mentor a few in the daily aspects of living."

"You cannot afford to watch lives change from a distance. Mentoring gets you up close. Whatever else you do, “be-with” a few so that lasting life-change happens."

"Mentoring is going through your existing agenda while a student is there with you, sometimes simply shadowing you, watching you in meetings, or listening to you talk."

"While there will be formal meeting times with those you are mentoring, the real defining moments happen in unplanned discussions and spontaneous learning experiences."

"In short, mentoring is where the Christian life is caught, not taught."

"A mentor is someone with a measure of maturity, life experience, and age that exceeds the student’s – maybe by only a few years – willing to build into and model life for a student."

"At a minimum, a mentor must be at least one “life-stage” ahead of the student."

SUMMARY: "The standard by which Jesus measured his own ministry success, and how we ought to measure our success, was deep, lasting change in a few. And one word that captures a great way to accomplish that change is “mentoring.” In its simplest form. Mentoring is being-with a student in daily life. Mentoring is not primarily another “to do” on you weekly agenda, but rather becomes a natural part of your lifestyle.”

Book Notes

I had the chance to download for free a chapter of Tony Dungy’s book, “The Mentor Leader.” Here are a few of my favorite quotes from this 1st chapter...

“The key to becoming a mentor leader is learning how to put other people first.”

“A life spent focused on things of the world will not add value to the lives of others.”

“By influencing another person, we lead that person. Leadership is not dependent on a formal position or role. We can find opportunities for leadership wherever we go.”

“…simple ‘being in charge’ is not evidence of leadership or leadership ability.”

“Mentor leaders understand that if we lose sight of people, we lose sight of the very purpose of leadership.”

“One’s position, or status, can supply part of the equation, bit that is only a piece. In fact, many of the most effective leaders I’ve seen do not have positional authority over the people they lead. In my experience, some of the best examples of mentor leadership come from men and women whose influence extends to people who are not their subordinates.”

“Mentor leadership focuses on relationships and positive influence because success in temporal things can be so fleeting.”

“Mentor leadership focuses on building people up, building significance into their lives, and building leaders for the next generation.”

“Leadership based on building significance into the lives of others is much more energizing in the long term that other types of leadership.”

“…70% of the men in prison today grew up without a father figure in their lives.”

“Boys and girls without a father at home are five times more likely to end up in poverty and much more likely to make decisions that will negatively affect their lives far into the future, including criminal behavior, drug use, and teen pregnancy.”

“Mentor leaders tend to lean toward long-term results. They are involved in the present, but are willing to defer immediate gratification in order to build value and structure into people’s lives, creating a culture based on something more than wins and losses. It takes time to build mentor relationships.”

“The difficulty for most people is that maintaining a long-term perspective requires faith.”

Book Notes

I had the chance to download for free a chapter of Andy Stanley's soon to be released book, "The Grace of God." Here are a few of my favorite quotes from this 1st chapter...

“God’s 24/7 extension of grace generally go unnoticed, until they are taken away.”

"God declared each phase of creation good because it was good for us."

"God created the world, filled it with goodness, then gave it away. He handed us the keys. He created a world perfectly suited to sustain the human race. What did we do to deserve this incredible, this pristine abundance? Absolutely nothing."

"From the standpoint of human experience, the creation of the universe and God’s giving it to humanity was the beginning of grace."

"Grace is never just enough. Grace is always far more than enough. And from the outset, God established his pattern of lavishing grace upon those he loves."

"When he saw that humanity was incomplete he acted. “I will make a helper suitable for him (Genesis 2:18). Why? Because he had to? No, the text is clear. Because he wanted to. “So God created human beings in his own image. In his image he created them; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:27 NLT)

"In doing so, he created a capacity for love and intimacy that Adam, on his own, would never have experienced. He created the experience of sexual fulfillment. He created the potential for children and the unique love that only a parent can comprehend. With the creation of man and woman came the ability to enjoy life in its fullest expression."

"God gave Adam and Eve a purpose for living. That’s just one more aspect of God’s grace."

"Put simply, they were to extend and maintain the order he had given the world. But he didn’t give them any real guidelines. In fact, there was really only one rule."

"When God had the world just the way he wanted it, there was just one commandment."

"Perhaps from your perspective, God’s requirements are innumerable and his grace minimal. If that is the case, you are not alone. You are in the majority."

"Grace in its purest form can have no strings attached."

"God completely trusted mankind with his creation."

"Much of our confusion around grace stems from our confusion about sin. Simply put, we severely underestimate the impact of sin our souls and on our world.”

"Our problem is that this corrupted world is all we know. So while from time to time we are bothered by what we see around us; upset by the way things are going; or frustrated that things are not like they used to be, we really have no idea how bad it truly is."

"But since a broken world is all we’ve ever experienced, we can’t begin go appreciate how far things are from the way God intended them to be."

"…in a world that’s far from the way God intended it to be, sin is reduced to a mistake."

"When anyone refuses to accept responsibility for this behavior, he goes looking for someone to blame.”

"God demonstrated mercy by holding back the swift, final administration of justice that Adam and Eve had earned through their disobedience. Instead, he delayed their physical death, buying time – as it were – to put into place a redemption. Instead of destroying Adam and Eve for their sin, God cursed them and their offspring to live with the consequences of their wrongdoing."

"To curse in Hebrew means “to surround someone with obstacles” or “to render someone powerless to resist.”

Book Notes - John Wooden Quotes

I'll be sharing some of my favorite quotes from John Wooden's book, "Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections on and Off the Court."

ON FAILURE

"Are you going to make mistakes? Of course. But it s not failure if you make the full effort." (55)

"If you prepare properly, you may be outscored but you will never lose. You always win when you make the full effort to do the best of which you’re capable." (55)

"You can make mistakes, but you aren’t a failure until you start blaming others. When you blame others you are trying to excuse yourself. When you make excuses you can’t properly evaluate yourself. Without proper self-evaluation, failure is inevitable." (56)

“You must not be afraid to fail. Initiative is having the courage to make decisions and take action…But if you’re afraid of failure, you will never do the things you are capable of doing.” (185)

ON SUCCESS
"The concept that success is mine when I work my hardest to become my best, and I alone determine whether I do so, became central to my life and affected me in a most profound manner. Try your hardest in all ways and you are a success. Period. Do less than that and you have failed to one degree or another." (52)

"You become infected with success when you think that your past is going to have an impact on your future." (56)

"How you respond to past success can be damaging if you let it infect your thinking, if you let it diminish your preparation in the present for the future. Then you’ve been infected with success." (57)

"When you see a successful individual, a champion, a “winner”, you can be very sure that you are looking at an individual who pays great attention to the perfection of minor details." (63)

“I was just as satisfied with my efforts in the fourteen years before we won a national championship as I was the final twelve years, when we captured ten championships." (82)

"Success is peace of mind that is the direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.” (170).

“True success is attained only through the satisfaction of knowing you did everything within the limits of your ability to become the very best that you are capable of being.” (192)

“What’s so important to recognize is that you are totally in control of your success – not your opponent, not the judges, critics, media or anyone else. It’s up to you. That’s all you can ask for; the chance to determine your success by yourself.” (193)

Book Notes - "Making Room For Life" (Series)

Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting brief snippets from Randy Frazee's book, "Making Room for Life: Trading Chaotic Lifestyles for Connected Relationships." These will be brief thoughts from the book that I found particularly challenging and thought-provoking.

“Medical doctor Paul Rosch writes, “Childhood, as we formerly recognized it, is rapidly becoming extinct. There is less and less free time for playing with others, and learning how to develop friendships and social skills. “I not only agree in principle, but I’ve also seen it with my own eyes. There is a certain sadness, and for some an almost zombie-like state, in children today. The mystery and wonder of being a kid seem to be losing ground.” (100-101)

“Stress is now recognized as a one of the key stimulators of cancer.” (101)

“Possibly the deadliest sin of all is not what over scheduling activities does to the child but what it keeps them from. In my decade-long study of human community, I’ve discovered that one of the very best things you can do for a child is to have consistent dinners as a family at dusk, with food that is balanced and whole and conversation that is free and slow.” (103)

"Imagine life is a game in which you are juggling five balls. The balls are called work, family, health, friends and integrity. And you’re keeping all of them in the air. But one day you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back.The other four balls – family, health, friends, and integrity – are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, or perhaps even shattered. And once you truly understand the lesson of the five balls, you will have the beginnings of balancing life.” (112)

Book Notes - "Making Room for Life" (Series)

Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting brief snippets from Randy Frazee's book, "Making Room for Life: Trading Chaotic Lifestyles for Connected Relationships." These will be brief thoughts from the book that I found particularly challenging and thought-provoking.

“Humans are creatures of habit. When the Hebrews gained freedom from the hard life of slavery in Egypt and made their way to a new life of freedom, dignity, and blessing, they grumbled and wanted to go back to Egypt (Numbers 14:3-4). They knew how to do slavery – and they wanted to go back to familiar circumstances. They didn’t know how to do freedom." (89)

"I’m suggesting that we don’t either. We are slaves to schedules, accumulation, and automobiles. A key observation is that this evening chaos is primarily driven by the children’s activities. This is what I call “the juvenile suburban dance.” Here’s the primary question: Is this what the children really want or need?" (89)

"In suburbia the mission is to sign kids up for as many activities as possible so they’ll be exposed to as many wonderful opportunities as possible in order to shape their self-esteem and future options.” (89)

“If we ever hope to truly make room for life, we need to rethink the way we’re raising our children.” (92)

Book Notes (Series)

Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting brief snippets from Randy Frazee's book, "Making Room for Life: Trading Chaotic Lifestyles for Connected Relationships." These will be brief thoughts from the book that I found particularly challenging and thought-provoking.

“Archibald Hart makes this wise observation: “Humans were designed for camel travel, but most people are now acting like supersonic jets. In a nutshell, most of us are living at too fast a pace…The pace of modern life is stretching all of us beyond our limits. And we are paying for this abuse in the hard and painful currency of stress and anxiety – plain and simple.” (72-73).


“The average American family simply isn’t home in the evenings anymore. By the time we’ve finished working, driving back home, carting children back and forth to their late-afternoon and evening events, shopping, or working out, there’s no time left for a full meal and meaningful conversations.” (77)

We were born with the need to unpack our day within a circle of people who know us and deeply care about us. When we exchange this kind of simple existence for a motion obsessed existence – which takes lots of discretionary money to pull off – new evils and new illnesses are birthed in our homes and in our bodies. Simply put, when our relationships are unbalanced, life doesn’t work.” (77)

Book Notes (Series)

Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting brief snippets from Randy Frazee's book, "Making Room for Life: Trading Chaotic Lifestyles for Connected Relationships." These will be brief thoughts from the book that I found particularly challenging and thought-provoking.

"After describing each day’s creative work the author of Genesis would conclude the section with these words, “And there was evening, and there was morning – the first (second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth) day” (Genesis 1:5,8,13,19,23,31). At first this may not seem like a big deal, but it says something about the priorities of God’s chosen people, which we fail to understand today."

"There are essentially three major activities in each day that should be governed by night and day: productivity, relationships, and sleep. "

"The basic structure of a normal day for the Hebrews went like this: twelve hours available for productivity and work (6:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.); four hours available for relationships (6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.); and eight hours available for sleep" (10:00 p.m. – 6:00 a.m.).

"Each member of the Hebrew family would operate within these guidelines each day for six days (Sunday through Friday). On Friday at 6:00 p.m., the beginning of the seventh day, they would rest from their work (see Exodus 20:8-11)." (64)

“So important was this principle form living that God modeled it himself by taking the seventh day for rest. Did God do this because he was tired? Does divinity perspire? I don’t think so. God did not come to nightfall on the 6th day and say, “Thank me it’s Friday.” God is reinforcing a pattern that is essential for healthy, productive living.” (64)

Book Notes

Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting brief snippets from Randy Frazee's book, "Making Room for Life: Trading Chaotic Lifestyles for Connected Relationships." These will be brief thoughts from the book that I found particularly challenging and thought-provoking.

"We cannot continue to deny that we were created for community and that the present-day linear structure is not meeting the requirements. It is pseudo-community, not real community. We must connect the dots between our lack of community and our declining health." (52)

"Harvard Medical School professor Jacqueline Olds makes the pertinent observation: “America is in the midst of a loneliness epidemic – and the isolation is undermining our health….Our seeming obsession with the most intimate details of strangers lives – as evidenced by the rise of “tell-all” television talk shows – is another manifestation of our isolation. When you lack a circle of people you know well, gossiping about strangers is a way to fill the gap. But it isn’t very interesting.” (52)

"Those of us who live in the suburbs have lost our way through all the fascinating gadgets our minds and money have been able to create – things that have pulled us to and fro and isolated us from each other. But there are signs that this is changing. According to the Trends Research Institute in Rochester, New York, Americans are starting to “de-cocoon” – to come out of the self-sufficient homes they built in the suburbs and return to a connected life.” (53)

Book Notes

Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting brief snippets from Randy Frazee's book, "Making Room for Life: Trading Chaotic Lifestyles for Connected Relationships." These will be brief thoughts from the book that I found particularly challenging and thought-provoking.

“So much of the richness of life comes in the journey to the event, not in the event itself. One of the major problems with linear friendships in surburban America is that the relational opportunities in the journey to another place are eliminated. Each individual, isolated in an automobile, makes his or her way to the event, and thus so much is lost. The sayings of the Solomon offer us this wise counsel: “Don not go to your brother’s house when disaster strikes you – better a neighbor nearby than a brother far way” (Proverbs 27:10). In today’s vernacular, Solomon is saying, “If you’re having trouble and you have to get in your car to find help, you’re in more trouble than you know.” (49-50)

“This is the vision presented in “The Connecting Church which recommends that we move beyond commuting to small group events in search of “contrived community” to living in a circle of relationships with the people nearby – the place where community can truly happen. How is this possible given the hectic lives we now life? The counsel presented at the beginning of the chapter is here applied. We prioritize, consolidate, eliminate, and simplify the linear worlds we have to the best of our ability, to the measure of our faith, and to the quota of our courage in order to create a circle of life.” (50)

"Therapist Will Miller, author of Refrigerator Rights, observes, “If you talk to any therapist today, the problems we see mostly are mood disorders: depression, anxiety, loneliness, and social detachment. As blessed as we are as Americans, as prosperous as we are, there’s all this depression. So where is it coming from? I’m convinced it’s rooted in the loss of ‘refrigerator rights’ relationships. This is a delightfully clever way of describing a different kind of relationship. A person with refrigerator rights is someone who can come into our home and feel comfortable going to our refrigerator to make a sandwhich without our permission. Miller argues that too many Americans suffer mentally and emotionally because they have too few of these kinds of relationships.” (51)

Book Notes

Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting brief snippets from Randy Frazee's book, "Making Room for Life: Trading Chaotic Lifestyles for Connected Relationships." These will be brief thoughts from the book that I found particularly challenging and thought-provoking.

“There is a cycle of life and death, there is the cycle of the sunrise and sunset. But there is another very important circle of life that deals with relationships and community. It’s an axiom most Americans living in urban and suburban areas are completely unaware of and are violating to their detriment physically, emotionally, spiritually, and relationally. Let me explain. It’s not uncommon for a family of five to have thirty-plus different relationship groups to sustain. It doesn’t take Dr. Phil to conclude that this pattern of life creates stress and discontentment."

"Social specialists use a different language to say the same thing. They tell us that we need to exchange a host of linear contacts for a circle of community. For example, The American Institute of Stress physicians and sociologists tell us that it is possible to be in the company of others and still feel isolated. Why? Because many people have a large group of “friends,” but in reality most of them are mere acquaintances.” (45-46)

“In a linear relational model, you run from one relational unit to another. As you exit one world and enter another, there may be some mention of the people you just left behind, but essentially they are not connected to the present world in any meaningful way.” (47)

“The most damaging aspect of linear friendships is that no one really knows the really one. This can even include your mate, and he or she is often completely out of the loop on significant relationships you manage. I’d like to offer this thought: a person doesn’t really know you unless they know most of the people in your other circles. Why? Because the most important thing about you is your relationships you have – your relationship with God and your relationship with others. For community to be authentic and strong, people have to share in those relationships with you.” (47)

“Linear friendships have some merit, such as a greater degree of privacy, an ability to exit one relationship without seriously affecting the others, and less accountability. But the downside far outweighs the few temporary temptations and benefits. Two-thirds of all people who struggle with stress cite loneliness as their major problem, even though hundreds of people surround them each day…this is called crowded loneliness. In the end, the linear world leaves us isolated, misunderstood, exhausted, anxious and shallow.” (48)

Book Notes

Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting brief snippets from Randy Frazee's book, "Making Room for Life: Trading Chaotic Lifestyles for Connected Relationships." These will be brief thoughts from the book that I found particularly challenging and thought-provoking.

“…in Genesis 2:18 the unexpected happens. After six consecutive entries of how good things were – the last entry even suggesting that the whole project was very good – we are not expecting God to say that something is not good, but he does. “The LORD God say, “It is not good for man to be alone’” (Genesis 2:18). What does this mean? "

"If God knew that man could not handle human isolation, why did he not deal with this up front on day six? I believe this is God’s way of highlighting for us man’s need for community. If God had created Eve up front on the sixth day, along with Adam, we might have taken for granted the absolute importance of companionship and conversation. I think God delayed the creation of Eve to drive the point home that humans have not been created to be alone. In other words, community is the only change order in creation. God is saying that he designed humans to require oxygen to live. By the same token, he is also saying that we must have community to live. We are built with a connection requirement." (31)

"Together, we are to give ourselves to loving God and loving each other. As a unified body, with Christ as the Head, we are to love others outside the community of faith in the hope that they will experience the love of Christ through us and even join us – because Christ’s offer is for everyone (Ephesians 4:14-16)." (31)

"The American Institute of Stress has conducted extensive research on the role of social support in health. The findings are conclusive, incessant, and staggering. Directly off the pages of their research reports are these words: “The wisdom of the ages, anecdotal observations, careful clinical case studies and trials, epidemiological data on marriage, divorce and death, as well as sophisticated phychophysiological and laboratory testing – all confirm that strong social support is a powerful stress buster.” (32)

"Two statistically significant mortality predictors that emerged from these twenty-two cases were a “lack of participation in social or community groups, and the absence of strength and comfort from religion.” (32)

“…it’s possible to be in the company of others and still feel isolated. Community specialists call this brand of isolation experienced by the majority of Americans as “crowded loneliness.” It is the most dangerous loneliness of all because it emits a false air of community that prevents us from diagnosing our dilemma correctly. We have exposure to people but not a deep connection to people. The truth is that there is a huge gap between God’s original design for connection and the way most of us live our lives." (33)

Book Notes

Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting brief snippets from Randy Frazee's book, "Making Room for Life: Trading Chaotic Lifestyles for Connected Relationships." These will be brief thoughts from the book that I found particularly challenging and thought-provoking.

"If we hope to be successful in truly making room for life, we’re going to have to rebuild our current lifestyles on a new foundation. We cannot simply pour more money and energy into the paradigm of crowded loneliness. Managing an endless number of disconnected linear relationships is exhausting. But more than just making us tired, this way of life is toxic. We were created with a connection requirement, and if this requirement is not satisfied, we will eventually die." (27)

"Without boundaries, Americans have taken the concept of self-identity to a new level afforded them by wealth. In America, success is defined by the next purchase. In other places around the world success is defined by a simple meal and conversation with family and friends." (28)

"South African Anglican minister the Reverend Desmond Tutu has coined the term that exposes a richer foundation for living – one built on community and conversation in contrast to individualism and accumulation. The term is ubuntu. Ubuntu is African for “people” and has come to represent a community theology that can be expressed in the phrase “we, therefore I am.” This powerful phrase suggests that one’s identity is formed by community. One of the fundamental beliefs of ubuntu can be expressed in the African saying motho ke motho ba batho ba bangwe/umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu, which means “A person can only be a person through others.” In other words, our perceived value goes up in proportion to our investment in community. This teaching implies that we were designed with a connection requirement. I’d further suggest that this belief structure is more in keeping with what God had in mind when he created us." (29)

Book Notes

Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting brief snippets from Randy Frazee's book, "Making Room for Life: Trading Chaotic Lifestyles for Connected Relationships." These will be brief thoughts from the book that I found particularly challenging and thought-provoking.


"Harvard University’s Robert Putnam, in his best-selling book, Bowling Alone, gives some startling statistics on American commuting. His studies show that the average American family engages in thirteen automobile commutes a day! …recent studies suggest that 80 percent of cars on the road system in cities and suburbs in American only have one person in them – the driver. The only source for two-way interaction is either the unwholesome hand gestures exchanged when one is cut off or the cell phone. Robert Putnam suggests this formula: For every ten minutes you spend in an automobile, you reduce your available social capital (time for relationships) by 10 percent." (21)

"I’m quite confident that, as historians look back on this era in which we live, one of the marks we will bear is the death of community. "(21-22)

"The church’s principle solution for community over the last thirty to forty years, has been the small group. Without question, the small group movement has made its mark on society. Studies show that 40 percent of Americans are involved in some kind of small group." (22)

"The fault does not lie with the concept of smallness or with the people. The problem lies with orbit management." (22)

"Most people confess to rushing from one world to a totally separate world of small group. In other words, the people in their small group are not involved in any other world they are managing. Very few small group members get together outside of the formal meeting date, not because there isn’t a desire, but because there just isn’t any time. While attempts, are made, there is little chance the members of the small group can get their arms around your world or your arms around theirs. Their lives simply do not intersect anywhere except the small group meeting – and perhaps a quick “hello” at church on Sunday morning. We are simply not principal characters in each other’s worlds." (22)

Book Notes

Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting brief snippets from Randy Frazee's book, "Making Room for Life: Trading Chaotic Lifestyles for Connected Relationships." These will be brief thoughts from the book that I found particularly challenging and thought-provoking.

"Simply put, many of us have squeezed living out of life. We don’t have time to soak in life and deep friendships. We’re running around trying to get to the next event. This presents at least two major problems. First, our busy lifestyles stimulate a toxic disease called crowded lonliness. But there’s an even deeper problem. In our original design we were created with a connection requirement. If this requirement is not meant, we die." (13)

"The initial thought is that the more financial resources you have, the more likely you are to have a stress-free, relaxing life. In reality, though, studies show that with increased resources comes increased complexity, not simplicity." (17)

"There is among Americans a common illness called “leisure” sickness.” This malady manifests itself in several forms, such as flulike symptoms, headaches, sore throat, and muscle aches. Essentially, our bodies and emotions are so stressed out during the week that in the evenings and particularly the weekends we fall apart. The only prescription for this social fever is a change in lifestyle." (18)

Snapshot #11 from "Crazy Love"

This is the last post in the series of brief snippets from Francis Chan's book "Crazy Love" that I've been sharing with you over the last few weeks. This excerpt is from page 112-114.

What does running toward Christ and pursuing Love look like in daily life? The best place I know to look is in Scripture; here we gather wisdom and study the examples of those who followed God wholeheartedly. The best passage is probably Hebrews 11, a chapter often called the “hall of faith.” It is tempting to assume that the people listed there were super-human, or supersaints, and that you and I could never do the kinds of things they did. (112)

These people were far from perfect, yet they had faith in a God who was able to come through in seemingly dire situations…Having faith often means doing what others see as crazy. Something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers. (112-13)

If eternity doesn’t come and God does not exit, then, as Paul says, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men” (1 Cor. 15:19). If there is no God, then Paul and all the martyrs throughout history lived short lives full of needless suffering (2 Cor. 6:4-10).

But since God is real, Paul and the martyrs should be envied more than all people; their suffering was worth it. If we allow ourselves to live recklessly for Him, then we, too, will see His glory. We will see Him do the impossible.

Christians today want to play it safe. We want to put ourselves in situations where we are safe “even if there is no God.” But if we truly desire to please God, we cannot live that way. We have to do things that cost us during our life on earth but will be more than worth it in eternity. (114)

Snapshot #10 from "Crazy Love"

This is the next to last post of the brief snippets from Francis Chan's book "Crazy Love" that I've been sharing with you over the last few weeks. This excerpt is from page 108.

"If you really want to experience God’s supernatural provision, then do as He says. Test Him. Give more than you can manage, and see how He responds.

When we are focused on loving Christ, it doesn’t mean we do less. I used to do many of the same things I do now, but I was motivated by guilt or fear or consequences. When we work for Christ out of obligation, it feels like work. But when we truly love Christ, our work is a manifestation of that love, and it feels like love.

In reality, not one of us will ever be worthy. It is useless to attempt earning it; you will never feel ready. It is unknown and uncomfortable. But there really is a God who forgives everything and loves endlessly."

Snapshot #9 from "Crazy Love"

Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting brief snippets from Francis Chan's book "Crazy Love." These will be brief thoughts from the book that I found particularly challenging and thought-provoking. This excerpt is from pages 94-95.

"What scares me most are the people who are lukewarm and just don’t care. I think that if I did a poll of the readers of this book, many of you would say, “Yeah, I am definitely lukewarm at times, but I’m not really at a place to give more to God.” Many of us believe we have as much of God as we want right now, a reasonable portion of God among all the other things in our lives.

“…we need to realize that how we spend our time, what our money goes towards, and where will invest our energy is equivalent to choosing or rejecting Him. How could we think for even a second that something on this puny little earth compares to the Creator and Sustainer and Savior of it all?

Here me clearly on this, because it is vital – in fact, there is nothing more important or eternal: Are you willing to say to God that He can have whatever He wants? Do you believe that wholehearted commitment to Him is more important than any other thing or person in your life? Do you know that nothing you do in this life will ever matter, unless it is about loving God and loving the people He has made?"

Snapshot #8 from "Crazy Love"

Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting brief snippets from Francis Chan's book "Crazy Love." These will be brief thoughts from the book that I found particularly challenging and thought-provoking. This excerpt is from pages 87 & 91.

"If one hundred people represented the world’s population, fifty-three of those would live on less than $2 a day. Do you realize that if you make $4,000 a month, you automatically make one hundred times more than the average person on this planet? Simply by purchasing this book, you spent what a majority of people in the world will make in a week’s time." (87)

As Tim Kizziar said, “Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.” (91)

Snapshot #7 from "Crazy Love"

Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting brief snippets from Francis Chan's book "Crazy Love." These will be brief thoughts from the book that I found particularly challenging and thought-provoking. This excerpt is from pages 88-90.

"God wants our best, deserves our best, demands our best. From the beginning of time, He has been clear that some offerings are acceptable to Him and others are not. Just ask Cain, upon who’s offering God “did not look with favor” (Genesis 4:5).

For years I gave God leftovers and felt no shame. I simply took my eyes off the Scripture and instead compared myself to others. The bones I threw at God had more meat on them than the bones others threw, so I figured I was doing fine.

It is easy to fill ourselves up with other things and then give God whatever is left. Hosea 13:6 says, “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.” God gets a scrap or two only because we feel guilty for giving Him nothing. A mumbled three minute prayer at the end of the day, when we are already half asleep. Two crumpled –up dollar bills thrown as an after-thought into the church’s fund for the poor. Fetch, God! (88-89)

Leftovers are not merely inadequate; from God’s point of view (and lest we forget, His is the only one who matters), they’re evil. Let’s stop calling it “a busy schedule” or “bills” or “forgetfulness.” It’s called evil." (90)