Showing posts with label Andy Stanley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Andy Stanley. Show all posts
Friday, January 20, 2017
Visioneering: Your Guide for Discovering and Maintaining Personal Vision the Revised and Updated Edition by Andy Stanley sets out a clear course for anyone who feels the burden of a vision. Using practical advice, the biblical story of Nehemiah, and experience from his life and others, Stanley walks the reader through the birth of a vision to seeing it through long term.
The story of Nehemiah is used throughout Visioneering to illustrate the principles Stanley puts forth. This ties the whole thing together and helps the reader remember key points such as distinguishing between a good idea and a God idea, avoiding distractions, and the importance of maintaining one's moral authority.
Much of what one reads in Visioneering could be mistaken for self help, positive thinking train of thought if taken out of context. The key difference is the ground these statements have in scripture.Stanley never wavers from the grounding a vision will have in God's plan both for an individual life and the world.
The revised and updated edition includes questions at the end of every chapter to help the reader apply that chapter's principle to his or her vision. There is also a small group discussion guide included at the end of the book with advice for the discussion leader. Each "Building Block" is highlighted in the text, and there is a list of these blocks with page numbers included at the front of the book for easy reference. Like all of Stanley's books, Visioneering is easy to read and understand. I would recommend it to anyone who has an idea and could use some guidance as to how to best develop and pursue it.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Previously released as Choosing to Cheat, Andy Stanley's When Work & Family Collide: Keeping Your Job from Cheating Your Family is a great little resource for every person to keep handy. Stanley clearly lays out the problems of balancing work and family, establishes clear principles that should determine how one handles these struggles, and offers clear steps to help one give one's best where it belongs - to one's family.Stanley's books are like his sermons - clear, concise, and engaging. When Work & Family Collide is no exception. One of the great things about this particular book is that it is a quick and easy read; this aspect should be particularly appealing to those who already feel overwhelmed, and are seeking guidance about balancing responsibilities in one's life. Stanley's examples from his own life as well as those he has counseled, helped me connect with the principles he lays out. While Stanley never compromises on the importance of the principles presented, neither does he pretend that taking the steps to implement them in one's life are simple. His acknowledgment of the struggles gives him credibility; the fact that he has personally gone through them as well as watched many others in his life do so gives the reader hope and encouragement that he/she can do the same.
Overall, it is worth the time of anyone who struggles to any degree with balancing one's work and family responsibilities to read When Work & Family Collide. Andy Stanley is one of the most effective communicators in the church today, in part because his own obedience in the areas he addresses allows him to connect with people in what seems like a personal way. Though not always easy to follow or implement, his advice is biblical, clear, and simple.
I received this book free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers as part of their Blogging for Books 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
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