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| Description and Orders |
Character matters. We mostly hear about the topic when a leader or someone we know fails morally in some way. We know people should have it, and we are disappointed and confused when someone we respect proves they don't have it, but that leaves us with the question, "What is it, and how do you get it?" From the book, we write,
What determines if a person will live out God’s full potential for his or her life? We believe it is the issue of character. Character is the single most distinguishing aspect of a person’s life. . . . God cares more about character than our skills, personality, or intelligence because, biblically, character is a matter of the ‘heart.’
Character: The Pulse of a Disciple's Heart is a collection of biblical case studies of people God chose for his purposes which can be used for personal, small group, or church-wide study.
Dr. Norman Blackaby and I got the idea for this book from our shared teaching of the Ph.D. in Leadership Studies seminar, Biblical Servant Leadership, at Dallas Baptist University. As we guided the seminar participants through biblical case studies to demonstrate leadership principles and practices in those leaders' lives, we discovered those leaders displayed a certain kind of character God honored.
We observed that God developed a certain kind of character in the men and women He chose, and those who exhibited this God-developed character made a difference in the lives of others.
We divide the book along those two lines. We observe how God develops character in the lives of people like Moses, Joshua, Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Mary and Martha. We highlight character that makes a difference from people like Hannah, Barnabas, Philemon, and Ruth. There are questions for reflection and ideas for further study at the end of each chapter.
We believe this book can guide you in the development of your character and be a resource for disciples of Jesus who want to live a life that makes an eternal difference.
If you would like to hear a podcast where I define character and the importance of the study, you can hear it here.
If you would like to download a sample of the book, you can download it here.
If you want a small group guide to use the book with a group of friends, you can use the one on New Hope Publisher's webpage.