I am using this book with my youth group here in Texas. The content is great, the format is outstanding, the questions are just what this generation needs. I would tell all youth ministers to use this book, it is super.

I have read most of this book and found it to be most helpful in many areas of my life. You must get this and you will find your walk with Christ. Thanks Dave for giving our generation a wonderful book.

I have read this book and I found that I didn't really know where I was in my walk with Christ. This book will lead you to where you are and then help you to go further each day. You will not want to put it down.

If you are wondering where the foundation of John Piper's God-centered theology may be found, this book is a good starting point. In it, Piper reintroduces a theological masterpiece that is almost three hundred years old - "The End for which God Created the World" by the New England Puritan pastor, Jonathan Edwards. Piper's own book-length introduction describes the impact Jonathan Edwards has had on his own life, suggests the relevance that this book will have to our own culture, and provides a brief, but helpful sketch of Jonathan Edwards' life. The work by Edwards is then carefully broken down into numbered paragraphs and is accompanied by Piper's helpful footnotes. Edwards' thesis is simple - God's ultimate aim in everything He does is to uphold and display the glory of His name for the joy of His people. This thesis is worked out with iron-clad logic (be prepared to think!) and meditation on dozens of Biblical passages. If yours is the prayer of Moses - "show me Thy glory" - then this is the book for you.

The End for Which God Created the World represents the core of Jonathan Edwards's thought. Edwards's thesis is this: God designed everything to revel in his glory, and he desires for us to take joy in his magnificence. What's more, those who enjoy God will enjoy him with ever-increasing joy for all eternity. Isn't that a breathtaking thesis?

Edwards marshalls huge amounts of scriptural evidence to support his claim, and, as always, he brilliantly answers philosophical objections against what the scriptures reveal about the matter. His writing throughout is penetrating, perceptive, persuasive, and deeply worshipful.

I think John Piper's goals in his contribution to this work were to whet the reader's appetite for the feast of The End for Which God Created the World and to make the work more accessible to the average reader. He succeeds in both respects. After reading Dr. Piper's introduction I was eager to plow forward, and, while reading The End . . ., I found Dr. Piper's explanatory footnotes helpful.

The End for Which God Created the World is a majestic work, and I am grateful that John Piper took the time to re-introduce it to the general public. May God use this humble offering from Jonathan Edwards's pen to help our tragically parched world find the living water flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb!

This tremendous book is divided into 2 sections the first is somewhat of an introduction by Piper to the second part which is "The End For Which THe World Was Created" by Jonathan Edwards. While Piper is always a "deep read" he is likewise an accurate shot. His insights and command of the simplicity of the sovereignty of God are a blessing tothe church today.

Jonathan Edwards, primarliy known for his sermon, "Sinners in the Hand of An Angry God" goes beyond his sermon and eloquently states that we are here to fulfill a purpose... to glorify God and yet that one singluar purpose is the essence of our own joy and peace. What a place of rest this is.

Regardless of all the wonderful things Piper has written and, I love them all... this may well turn out to be one of Piper's greatest acomplishments: the reintorduction of Jonathan Edwards to the church.

This was an enjoyable read for me. The allegory of Christian on the road to eternal life was interesting for the sense of adventure. It was also revealing in its depiction of experiences common to myself. I was surprised to see my own journey described so clearly in some parts. Just knowing that I am not alone in my experience is a great source of comfort in my spiritual relationship. John Bunyan (1628-1688) was a remarkable and courageous individual. He was a tinker inspired to preach the gospel. He was rewarded for his effort with a prison term lasting 12 years. His time in prison was well-spent because he wrote his first book "Grace Abounding" and started "Pilgrim's Progress" during his incarceration. Up until the 20th century, there was hardly an English-speaking household which did not own a copy of this book. It was often used as a reading primer. After the Bible (KJV), this classic allegory has been the best-selling Christian book and has influenced English literature and thought through the four centuries in which it has been in print. There are so many delightful and thought provoking tales in this book, there is not enough room to tell nearly enough of them. I will relate but one example: Presenting the subtle diversion which a desire for worldly success can bring, Bunyan writes, "'First,' said Mr Moneylove, 'becoming religious is a virtue, regardless of the means he employed to be so. Second - it's not unlawful to get a rich wife or to bring more business to his shop. Third - the man who gets these by becoming religious gets things that are good from them who are good by becoming good himself. So then, here are a good wife, good customers, and good gain; and he has gotten all these things by becoming religious, which is good. Becoming religious in order to get all these things, therefore, is a good and profitable intention.'"

To which, Bunyan counters, "Then Christian said, 'Even a babe in religion may answer ten thousand such questions. If it is unlawful to follow Christ to obtain loaves, as shown in John six, how much more abominable is it to make of Him and religion a stalking-horse to get and enjoy the world?'" If you are interested in Protestant preaching as it existed in 17th century England, or you would like to understand what the Christian journey is about, this book will be interesting to you.

I'm in the middle of reading this wonderful classic and am so excited about it that I am going to host a weekly Bible Study and use the book as a powerful study tool. The revised version edited by L. Edward Hazelbaker makes the translation as simple as reading a children's novel. At the end of each chapter there is a list of specific scriptures and notes for Biblical reference throughout the entire book which I found extremely helpful.

John Bunyon's insight on going through troubles and trials is inspiring. He points out that although we may think we are taking the "easy road" off the "Path of the Way" which is uphill, it ends up taking us to a dark, dreary, dangerous place instead. If we persevere with "Faith" and "Hopeful" up the hill, we will eventually reach the top of the mountain in our Christian Journey with God by our side. I highly recommend this book to EVERYONE not just people who call themselves Christians...For it is a book filled with powerful lessons all can learn from.

Having recently come across severe personal problems at home and at work, I looked high and low for something that might ease my burden somewhat, not really knowing what though. So I prayed a bit asking for something to help me through, and seemingly on impulse I stopped at the local ... and picked this book up. I began reading it immediately, and wasn't able to put it down until it was finished, myself nearly in tears.

The book reads so fluidly that it simply astounds me. The imagery and story of Christian's journey to the Celestial City was breathtaking. But what really nailed me was how unbelievably close to my life Christian's journey follows. I was staggered as I read along, thinking every other page, "I've been there!", or when he meets certain characters like Money-Love and Worldly-Wise saying, "I work with him", or "That's my friend from Chicago!".

I cannot comprehend how Bunyan managed to do this feat, or maybe it's just all of our lives mirror Christian's own as he journeys to God's city. This book helped me in such ways that I can't begin to list them all, it simply pointed me in the right direction, while at the same time letting me see I had the tools and the faith to deal with it from the very beginning. So now as I escape from Castle-Doubt and the Giant Despair, thanks God for giving me that Key of Promise. It's working out wonderfully!

"Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us," Hebrews 12:1. For years this race has teased me. My feet have pounded the road with this cheering challenge dancing around in my head. The problem is that this challenge was almost crowded out by all the theories floating around with it. No matter how badly I wanted to win I couldn't ever seem to come up with a clear plan, just a resolve to try harder, run faster, be better. But none of these were means to the end I was seeking. They were only goals themselves.

Then I found the book Go the Distance. Though I was immediately drawn to the theme, I felt skeptical that a book could redirect my path when few others had. I was wrong.

As I sampled the first pages of the book, I was practicing my usual disciplined, "give it a chance mode." I expected to have to dig into the plot of this new book a bit before I gained the desire to finish it. I was so surprised to feel my pulse quicken and my eyes mist over when I was only finishing the dedication. Rowell proved two important points to me while his page numbers were still Roman. He had something to say to one of those deep fears and mysteries in my heart: "How can I be really successful?" Not, "How can I be more productive, efficient, wealthy, intelligent, muscular?" (I've already read all those.) How can I find the purpose for which I was created and live in it? More importantly, Rowell's style proved that he knew how to tell me.

Rowell chose to dedicate a book about success to two of his former teachers. "I would tell Mom over the phone," he writes, "Be sure and tell Mr. Trotter about me." How many times have I wanted the real winners in my life to be proud of me? And I as I go further down the road, how I long to know that I will be the kind of cheerleaders that these men were! Because Rowell could show how these two men made him believe that he had worth, I knew that he was speaking to the kind of success I sought. And, I was hungry for more.

After hooking me, Go the Distance changed my own race strategy dramatically. It offered the experience of many who have run much further than I've gone. This author spares me a published personal agenda. He offers instead a compilation of many interviews with winners and what they can share about their own successes. Having already practiced many of their strategies along the way, Rowell is able to weave these together with his own insights into a game plan that reads like a great story.

Perhaps the most powerful personal application I found in Go the Distance was in the time management arena. When I read about Ken Hatch in chapter one, I winced painfully and felt the need to look over my shoulder to see if someone was watching. For years I've resolved again and again to simplify and not live in such a hurried frenzy. Reading Go the Distance provoked me to stop asking, "How can I fit more in?" "What would make me more productive?" and to ask instead, "Why do I feel such a need to produce?" "How can I stay focused on my purpose?"

Making these kinds of changes in the questions I ask myself has been the catalyst to finally getting me on the right path towards finding my own purpose. I am so hopeful after reading Go the Distance that I will finish well. Finally in all the books I've read, I have one that has helped me focus on the finish line rather than chase my own tail.

So often in the world of self-help this and self-help that, major points get lost in the writer going on and on about how HE or SHE overcame negative circumstances and eventually found happiness, rather than on practical steps that can be implemented in the life of the reader. While Ed Rowell does draw upon his own life and the lives of his family and friends to make his points, he does so only to illustrate how YOU can benefit from the very practical, very thoughtful principles contained within the pages of Go The Distance. For me, I realized that life is more about my relationship with God than it is my relationship to failure and adversity. Ed Rowell points out that our response to life is more important than what life throws at us - which sometimes can be a substantial mess of stuff.

In the end, it's not about where you start, it's where you finish. Sound advise from a sound writer who has a lot to say. Listening will help you win the race and enjoy the journey.

How many books on success and leadership have you read where the author borrows from so many other sources that it's tough to tell what's new and different about the book? Well, you'll have no such quibbles with Ed Rowell's Go the Distance. Ed looks unflinchingly at aspects of life that can easily bring us to our knees. He's so honest about life struggles, in fact, that you'll be weeping before you finish reading. But he doesn't leave us there. He takes the next, rare step of actually supplying us with helpful direction. He doesn't promise that success comes quickly or easily, or that success will always be what you expect. But you know that he's in there slugging away, just like you are. And after you've read his book, maybe you'll be able to avoid a few of life's bigger blows because you're equipped with Ed's wise and practical advice.

I read a lot of books but this book is one of the few that i would re-read again and make notes so that i can really get a good grasp of its wonderful and convicting teaching. It is also one of the few books that i can say really challenges my thinking and living.

This book also got me more interested in counselling and "Christian" psychology. Some of the views written challenges many common Christian Psychology/counselling teachings - he challenges some of Larry Crabb's views.

But besides these "differences" (which i need to look more into), i think this book is an excellent read - especially for Christians who are in leadership positions. There is always a tendency to be controlled by the opinions of man, and thus in Welch's terms, succumb to a fear of man, rather than to be controlled by what God teaches, therefore be a God fearing Christian.

This book calls us to deny ourselves, to crucify our ungodly desires for popularity, fame and good opinions of man. It calls us to see God as bigger than man and once we do that, we will start to fear God and not man. Wonderful thought-provoking, life- and attitude-challenging stuff.

This book was recommended to my husband and I during marriage counseling with a very prestigious, well known doctor.

I wish we had read it a long time ago. I have never had the biblical concept of *love* in its truest sense explained so clearly.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone that has struggled with dysfunctional family relationships, codependency issues, or even just loving your enemies.

I want to buy a case of these and pass them out to everyone we know!! That's how great this book is.

Welch has written a gem on the need for us to realize how great God really is and how we need to stop fearing other people so much!

The focus of Welch's book is to have a greater healthy fear of God to the point that other people have less power and control over our lives.

The points Welch describes in his book include:

1. The fear of God is the best treatment for the fear of man.
2. Jesus was not a people-pleaser.
3. Having more fear of man than God is idolatry.
4. When we fear God we think of ourselves less.
5. When we spend more time with God, opinions of ourselves and what others think of us matter less.
6. We should love people more and need them less (only God can truly provide for our needs).
7. We love others because God first loved us.
8. When God is reduced to our feelings, He becomes less awesome to us while people become larger.

The "fear of God" may be defined as having a healthy reverence for God - He loves us and does not want us to be so afraid of Him that we are scared of having a personal relationship with Him.

Read the book and be encouraged to be more concerned about what God thinks and less concerned about what other people think!

This book has been a wonderful inspiration to me. It sparked me to really place emphasis and give much effort to praying. Prayer is essential to knowing God and being fruitful. So we must pray whether we are good at it or not. Whether we feel inspired or not. For "men ought always to pray and not to faint." So I pray and one thing I ask is that He would breathe on my weak prayer life and cause me to become a real praying man.

Also, this collection is superior to the Harold Chadwick edited collection. That version alters Bounds writing too much. I compared the first chapter of the two and there were significant alterations that changed the meaning of some thoughts. (This version also claims to have modernized the language but, thankfully, I don't think much was changed.)

This book will revolutionize your prayer life. It contains all eight of E. M. Bounds' classic books on prayer. I have read "Power Through Prayer" five times and it convicts and motivates me every time. It is a must read for pastors. "The Possibilities of Prayer" is one of the most faith-stretching books I have ever read. Bounds has a way of pressing to the heart the astounding promises made to faith and prayer. Few books have caused me to face the paucity of my own faith as has this one. I am actually still working through this large volume and find it to be a regular source of nourishment for my soul. There is an amazing grasp of Scripture in Bounds' writings and not nearly as much repetition as one might think. Bounds wrote with a fiery pen. If you want to be set aflame to burn in prayer, let this book ignite you.

In my desire to enrich my prayer time and pray more effectively I was disappointed with the selection of books available until I came across this one.

Within moments of beginning the book I literally could not put it down and was so impressed with the wealth of insight and biblical references to back to guidance to a more effective prayer life.

You will not be sorry with this choice and I would highly recommend it to Christians in all levels of maturity in faith.

Gene Edwards does not allow for the typical "feel sorry" posture of those being persecuted. Instead he points out that a sovereign God is behind every event in the believer's life. As a result, there are two predominate themes running the gamut of life's less than savory experiences. First, in the shadow of every crucifixion is a loving God who loves us, knows about our pain and trusts us to engage the crucifixion in a way that honors Him. Second, if crufixion is resisted, it is merely punitive; if surrendered to, crucifixion leads to resurrection. Most want to transfer the pain or blame someone else. Edwards calls the believer to "know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death." Surrender comes out of obedience, not out of some desire to be martyred. Only here do we learn to see from God's perspective.

What a wonderful book! I needed it more than you can imagine. I recommend this book to every Christian serious about knowing God's plan for suffering. However, unless the reader is one who has been crucified, the book may not have great appeal. One must be crucified to understand what it means to be crucified. This book will speak volumes to those who have been crucified. Praise God for people like Gene Edwards. I plan to purchase 10 or 12 copies to keep on hand for fellow Christians who are and will be crucified. This book was a survival book for me. Through it I have been restored to the ministry.

This can change your attitudes towards other Christians, towards churchs, and towards God. This can only happen if you are open to God's answers.

St. Francis de Sales is one of the greatest of spiritual writers and writers, period. It is easy to be charmed by this guide to the spiritual life. He inspires the reader with a gentle, loving touch which I found delightful. He was also a very learned and experienced adviser when it came to things of the spirit. He seemed to have known about every difficulty that one has in the spiritual life and offers practical and wise solutions that anyone can carry out. If you are interested in reading the great spiritual classics, be certain not to miss this one. It will be well worth your time. I cannot imagine anyone finishing this volume without obtaining some excellent advice from it and also without making progress just from reading it. The only drawback is that it IS several hundreds years old and some of the theology is dated and will seem strange to modern, post Vatican 2 Christians. Do not let that keep you from this book, just keep it in mind when reading it. Highly recommended.

This book will help any one get through hard times, good times, loving times, bad relationships, and will basically help you through every day life. It is so deep and so well written by St. Francis de Sales. In the beggining it might be a little hard to read but after going through it, you feel better as a human being. When I first heard about this book I didn't think it would be great, and I thought it would be St. Francis de Sales lecturing me on how I can become more like Jesus Christ. But as I went through the book page by page I started to realize how much I needed this book in my life. The best part about it is that you dont have to read it cover to cover. You just think about some troubles in your life and then you look them up in the table of contents. You only have to read things you would like to read at that particular moment in your life. As I said before, I love the book and anyone who doesn't own it does not know how much closer you become to God after reading it. So next time you have a chance, do yourself a favor, pick up a copy.

By Jordan Aumann, O.P., Christian Spirituality in the Catholic Tradition (1985)

The doctrine taught by St. Francis de Sales was not new, but he did present spiritual teaching in an original manner and he deserves credit for removing Christian spirituality from the monastic framework in which it had been confined for many centuries....

The Introduction to the Devout Life...was written precisely for the laity and perhaps St. Francis de Sales is the first spiritual writer to compose a treatise of lay spirituality. As he states in his preface, those who have written previously on the spiritual life have done so for the instruction of persons who have given up association with the world or they have taught a spirituality that would lead persons to do so. The intention of St. Francis, however, is to give spiritual instruction to those who remain in the world, in their professions and in their families, and falsely believe that it is impossible for them to strive for the devout life.

What does St. Francis understand by the devout life or true devotion?...

True devotion, which for St. Francis de Sales is the same as Christian perfection, is the fulfillment of the twofold precept of charity enunciated by Christ (Mt. 22:34-40)....

Although he mentions the good works that flow from true devotion, St. Francis is insistent that the devout life is essentially an interior life....

Immediately after stressing the universal call of all Christians to perfection, St. Francis de Sales insists on the need for a spiritual director....

The first task facing the soul is purgation from sin, and here St. Francis follows the teaching of St. Ignatius Loyola, proposing meditation on the last ends and a general confession. Then, there must be a complete renunciation of all attachment to sin, without which there can be no lasting conversion and no progress in perfection....

In the second part of the Introduction St. Francis proposes a daily schedule of spiritual exercises in which the practice of mental prayer holds a central position....

In the third part of the Introduction St. Francis considers the practice of virtue, selecting those which are particularly necessary for the Christian layman. Of all the virtues treated we could say that, after charity, the predominantly Salesian virtue is meekness....Finally, in the last two parts of the Introduction St. Francis treats of temptations, sadness, consolations, and aridity and concludes the work with a series of self-examinations and considerations whereby the soul can judge its progress in true devotion. Thus, in its totality the Introduction to the Devout Life provides a complete program for the spiritual advancement of the laity.

Kimberly Blaker and her co-authors have presented a well-researched, informative, and eye-opening account of the not-so-obvious ways Christian fundamentalists are seeking to overhaul our society, its government, and the educational system. The authors address the serious impact that these radicals have on children's welfare, women's rights, and separation of church and state issues. Anyone interested in preserving our constitutional and religious freedoms, from athiests to conservative believers, will benefit from understanding the epidemic of extreme beliefs in our country. This book has made me realize that it is not safe to sit by passively. The fundamentalists count on that. Instead, we must pay closer attention to the Christian fundamentalist movement and use our voting rights, at local, state, and federal levels, to take action against this very active minority emerging in the United States.

Kimberley Blaker's collection of contributions is as disturbing as it is eye opening. In this single book you are walked through a virtual maze of the many facets of religious fundamentalism and how it is seeping in to every pore of our society unnoticed ... almost.

The book is not an attack on Fundamentalists as one might fear, but is a very thought provoking examination of the threat fundamentalism, as a practice, poses to the future of our democracy. As the line of separation between Church and State becomes even more muddied, it is imperative that we each look around us and identify the factors which are contributing so heavily to this attempted erosion of our freedom. As Blaker, et al, point out so clearly - one of these factors is fundamentalism.

A book you can't put down. Very timely in this day and age of religious fundamentalism growing world wide...People think it can't happen here?? Think again.

Hans Kung writes as one thoroughly committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. However, unlike some Christian writers, Kung writes with an intellectual depth and honesty that is refreshing. Kung does not shy away from bringing the Christian message into a living dialogue with modern scholarship, the other world religions, and the real challenges facing the human race today. I take issue with his sometimes-unconditional acceptance of higher Biblical criticism. However, as a Christian, I contend that Kung provides a true, relevant, and comprehensive analysis of the Christian faith for our time. A must-read for any serious theologian!

Kung writes very well and made me think a great deal. He opened my mind to seeing christianity in ways I hadn't thought of before. I liked this book a great deal-the author comes across as a deeply caring man of great humanity. While I am still an atheist, this book made me stop and think very respectfully about what was written. Convincing? Not quite. Moving? Yes.

Küng is an amazing author and his perspective is quite envigorating. I came across this book during a time in my life when I was about to give up my Christian faith. It brought me into a fresh, living perspective and out of narrow fundamentalism once and for all. Though in his examination of Jesus' time, he tends to be too stereotypical in typecasting groups in the Jesus' time, it is an amazing paradigm to view Jesus from. I would criticize the overly eschatalogical vision he has of Jesus that he seems to get from Schweitzer. Lastly, his understanding of being a Christian as being radically human is beautiful and moving.