All posts filed under: Books/ Excerpts

The use of Excessive Force: 10-quotes-from-malcolm-gladwell’s-david-and-goliath

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In David & Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell offers a paradigm shift in the discussion of how we usually deal with pain, suffering, disadvantages, obstacles, and discrimination. He frames the story of David and Goliath as one of an underdog facing a giant. The cool thing about this dynamic is, “being  an underdog can change people in ways that we often fail to appreciate: it can open doors and create opportunities and educate and enlighten and make possible what might otherwise have seemed unthinkable.” If you’ll allow it, this book will massively overhaul and change the way you look at challenges in your life. In short it a manual for underdogs, misfits and all those who are faced with giants way too strong to conquer. Notable quotes: “Giants are not what we think they are. The same qualities that appear to give them strength are often the sources of great weakness.” “If you bomb a city, you leave behind death and destruction. If you take away a mother or a father, you cause suffering and despair. But one time in ten, out …

10 Quotes from Max Lucado’s ‘Before Amen’

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When Prayer Flows If you want to take you prayer life to another level of simplicity and ease, “Before Amen” is for you. It is inviting and inspiring. The focus remains on the Father all through the book. In essence, that is exactly what prayer is all about. Enjoy a few quotes that jumped off the pages: “Before you face your world, face you Father.” “Prayer is conversation with God while driving to work or awaiting an appointment or before interacting with a client. Prayer can be the internal voice that directs the external action.” “Guilt leaves a tattooed heart.” Just as a happy child cannot mis-hug, the sincere heart cannot mis-pray” “Prayer is the hand of faith on the door handle of your heart; the willing pull; the happy welcome to Jesus.” “Prayers are not graded according to style.” “You are never more like Jesus than when you pray for others.” “An un-prayed for problem is an embedded thorn.” “Life is a gift, albeit unassembled. It comes in pieces, and sometimes it falls into …

The Principle of Legitimacy

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I picked up Malcolm Gladwell’s “David and Goliath” tonight and decided to flip through the pages quickly, to see what the owners had underlined. Ron Freise​ and I had a conversation last weekend about something. Well, that thing led him to bring out Malcolm’s book. So I was a bit excited to see what he was talking about. So, in this post I would like to share an excerpt from Malcolm’s book for “underdogs, misfits and all those who want to discover the art of battling giants.” Malcolm writes: When people in authority want the rest of us to behave, it matters – first and foremost – how they behave. This is called the “principle of legitimacy,” and legitimacy is based on three things: First of all, the people who are asked to obey authority have to feel like they have a voice – that if they speak up, they will be heard. Second, the law has to be predictable. There has to be a reasonable expectation that the rules tomorrow are going to be …

Patience is more about long-term endurance than it is about short- term

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I finished reading Mohler’s “Conviction to lead” yesterday. It is a great read jam packed with lots of substance. I immensely enjoyed the chapter on the “passion to lead”, and “the leader understands worldview.” But I was more impressed with chapter 23 – Leadership that Endures. The following paragraphs are from chapter 23. The title above each paragraph is not in the book. Here are three things I want you to consider over this weekend: Consider Patience Patience is a virtue that is highly honored by Christians.The Bible reveals patience to be one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul prayed that the church would be “strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy” (Colossians 1:11). Evidently, patience and endurance and joy belong together. Paul also told Timothy to preach “with complete patience and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2). Consider long-term not short-term. We often think of patience as a short-term issue. We are impatient in a checkout line, impatient in traffic, and horribly impatient …

Money answers everything?

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“I want us to consider in very practical ways what money can buy us and what it cannot. First of all, according to scripture – and here is what may shock you – money is the answer to everything. Yes, you read that correctly! In Ecclesiastes, an inspired meditation on the meaning of life, the Preacher writes: Bread is made for laughter,  and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything.  (Ecclesiastes 10:19 ESV) Now, you may be wondering, if the love of money is the root of all evil and so many passages of the Bible warn against being seduced by the power of money, then how can it be the answer for everything? But think about it – the Preacher is not saying that money will make you happy or fulfill you or bring you peace and contentment. he simply says that it’s the answer to everything; any “thing” that can be had, money can provide you. My understanding of this passage is that money answers everything because it provides us with options – it always has …