Not in It to Win It: Why Choosing Sides Sidelines The Church

Not in It to Win It: Why Choosing Sides Sidelines The Church

  • Downloads：8919
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-05-13 17:21:34
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Andy Stanley
  • ISBN：B09N8W2L5Y
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Reviews

Ken Vance ，

Very timely， on-spot book。 I hope all professing Christ followers will read it。Before I finished the introduction， I was overcome with emotion that leaked out as tears。 In this book， Stanley verbalizes the thoughts and feelings of both me and my husband over the past couple of years。 The situation has impacted us personally as our grown sons are in the group he defines as the “more than half the souls in America” that we as Christians have “systemically alienated … through our un-Christlike rhet Very timely， on-spot book。 I hope all professing Christ followers will read it。Before I finished the introduction， I was overcome with emotion that leaked out as tears。 In this book， Stanley verbalizes the thoughts and feelings of both me and my husband over the past couple of years。 The situation has impacted us personally as our grown sons are in the group he defines as the “more than half the souls in America” that we as Christians have “systemically alienated … through our un-Christlike rhetoric and fear-based posturing。”Thank you， Andy Stanley， for your courage in writing this book and revealing truth that we as Christ followers need to hear。 You are the voice of “Suzy Gray” to the Church， telling us what we need to hear even when we don’t want to hear it。 May your words fall on listening ears and repentant hearts。 I just finished the book。 Stanley gives some of the history of the Church and its impact on society， both good and bad， through the centuries。 He discusses putting aside our traditional language of warfare and replacing it with the law of Christ—loving one another as Christ loves the Church and gave Himself for it。 How we love one another within the Church will be the witness that reveals Christ to the world。 He challenges us to not just “believe” but also to “do。” Our behavior is what the world sees， not our beliefs。 Is our behavior giving an accurate view of Jesus？ He urges the Church to live out the answer to Jesus’ prayer in John 17: “that they may be one。” He calls for unity， not necessarily uniformity， within the Church。 So much could be said about this book。 I don’t feel I’m even touching the surface of how it stirred me and caused me to want more than ever to be a true follower of Jesus， not just a Christian in name only。I felt challenged and convicted， and I am thankful for the truth he presented。I pray Christians， whether Republican or Democrat， liberal or conservative， will read this book and take it to heart。 Thank you， Andy Stanley， for your words of wisdom for the Church today。 。。。more

Lisa ，

Such a relevant book for the confusing times we live in。 Andy Stanley spells out the dangers of Culture War Christianity and encourages Christians to return to their first love--serving Jesus and others--not winning political fights。 He encourages us to love the world instead of judge the world。 We were never called to judge the world。 "But when we get close [to others]， we are confronted with the complexity disguised by the distance， when we are forced to consider someone's current reality and Such a relevant book for the confusing times we live in。 Andy Stanley spells out the dangers of Culture War Christianity and encourages Christians to return to their first love--serving Jesus and others--not winning political fights。 He encourages us to love the world instead of judge the world。 We were never called to judge the world。 "But when we get close [to others]， we are confronted with the complexity disguised by the distance， when we are forced to consider someone's current reality and context--in those moments， our well-rehearsed， simplistic， politically-informed solutions become mostly irrelevant 。。。 Carrying someone's burden is not merely a random act of kindness 。。。 it's how we fulfill the law of Christ。" 。。。more

Jordan Daniel ，

The content in the book is INCREDIBLE。 10/10 content alone。The only reason this book is not a 5* is because of the formatting。 I’m not sure if the book was rushed during the editing process to get it out （based on the events cited， it was still being written in 2021）， but the formatting is disappointing and unappealing to the eye。WITH THAT BEING SAID: it is still a great read filled with love， grace， and truth。Well done， Andy。

Jeffrey ，

My interest in “Not In It To Win It” came from working with high school and college age students。 A few years ago， at a retreat for college age， the question was asked， “What is it you wish the adults at your church， your parents， and your pastor， understood about social media？” The overwhelming response was that their political posts， even the ones they agreed with， pushed them away。 One statement made was that politics had become the god of their church。In “Not In It To Win It”， Russell Moore My interest in “Not In It To Win It” came from working with high school and college age students。 A few years ago， at a retreat for college age， the question was asked， “What is it you wish the adults at your church， your parents， and your pastor， understood about social media？” The overwhelming response was that their political posts， even the ones they agreed with， pushed them away。 One statement made was that politics had become the god of their church。In “Not In It To Win It”， Russell Moore is quoted as saying， “We now see young evangelicals walking away from evangelicalism not because they do not believe what the church teaches， but because they believe the Church itself does not believe what the church teaches。”This brings us to the core of the “Not In It To Win It”。 Looking at the lives of Jesus， Paul， and first century Christians， what was their response to the “culture war” of their time？ A very anti-Jesus， anti-Christian time。 As followers of Jesus， those that represent the Body of Christ at this point and time in history， how are we measuring up？This book was a challenging read at the beginning。 Even with me agreeing with the premise of the book， I began to “fight back” against what I was reading。 But the deeper I got into the book; my arguments faded away。 This is not a book about burying our heads in the sand， holding hands， and singing “Kumbaya”。 “Not In It To Win It” is much like John’s description of Jesus。 It is full of grace AND truth。 It both unifies and divides at the same time。 And by dividing， I mean that Jesus’ way is accepting， but there is a way。 You must decide if you are going to follow Jesus’ example or not。 I imagine many in the church will reject this prophetic message。 But there will be those that will prayerfully listen， and I believe， find a better path for those that follow Jesus。Get this book。 Read this book。 Argue， fight， and fuss with this book。 Then share it with everyone you know。 It is， indeed， a wakeup call for the Body of Christ。 。。。more

Dennis Ticen ，

As a local church pastor， I have felt many of these same things this past year。 Andy Stanley， though he overstates the case at times， has done the church a service in providing a way forward。 Whether we will take that way or not remains to be seen。 As usual， his writing is conversational， easy to digest， and his adherence to his main message is straightforward。 If I could put this in the hands of every person and they would read it， we would be in a better world。FULL DISCLOSURE: I was provided a As a local church pastor， I have felt many of these same things this past year。 Andy Stanley， though he overstates the case at times， has done the church a service in providing a way forward。 Whether we will take that way or not remains to be seen。 As usual， his writing is conversational， easy to digest， and his adherence to his main message is straightforward。 If I could put this in the hands of every person and they would read it， we would be in a better world。FULL DISCLOSURE: I was provided an advance copy of this book in exchange for a fair review。 。。。more

Caleb Paxton ，

For those of us who have spent our careers professionally involved in American politics in some way， from the campaign trail to Congress， this book gives us what we need to do our jobs with a fundamentally different motive than what is expected of us。 Andy's books like Next Generation Leader， The Principle of the Path， and Visioneering have shaped my leadership journey， and now he's written a book that speaks directly into political nonsense。 It's unfortunate， but American politics is often inte For those of us who have spent our careers professionally involved in American politics in some way， from the campaign trail to Congress， this book gives us what we need to do our jobs with a fundamentally different motive than what is expected of us。 Andy's books like Next Generation Leader， The Principle of the Path， and Visioneering have shaped my leadership journey， and now he's written a book that speaks directly into political nonsense。 It's unfortunate， but American politics is often intentionally dysfunctional in order for one's side to win or gain an advantage。 That is the professional culture I have both been part of and perpetuated in the past。 But thankfully， when we understand the love that God has for us， it changes how we work。 For all Christians in the US， Andy reframes what our purpose actually is when we talk about and take part in our shared life together， American self-governance。 The life-giving culture we can create when we aren't in it to win it is so exciting！ Andy's book is a must-read for all Christians looking a renewed foundation for political engagement that's rooted in the love of God。 。。。more

Derek Griffon ，

Honored to be apart of the launch team of this book。 Andy’s words， wisdom， and ways are controversial maybe because he looks at issues deeper but also simplistically through the lens of Jesus and the gospels。 There are a lot of things we make more complicated when it comes to Christian faith。 But especially when we combine our faith with nationalism。 He says “Difference is inevitable。 Division is a choice。”Jesus calls us to unify。 May we follow HIS Commands。