We make hundreds of choices every day. Some of them we are fully aware of and others seem automatic in nature. Choices such as “What should I have for breakfast?” What route should I take to work?” Do these clothes match?” Should I ask my boss for a raise?” I have a job offer, should I move my family to another state?” When faced with so many possibilities, choices, and options, how can we ensure that we make the right decision? In their new book, “Decisive; How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work”, authors Chip and Dan Heath takes this question head on and provides a format for making the best possible decision from among many choices given. Most of our decisions, as the authors relate, are made out of habit, custom, and past choices. The Heath’s begin by showing the fault in the traditional decision-making process. Traditionally, people make a list of pros and cons for each decision and choosing the one with fewer cons. The flaw, as the Heath’s agree, is that this process does not take into account the many internal and external forces.

These outside forces are described by the Heath’s as villains in decision making. These four villains make up the four major parts of the book. The villains are:

 1. Narrow-framing. This is the tendency to define our choices too narrowly, thus putting ourselves in a confined box from which to act.

2. Confirmation Bias. We also have the tendency to highlight and consider the information that supports the conclusion we have arrived at and discard any information that objects.

3. Short-term Emotion. Instead of thinking long-term, we allow our emotions to dictate our actions based on what does or does not feel good.

4. Overconfidence. Far too often we are certain that we know how the future will unfold and we make predictions based on this false sense of confidence.

After introducing the reader to the villains that will disrupt and handicap our decision-making process, the Heath’s offer a strategy to combat these villains. Using the acronym WRAP, they detail an effective decision-making process. The four steps are:

1. Widen Your Choices. The Heath’s recommend avoiding the narrow definition of your choice. We are to seek other options instead of being locked into just a few.

2. Reality Test Your Assumptions. The Heath’s recommend gathering information that you can trust that is both in support of and against your preferred options.

3. Attain Distance Before Deciding. The key here is to broaden your perspective and get away from the emotional element of our decision. Seek others who have made a similar decision and get their advice.

4. Prepare to be Wrong. What happens after you do your diligence in making your decision and you are wrong? Are you prepared for that scenario? Failure is a reality, even after doing all we can to prevent it. Be ready for it.

The Heath’s have written a great book. They have a keen understanding of the business world that comes through clearly. “Decisive” is well researched and written. The Heath’s use countless examples of real-life leaders of some of the major US and world companies as mini case studies on the decision-making process. I believe this gives the book the credibility it needs. The decisions of these executives demonstrate the WRAP process in detail. This book is written from the business standpoint. You will not find any prominent spiritual application. However, regardless of your profession, this generic process can be applied with success. Great book. Read it.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah  Publishers as part of their Blogger Review 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: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

 

It is not difficult to see political agendas at play in our world today. Each party has their own platform, or set of values and priorities they choose to filter their decisions through. Each one also has a list of actions they would like to take and reforms and programs they would like to institute. Their agenda is their mission statement. Their agendas are shaped by their personal convictions and the advancement of that agenda supersedes all else. In his new book, “The Lamb’s Agenda; Why Jesus is Calling You to a Life of Righteousness and Justice”, Rev. Samuel Rodriguez introduces the reader to a new agenda. The Lamb’s Agenda is not represented by a donkey or an elephant, rather has the cross as its motivating symbol. Rodriguez believes we are on the brink of the Third Great Awakening and that the understanding and embracement of the Lamb’s Agenda will bring it to pass. Rodriguez gives an opening definition of this new agenda, He writes, “The Agenda of the Lamb reconciles both the vertical and horizontal elements of the cross, a platform of righteousness and justice. In other words, the Christian nexus of a kingdom-culture ethos and a transformational mission directive that is not either-or but both-and.”

Rodriguez speaks of righteousness and justice throughout his book. He does so in relation to the cross of Christ. He writes, “The cross is both vertical and horizontal. Vertically, we stand connected to God, his kingdom, eternal life, spiritual truths, divine principles, and glory.” This is the righteousness element. “Horizontally, to our left and to our right, we exist surrounded by and revealed through community, relationships, family, culture, and society.” This is the justice element. Rodriguez believes that the church of today needs to learn to live in this “nexus of the cross”, that place where vertical and horizontal meet each other. He writes, “This nexus is the place where conviction marries compassion, where the fish intersect with the bread, where truth joins hands with mercy.” After making his case for why the Lamb’s agenda is worth out time and attention, Rodriguez lists the four enemies of the Lamb’s Agenda. First, Moral Relativism which is characterized by the absence of absolute truth in our world today. Second, Cultural Decadence which is characterized by the increase and approval of open public sin. Third, Spiritual Apathy which is characterized by the lack of fire and passion and consumer mentality of God’s people. Lastly, Ecclesiastical Indifference characterized by the lukewarm, disconnected, and spiritually inept church of today. About the church, Rodriguez writes, “We need a church a church committed to saving the lost and transforming our communities, addressing sin while confronting injustice. We need a church that will be pro-life and antipoverty, that will strengthen marriage and end human trafficking. A church is not an either-or proposition; it is a both-and community. It is righteousness and justice.” 

Several chapters of the Lamb’s Agenda deal with the reconciliation of attitudes, actions, and leadership. Rodriguez speaks of reconciling Billy Graham and Martin Luther King, Jr. He speaks of reconciling John 3:16 and Matthew 25, melting God’s love for the world with the need to show that love to the “least of these”. He speaks of reconciling the Vertical Lamb and the Horizontal Lion. The most powerful chapter is Reconciling Imago Dei with Habitus Christus. Imago Dei speaks of the image of God that lives all human beings. Habitus Christus refers to the habits and actions of Jesus Christ. The marriage of these two perspectives will, as Rodriguez explains, will cause the church to refocus and refrain from choosing righteousness with justice and justice without righteousness. Rodriguez has written a great book. The Lamb’s Agenda is practical, convicting, challenging, and passionate. The message of this book, loving God vertically and caring for others horizontally is one that our churches need to hear today. Rodriguez has a winner here. Smart. Intuitive. Timely. In closing, Rodriguez writes, “I am convinced that God is not done with America and America is not done with God. For at the end of the day our nation will be saved not via the agenda of the Donkey or that of the Elephant. Our nation’s only hope is found in the Agenda of the Lamb.”

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their Blogger Review 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: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

 

Each one of us has periods of darkness. Each one of us has times in our lives where there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. Sickness, death, family issues, failed business deals, and wayward children are just a sampling of the darkness that sometimes covers our lives. In their new book, “Finding God in the Dark; Faith, Disappointment, and the Struggle to Believe”, authors Ted Kluck and Ronnie Martin share personal experiences about God seeming distant during the dark times of life and how the believer can remain close and connected to God.

The format of this is unique, as well as a handicap. The chapters alternate between the authors. Each take a turn in communicating dark spots of their lives followed by observances as to how to and where they felt God during the darkness. Kluck writes about the failed adoption of a child from Ukraine and how that event shook his family’s faith. He also writes about a business deal that fell through involving an unnamed sports figure. Martin writes about a failed recording contract and the death of his father. Although both authors shared personal experiences that were in their own right individually difficult, I favored Martin’s writing and spirit over that of Kluck’s. Kluck’s writings seemed prideful an arrogant while Martin’s writings seemed far more genuine. I found myself wanting Kluck’s chapter to end so I could get to Martin’s.

There is good information within this book. I found the flow of the book to be choppy and disconnected. This is, I believe, due to the style of alternating authors. There is nothing new and earth-shaking in this book as it relates to the intended subject of discussion. “Finding God in the Dark” is very light on application and could be best described as the memoirs of two separate authors whose stories happen to be in the same book. If you are looking for a deep treatment on the struggles of faith and dealing with disappointment, this book is not for you. I cannot recommend this book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers as part of their Blogger Review 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: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”