Below are top resources for growing in character
The Hole in our Holiness I Kevin DeYoung
What does it mean to be holy? Why should we care? And how can we change?
The hole in our holiness is that we don’t care much about holiness. Or, at the very least, we don’t understand it.
This is a book for those of us who are ready to take holiness seriously, ready to be more like Jesus, ready to live in light of the grace that produces godliness. This is a book about God’s power to help us grow in personal holiness and to enjoy the process of transformation.
Humility I T.J. Mahanney
A battle rages within every one of us every day. It’s the clash between our sense of stubborn self-sufficiency and God’s call to recognize that we’re really nothing without Him. It’s pride versus humility. And it’s a fight we can’t win without looking repeatedly to Christ and the cross. C. J. Mahaney raises a battle cry to daily, diligently, and deliberately weaken our greatest enemy (pride) and cultivate our greatest friend (humility). His thorough examination clarifies misconceptions, revealing the truth about why God detests pride and turns His active attention to the humble. Because pride is never passive, defeating it demands an intentional attack. The blessing that follows is God’s abundant favor.
“This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit.” Isaiah 66:2, ESV
God clearly states that He is drawn to the humble. He’s also clear that He opposes the proud. These two, humility and pride, cannot coexist. Where one is fostered, the other is defeated. Which will you pursue? When you acknowledge the deception of pride and intentionally humble yourself, you become free to savor abundant mercies and unlikely graces. You will find a new life is yours—a life God richly favors. A God-glorifying life you don’t want to miss.
When People are Big and God is Small I Edward Welch
Overly concerned about what people think of you? Welch uncovers the spiritual dimension of people-pleasing and points the way through a true knowledge of God, ourselves, and others.
A Resilient Life I Gordon MacDonald
“It makes little difference how fast you can run the 100 meters when the race is 400 meters long. Life is not a sprint; it is a distance run, and it demands the kind of conditioning that enables people to go the distance.”
Whose heart doesn’t leap at the sight of a beautifully conditioned runner, effortlessly gliding along, stride-by stride, mile-by-mile? And what runner gets to this place without a thankless – and often lonely – regimen of strategy and self-denial?
Isn’t this the perfect metaphor of what your heart is longing for – running life’s race with intentionality and grace? With strength and focus?
Well, you can. Veteran pastor and best-selling author Gordon MacDonald says you must develop resilience – the courage and ability to get up when you fall, to keep running when you’re bone-weary, and to keep your eye on the goal even in the murkiest moments.
Integrity I Henry Cloud
Integrity; more than simple honesty, it’s the key to success. A person with integrity has the ability to pull everything together, to make it all happen no matter how challenging the circumstances. Drawing on experiences from his work, Dr. Henry Cloud, a clinical psychologist, leadership coach, corporate consultant and nationally syndicated radio host, shows how our character can keep us from achieving all we want to (or could) be.
In Integrity, Dr. Cloud explores the six qualities of character that define integrity, and how people with integrity:
– Are able to connect with others and build trust
– Are oriented toward reality
– Finish well
– Embrace the negative
– Are oriented toward increase
– Have an understanding of the transcendent
Integrity is not something that you either have or don’t, but instead is an exciting growth path that all of us can engage in and enjoy.