Charles Stanley is a well known and respected author, theologian, and pastor. Reaching Your Full Potential for God is the latest in the large stack of Stanley books that he has authored through the years. A quick amazon search yields 60 books on his author page.
In the middle of the night, God spoke to Charles Stanley and said "If you truly want to reach your full potential, you must have a clean heart, a clear mind, and a balanced schedule". The result is the book I hold in my hands, in which Stanley unpacks these three concepts.
These are hardly new or groundbreaking concepts so it was difficult to see how How to Reach your Full Potential for God (Hereto referred to as HTRYFPFG) could stand out in the myriad of self-help Christian literature. In the end, there are some good and bad things about the book. However, the good in the book is done far better elsewhere, and the bad is troubling enough for me to not recommend this book.
The main problem with HTRYFPFG is that it stays far too general and far too simplistic. This paragraph is a good example of what is maddening about this book. In the section about having a clear mind, Stanley says,
There were also many times Stanley left me scratching my head. He instructs the reader to literally ask 6 different questions every time a thought comes into your mind to see if you should be thinking that. Can you imagine actually doing that? Along with this is the problem of Stanley's view of finding God's will. Stanley seems to advocate an approach that keeps you from doing anything until you get confirmation from God that it is His will. This sounds holy but in the end, it is incredibly crippling and leaves people looking for "signs" at every corner and needing to experience "liver quivers" before they do anything. We end up seeing God's will as the bullseye of an elusive target and if we don't hit it just right we are not going to be blessed by God. I do not think this is what the Scriptures teach. We end up taking the special occasions where God has worked that way and say that it is normative. What is left out of this picture is the process of sanctification where we grow in Christlikeness and wisdom and we can discern the paths to take. A much better book to read about this subject would be "Just Do Something" by Kevin DeYoung.
In the middle of the night, God spoke to Charles Stanley and said "If you truly want to reach your full potential, you must have a clean heart, a clear mind, and a balanced schedule". The result is the book I hold in my hands, in which Stanley unpacks these three concepts.
These are hardly new or groundbreaking concepts so it was difficult to see how How to Reach your Full Potential for God (Hereto referred to as HTRYFPFG) could stand out in the myriad of self-help Christian literature. In the end, there are some good and bad things about the book. However, the good in the book is done far better elsewhere, and the bad is troubling enough for me to not recommend this book.
The main problem with HTRYFPFG is that it stays far too general and far too simplistic. This paragraph is a good example of what is maddening about this book. In the section about having a clear mind, Stanley says,
"Avoid ungodly jokes and stories. Your mind can become cluttered very quickly ifYou hopefully see what I mean. This type of writing is tedious and doesn't change lives.
you listen to and repeat what is lewd, crude, or demeaning. Don't listen to or
use racial slurs. Reject a spirit of criticism toward any group. Avoid judging
people based on their gender, mental ability, physical disability, economic
status, or any outward trait. Don't speak ill of people becuase of their
personal attributes or physical characteristics.".
There were also many times Stanley left me scratching my head. He instructs the reader to literally ask 6 different questions every time a thought comes into your mind to see if you should be thinking that. Can you imagine actually doing that? Along with this is the problem of Stanley's view of finding God's will. Stanley seems to advocate an approach that keeps you from doing anything until you get confirmation from God that it is His will. This sounds holy but in the end, it is incredibly crippling and leaves people looking for "signs" at every corner and needing to experience "liver quivers" before they do anything. We end up seeing God's will as the bullseye of an elusive target and if we don't hit it just right we are not going to be blessed by God. I do not think this is what the Scriptures teach. We end up taking the special occasions where God has worked that way and say that it is normative. What is left out of this picture is the process of sanctification where we grow in Christlikeness and wisdom and we can discern the paths to take. A much better book to read about this subject would be "Just Do Something" by Kevin DeYoung.
Furthermore, Stanley advocates that if you're doing God's will, whatever you do will find success. This is incredibly dangerous. It may be God's design for you to take up a pastorate in a church and then it closes in 5 years because you were faithful to the scriptures. Is that "success"? I wouldn't say so, but that's not to say that it was exactly what God wanted.
The entire concept of finding YOUR potential and YOU wanting to experience God's best for YOU that we see just on the book's jacket should cause us to pause. We need to be able to say that even if it leads us to utter destruction in the eyes of man...even if we don't "feel" close to God, even in the good times and the bad, blessed be the name of the Lord.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers 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.”
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