Author: Reggie McNeal
Publisher: B&H Publishing, June 2007
When I've felt like telling someone to, "Get a life!" I wasn't necessarily thinking about helping them discover purpose and meaning in their life. Reggie McNeal, on the other hand, is thinking just that! This book was written for those who are searching for a reason to live, for those who have felt like giving up on life, and for those who just feel in their gut there must be more to life than what they have experienced. To those of us who have struggled with issues like these, he says, "Get a Life!" McNeal invites his reader into an interactive dialogue centered on five penetrating questions:
- Why am I here?
- What is really important to me?
- What is my scorecard?
- What am I good at?
- What do I need to learn?
Going against a popular sound bite that continues to echo through many Christian circles today, McNeal insists, "It really is all about you." He invites you to take a look at you, to have an honest conversation with you, to take time for you, and to ultimately make sure you "get a life while you are hanging around on this planet."
You can read the book through as I did. You'll find a ton of great ideas that will inspire and motivate you to think about how you might get more out of life. However, I suggest you use the book as a workbook and journal. Throughout each chapter, the author pauses to allow you an opportunity to reflect on what you've read, to interact with the ideas he has presented, and then to record any actions you will take to put these ideas into practice. It becomes something of a personal journal of discovery. It would also be great to use with a small group, or as a couple.
My heart resonates with the information McNeal presents in chapter three, "What is my scorecard?" In many ways, the discussion on keeping score, is the heart of the book. Learning how to "keep score", means learning how to accept responsibility for whether or not we "get a life", and with what that life looks like. Like the old adage says, "If you have no target, you can't miss it."
The book would be a great conversation starter with un-churched people. It is written in a manner and a vocabulary that is understandable to people without a religious/church background. The last chapter invites the reader to address the question of his or her relationship with God. McNeal then ends with these words, "If you don't get a life, you don't become the you God had in mind when he created you." (p. 166).
Well-written and thought-provoking ... it is one you shouldn't miss.
Dr. Larry S. Doyle, Director of Missions
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