By Jon Gordon, Dan Britton, Jimmy Page
Love the the idea. Appreciate the process. Seriously question the presupposition.
Authors John Gordon, Dan Britton and Jimmy Page share a helpful idea in their book, One Word That Will Change Your Life.
Recognizing that 87% of us (that’s 206 million people) make New Year’s resolutions and then break them pretty quickly, the authors suggest a better way to initiate intended change: focusing on one word.
That’s right, just a single word. Not a phrase, not a statement, not a list – just a word. . . . By embracing, owning, and living a single word for 365 days, our lives changed. Instead of being weighed down with unrealistic resolutions and unmet goals, One Word provides an entirely new perspective on how we approach our year. It frees us up. One Word gives us renewed purpose and meaning. (5–6)
I appreciate…
The concept, their process, and the examples.
Their suggestion to unplug to devote the quiet space to carefully think and pray about this.
Their desire to honor God and look to Him.
I love the questions the urge me to ask: (1) What do I need? (2) What is in my way? (3) What needs to go? (see pages 33–34)
I pushback on…
1. Their authority: The authors write, “We know [this is true] because it happened to us.” (16) While there is nothing wrong with personal testimony, it just struck me that personal experience was the “touchstone of orthodoxy” so-to-speak. They take the same personal approach in urging me to believe that God has one word for me.
2. Their presupposition: The authors tell me God has a word meant for each one of us – a word based on where we are in our lives in where God wants to guide us. (38) Wow! Did they just speak for God? Where in the Scripture does God promise me a new word for each year. He doesn’t.
3. Their focus on a word, not The Word (40). Yes, this is a book for the massed, but does it make sense to assume people can get God’s direction for their lives without going to God’s Mediator for their lives? I really don’t want to the One Word killjoy, but this thesis is not grounded in anything but their minds and experiences.
4. The Lincoln quote about sharpening the axe. Lincoln never said it.
5. The Maxim “What gets your attention gets your focus; what gets your focus gets done.” True and not. It’s a proverb with truth to it!
Recommendation:
One Word That Can Change Your Life is a great idea that God may use, but not a God idea he uses for every person. I wish the authors had made that distinction, but they did not.
Does that mean, “Don’t buy the book!” No, I don’t think so. One Word is a helpful concept that has benefited thousands. But I caution calling “your word” God’s word for you. The author’s take a good concept and make it a God Concept. Dangerous! Applying it across all of life every year can turn a helpful practice into a legalistic ball and chain.
Would I buy the book? Well . . . I did. And I’m considering the idea of One Word for one facet of my life this year.
