Ever since I read Stop Asking Jesus into Your Heart, Greear has been a favorite author. His books are practical and personal. They're also the perfect length for gifting/recommending to any reader, both because of the depth of the content and the extreme accessibility for readers of all types. This book would make an excellent gift for a college senior, but also anyone wanting to make their life count. It felt like a modern take on Piper's classic Don't Waste Your Life.

This book was a similar concept to John Pipers book, but for a new generation of young people.
This book is always a good message for every Christian at every stage in their walk or life.
Our calling and what to do in our life is to bring God glory and take part in the great commission.
I think JD did a good job of simply explaining things and bringing in scripture as well.
This was a quick and good read.

Thank you NetGalley for this copy of “What are you going to do with your life?”

This book is a mixed bag. It's great: compelling, easy to read from a writing standpoint, relevant, engaging, and powerful. It's uncomfortable: it compels me to reevaluate my very comfortable faith, asking whether I'm really living for Christ or living for self. And sometimes, that hits a little too close to home. Necessary? Absolutely.

Written in much the same vein as John Piper's "Don't Waste Your Life," Greear's "What Are You Going to Do with Your Life?" will challenge new and seasoned Christians alike to truly count the cost and "up their game" in the best way, for the ultimate Treasure--Christ.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

There have been many books written through the years that exhort Christians to mission. And no doubt there will be many more written in the future. We need them to be as every author brings their own slant and experience to the discussion.

Greear's book is short and compelling. He outlines in the first chapters the pressing need for Christians to get intentionally active in sharing the gospel for two main reasons: the harvest field is huge, billions and billions of people haven't heard the gospel of Jesus and it's growing bigger at an alarming rate. The second reason being that there is no better way to spend one's life. We will be able to do most everything we desire here on earth in the next life so let's not fill our days here on such.

Or as C. T. Studd proposed: "Only one life, ‘twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last."

Full of stories of other great missionaries, many of whom died on the mission field having seen little apparent success from their endeavours only for there to a long lasting legacy of Christianity well after their deaths.

Greear doesn't mince his words and nor should he. It's challenging and convicting especially in this season when there is a global stirring for God as a result of CoVid-19.

I received an early ebook version from B&H Publishing via NetGalley with no expectation of a favourable review.

The question that comprises the title of J.D. Greear’s new book, What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? is a simple one. Your answer, however, has enormous implications. When is the last time you asked yourself that question?
Greear, as senior pastor of The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina, and current President of the Southern Baptist Convention, has been asking that question of himself and others for years, and now he wants you to answer it for yourself. But if you’re a Christian, your answer will be significantly influenced by one major issue: you don’t get to answer it at all. You get to find the answer. Greear explains this early in his book:
Many people, when they read the question, “What are you going to do with your life?” think, “There’s no correct answer to that question. The course of my life is specific to me and up to me to determine.” But that’s not true if you’re a follower of Jesus. To be a Christian means that you have surrendered the right to determine the course of your life. Now to be clear, that’s not the common picture of Christianity, at least not in America. To be a Christian in America means you go through certain religious rituals and call yourself a Christian, all while living however you want to live. But that’s not a Christian according to Christ. Based upon his Word, to be a Christian means you have died to yourself, your ideas, and your dreams for your life. To be a Christian according to Christ means that you have lost your life as you knew it, and you have found new life in him, which means you now live with his ideas and his dreams for your life.
While reading this book, I was constantly reminded of a Switchfoot song (which quickly gives away my approximate age) called “This Is Your Life”. The lyrics, while reflective of the attitude of most Christians in America (I don’t remember hearing anyone pushing back against them then or now), do not line up with this biblical view of the shape of our lives: “This is your life. Are you who you want to be? … Is it everything you were dreaming it would be when the world was younger and you had everything to lose?” Unless the members of Switchfoot were hiding some deeper message in the folds of the CD’s liner notes, they’re definitely wrong here. It’s not about who you want to be. It’s not about your dreams and expectations. And you may be thinking that’s just too sad and not something that makes Christianity sound appealing, but you know what? I know several people who listened to “This Is Your Life” and it made them utterly dejected. They despaired because their life isn’t what they had planned. It didn’t work out the way they wanted. But Greear’s question (and God’s question to his adopted children) has none of that. “What are you going to do with your life?” is a future-tense question, and God will give you the answer. It’s not dependent on anything in your past. Not in the slightest.
What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? is a call to align your life with God’s plans for your life instead of your own, because only what is done for God really matters. Greear relays:
As John Piper says, relieving any type of suffering is a good and worthy goal. But the worst kind of suffering — the kind that deserves our most earnest attention — is eternal suffering. Suffering in this world is terrible and limited, but suffering in the next world is terrible and eternal. And love sees it that way. Love does not shut its eyes to this world or that world. Love reckons with the reality of suffering here, and the worse reality of suffering there.
This is so important to many of the conversations dividing Christians today, and it’s a simple answer. This world matters and the next world matters more.
Now some of you who know the work of John Piper might be thinking that Greear’s What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? sounds similar to Piper’s Don’t Waste Your Life. And that’s on purpose. It’s meant as a continuation of the message Piper gave at Passion OneDay 2000 in Memphis, Tennessee, and then in his book. That’s because the message is so central for Christians to understand that we must be reminded of it often. We must hear it from different sources, using different words, so that the message becomes fresh again and we do not miss it. Jesus requires your life. Now, what are you going to do?
Greear points out that it is so easy to distract ourselves from the most important thing in the world because we are so willing to distract ourselves from the reality of death. He writes:
The seventeenth-century French philosopher Blaise Pascal had a great analogy for this. He describes our lives like a giant party, full of happy people, loud music, and dancing, during which a monster unexpectedly bursts through the doors, grabs a random party-goer, mauls them in front of everyone, and drags their bloody corpse out of the room. Everyone watches in horror, and after it is over stares at each other in stunned silence for a few moments. But then the band kicks back up and everyone returns to their frivolity, putting the horrendous display out of their minds. This horror is repeated every few moments until it becomes apparent that the monster is eventually coming for everyone in the room. Yet still the party goes on. That monster, Pascal said, is our impending death. And our preferred way of dealing with it is distraction. Turn up the music.
So what should we do instead? Well, telling people about a way to avoid the monster is great. But our message is more than that. We have the opportunity to tell them: “There is someone out there who not only loves you but will defeat the monster forever and take you to a party so much better than this one that you cannot possibly understand.”
Greear features two fantastic quotes in his book that elucidate his themes perfectly. One is familiar to many Christians because of its weighty power and its semi-frequent use. C.T. Studd, who Greear refers to as the “Lebron James” of cricketers (by which I assume he means there’s still one cricketer of all time who is better than him), quit his sport to be a missionary in China and later India and the Belgian Congo. He died in the Congo, but his heart lives on in his words:
Only one life, ‘twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Once you chew on that for a minute, read on.
Because I believe the second quote is even more powerful, given its context. William Borden, the heir of the hugely-successful Borden milk business, told his father that he didn’t want to inherit the family business. Why? He wanted to be a missionary to Muslims in China. Greear relays the rest of the story:
(Borden) stopped in Egypt to spend time learning Arabic. One month after arriving, however, he contracted spinal meningitis and died. He was twenty-five years old. Back in the United States headlines proclaimed the tragic news. The stories echoed the advice Borden’s friends and family had given him: What a waste of a life! But Borden didn’t think so. As the story goes, while on his deathbed, someone asked if he had any final words. He pulled out his Bible, turned to a blank page at the back, and wrote, “No regrets.”
But the epitaph on his tombstone is what I pray is written on my tombstone when I die:
Image for post
William Borden, Millionaire & Missionary
William Borden is buried in a small cemetery in Cairo. The cemetery is so out of the way that if you don’t know what you are looking for, you’ll never find it. His tombstone is bunched up among many others, and the writing on it so faint you can barely read it. But if you get down real close you can make out a single sentence: “Apart from faith in Christ, there is no explanation for such a life.”
I’ve started trying to not use the word “awesome” when I don’t actually mean “full of awe”, so I’m happy to say this. How awesome would it be if someone could say that about you when you died! It would be my second favorite thing to hearing “Well done, good and faithful servant.” And as much as the party of the world (which hasn’t been much of a party recently) distracts us, we must constantly remind ourselves of the greater joy and greater burden that accompanies being a child of the King. What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? is a powerful reminder and one that I believe would be effective in changing the heart of every Christian.
So, buy What Are You Going to Do With Your Life? and read it. Or, if you haven’t already, read John Piper’s Don’t Waste Your Life (it’s free in PDF form through Desiring God). Read both. Read one now and one in 6 months. It doesn’t really matter, as long as you refresh your soul and point it back to what God created you to do. It’s the most essential thing you will ever do.
I received a review copy of What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? courtesy of B&H Publishing and NetGalley, but my opinions are my own.

Life changing book! Reading this will challenge you to live out the gospel the way God intended. It will awaken you from lukewarm Christianity and help you desire to live a Christ-centered life that truly counts. When so many are using their lives to pursue earthly pleasures and comforts that are only temporary, the message of this book will instill in you a desire to use your time and talents for eternal pursuits that will last forever. It provides practical illustrations for how to leverage each moment of your life with gospel intentionality. I highly recommend this book for people at any stage of life. Everyone needs the reminders contained in this book!

Thanks to B&H books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

( received a complimentary e-book in exchange for a review )

Where to start? While this title may be slightly intended more for a college student, I'm in my mid-fifties, and honestly, this by far is one of the best books that I have read in 2020. Extremely inspirational, witty, encouraging and informative. Was able to read thru this quickly during a few lunch breaks at work. Highly recommended to anyone over 18. I know this book will be staying with me for a long time to come.

This is a fantastic resource for the church! I really like JD Greear and he is a trusted resource. I will definitely be referencing and recommending!

Are you leveraging your life, time, talents, and skills for what lasts or just kind of biding your time? J.D. Greear encourages both those about to graduate, those in the twilight years of life, and everyone in between to take a long, hard look at their life and ask if what they are doing is lasting, and if not, why are they waiting to make a change to something that is? Building on John Piper’s Don’t Waste Your Life sermon from 20 years ago and expanding on those ideas with his own signature style, J.D. Greear leads readers on an introspective journey toward a life not wasted.

This is a great read for a Christian at any point in life. It’s a good heart check to see if you are on the right path. Greear’s style is very readable, with some of his unabashed dad humor and entertaining stories thrown in, but always makes you think and is biblically solid. This book is similar in sentiment to Piper’s book from 2 decades ago (which makes sense, since it is based on the core sermon) and it also kind of reminds me of Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life, but it stands out from both of those in its missional emphasis. I really appreciate how Greear makes it clear all Christians are called to missions and sharing the gospel, it’s just a question of whether you’re called across the street or across the world. He points out that God may not even have you leave your job, but ask how you can use the platform in your job for kingdom purposes. It’s more a reorienting of the heart than necessarily a move or job change (thought Greear does challenge readers to think about why they shouldn’t move). It’s a simple book in many ways, but the simplicity is radical. It asks hard questions about how you are practically living out your faith, and reading this could most definitely be life changing. It is so important to pause and check if your focus is on eternal matters or things that won’t matter next week let alone in a few decades. A highly recommended book for any Christ follower.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was almost afraid to start this book because the title itself is so challenging! What are you going to do with your life?? That is a big and scary question, you know!

The book did indeed turn out to be challenging, thought-provoking, convicting, and yet very encouraging. Though you might not find anything new, the author is an excellent writer and his writing is so refreshing somehow. I enjoyed his use of stories and anecdotes which illustrates his points so well. The one about the dogs chasing a mechanised rabbit comes to mind. No doubt about it I am often like one of those dogs!

A must-read for every believer. A quick and easy read, with pauses to reflect and examine your heart. It'd make a great gift too for young christians. Potentially life-changing!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. This is my honest opinion.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I read Radical 5-6 years ago and that started us on our original church planting journey. Now we are upon launch weekend and it makes me happy to read a book encouraging my generation and the one after to live sold out for Christ. I hope many people read this and listen to Greear’s advice.

The books is fine. I appreciate JD and the fact that he is focused on preaching the Gospel across the world. The book is short, it is motivational, but I'm not sure it's necessary. There are hundreds of books on the topic that have been written.