The Greatness Principle: Finding Significance And Joy By Serving Others

by Nelson Searcy

Influential pastor and author provides a practical and thoroughly biblical resource to equip and inspire church volunteers.

Genres: Christian Living, Christian, Nonfiction, Christianity

112 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2012

Reviews

[Yari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compact but good, solid teaching. To be great we need to be a servant to all. Perfect as a devotional.

[Anath Lee Wales · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked it and recommend it to everyone at all levels.
Prior to reading many books and due to my many other personal responsibilities,
I couldn't get enough time to really write a personalized review,
but this is really a good book you have to read.

[Calum Mackenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A v v v quick read. I think I read it in an hour. I’d have loved this to have been 3 or 4 times the length - which is a compliment.

Practical, referenced with Bible verses and straightforward.

Recommend but shame it’s so short.

[Crystal Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you for this book and why some Christians choose an attitude of excellence; as it has nothing to do with and never to be confused with perfectionism.

This was a nice refreshment read why we live out and permeate an “attitude of excellence” in every way and in all we do, all for God’s glory.

[George P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Searcy, Nelson. 2012. The Greatness Principle: Finding Singificance and Joy by Serving Others. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

“When you bless others, God blesses you.”

That is how Nelson Searcy defines “The Greatness Principle.” At first glance, I worried that he was entering prosperity gospel territory, where our financial generosity becomes a quasi-legal obligation on God’s part to make us rich. But that is not Searcy’s point. Instead, building on Mark 9:33–35 and other New Testament passages, he encourages us to use our time, talent, treasure, talk, and testimony to benefit others.

As we live out this multiform love for neighbors, we begin to experience God’s blessings on us. Those blessings take tangible and intangible forms, and they include greater influence as well as visible miracles. Proverbs 11:25 puts it this way: “those who refresh others will be refreshed.”

The crucial question is this: Do we see both the multiple opportunities to bless others that cross our pass every day and the manifold ways God is in fact blessing us?

The Greatness Principle is short (95 pages), easy to read, and inexpensive ($6.99). Each chapter includes questions, making it desirable for use in personal study or small-group discussion. And if you register at TheGreatnessPrinciple.com, you will receive additional resources to use with the book.

P.S. If you found this review helpful, please vote “Yes” on my Amazon.com review page.

[Merv Budd · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Greatness Principle is a very short read ( just over 100 pages), which focuses upon the Christian duty and privilege of serving. I found that this book was a dry read. It felt like, and likely was, a compilation of sermons tweaked into a book form. Unfortunately what makes a good sermon does not always make a good book. At times It felt as if the author was searching for texts to make his point rather than searching the Biblical text to discover the points. This is not to say the points made were not necessarily Biblical but the text was not driving the point being made.

As an introduction to the importance of serving and some of the benefits I would give it a quick read, but I would not make it a primary text for one’s theology of service.

This book has been provided courtesy of Graf-Martin Communications, inc. and Baker Books in exchange for an honest review.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biblical & practical "giveaway" book on service - I especially liked the multiple examples on ways the reader could begin serving immediately. As well, I appreciated the emphasis on church life, though that's no surprise coming from Nelson Searcy.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

God will bless those who bless others.
This small book made a clear point that "when you bless others, God will bless you". It provides some practical ways to bless others and shows some objections of the World when you want to obey God's commandments.

[Shane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and sweet read

I did like how straight to the point the book was. It's day to relatively focused on The greatest principal and didn't wander around. I liked the stories shared except the ski story. I would recommend

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and to the point, this book is well written, 'user-friendly', encouraging, and gives the glory to God. I encourage others to read it too, it didn't take much time at all to complete.

[Edwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid ideas in this book.

[Jeremy Piehler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

Some good thoughts that were spoiled by the scent and at times outright abundance of prosperity gospel thinking. Worth a skim.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful