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Failure: The Back Door to Success
"This book is sorely needed in our over-analyzed, undermotivated, and guilt ridden Christian society. It can be a life changer to anyone tired of the old one step forward and two steps backward routine"......Howard G.
126 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1975
About the author
Erwin W. Lutzer
171 books284 followersErwin W. Lutzer is senior pastor of The Moody Church in Chicago. A graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and Loyola University, he is the author of numerous books, including the Gold Medallion Award winner "Hitler's Cross" and the best seller "One Minute After You Die". He is also a teacher on radio programs heard on more than 700 stations throughout the United States and the world, including "Songs in the Night," "The Moody Church Hour," and the daily feature "Running to Win." He and his wife, Rebecca, live in the Chicago area and have three married children and seven grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 14, 2016
This book is written for those who believe they are failures and for those who falsely believe they aren't! It is a message of hope for those who are filled with regret; it is a message designed to disturb those who mistakenly feel they have "made it" in life. What is success? What is God's perspective of success?
There are many reasons why we struggle with failure just as there are many reasons we struggle with success. It is easy to compare our lives with others and in doing so we go directly to despair. We focus on ourselves instead of who God is. The trinity is a great example of working together for one common goal instead of comparing what the other is doing, receiving, and worth.
We may struggle with our understanding of who God is, sin and the provision he provides for those who trust in Him. Because God is good, it is sin that drives us to his goodness. Joseph and his brothers are a great example of that. We don't have to be in despair.
The quotes that I found encouraging
Let me say it once more. If your defeats and failures cause you to turn away from God, you don't understand God's grace. Christ died so that we have the basis of acceptance before God that has nothing to do with our fluctuating experiences. Our acceptance depends on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
God has not chosen to destroy evil by one sovereign act. Rather, He has chosen to let it exist and redeem us from it. Where sin abounds, grace does much more abound.
If we ask people to dedicate themselves tot he Christian cause, we often are simply employing the same motivations used by sects all over the world. And this, I believe is why most so called dedication services have little or no effect on the Christian community. It is not a lack of sincerity but a lack of understanding that is at stake. Perhaps this is why one Christian, after dedicating himself to God countless times borrowed a line from Alice In Wonderland to describe his spiritual experience. I have to run real fast just to stay in the same place.
Lutzer has become one of my favorite bible teachers. The gospel he represents is whole and not one sided. He brings his reader to the feet of Jesus and not on the treadmill of despair. If you struggle with despair and the pride of success, you will be encouraged that God offer's more! HIMSELF!
A Special Thank You to Moody Publishers and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
There are many reasons why we struggle with failure just as there are many reasons we struggle with success. It is easy to compare our lives with others and in doing so we go directly to despair. We focus on ourselves instead of who God is. The trinity is a great example of working together for one common goal instead of comparing what the other is doing, receiving, and worth.
We may struggle with our understanding of who God is, sin and the provision he provides for those who trust in Him. Because God is good, it is sin that drives us to his goodness. Joseph and his brothers are a great example of that. We don't have to be in despair.
The quotes that I found encouraging
Let me say it once more. If your defeats and failures cause you to turn away from God, you don't understand God's grace. Christ died so that we have the basis of acceptance before God that has nothing to do with our fluctuating experiences. Our acceptance depends on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
God has not chosen to destroy evil by one sovereign act. Rather, He has chosen to let it exist and redeem us from it. Where sin abounds, grace does much more abound.
If we ask people to dedicate themselves tot he Christian cause, we often are simply employing the same motivations used by sects all over the world. And this, I believe is why most so called dedication services have little or no effect on the Christian community. It is not a lack of sincerity but a lack of understanding that is at stake. Perhaps this is why one Christian, after dedicating himself to God countless times borrowed a line from Alice In Wonderland to describe his spiritual experience. I have to run real fast just to stay in the same place.
Lutzer has become one of my favorite bible teachers. The gospel he represents is whole and not one sided. He brings his reader to the feet of Jesus and not on the treadmill of despair. If you struggle with despair and the pride of success, you will be encouraged that God offer's more! HIMSELF!
A Special Thank You to Moody Publishers and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
April 25, 2023
Excellent book and highly recommend. We all need to learn that "Failure is not final".
February 21, 2017
About the Book:
Find the good in your failure. Failure is a fact of life, one we’d rather forget. Fortunately it has a silver lining. Failure, the Back Door to Success shows us how God uses even our sins, shortcomings, and weaknesses in His perfect plan. It will inspire you to:
Learn from the past without being controlled by it
Embrace your limitations
Accept yourself as God accepts you
Be more gracious toward others
Redefine your idea of success
Easy to follow, illustrated with engaging stories, and deeply encouraging, Failure, the Back Door to Success speaks straight to the heart. It will make you feel free to try and unafraid of failing, knowing that God is the one at work in you, and that he’s not finished yet. And that’s the first step toward success, every time.
My Review:
If you have ever listened to Mr. Lutzer speak you have truly listened to a treasure. His speaking really speaks directly to you. He doesn't sugar coat or tickle your ears. He is upfront and blunt and his speaking will relate to your everyday life.
Mr. Lutzer take, commentary and research on this topic is very well grounded and thorough. He can tell you exactly what it will take to get you back on the right road with God to get rid of the weight of your failures whether it is a past that will not listen its grip or for you to see in you what God sees, it is all in there.
The author covers the failure quotient from several angles. He shows it to us in a comparison to others. Which is probably something that we all do and we have that at the top of our list. The suthor has really got me to thinking about my view of failure and what it could possibly mean in the eyes of God. And many times our perception and God's do NOT line up. This is when we need to truly seek God on the matters that we feel are holding us back and listen for Him to respond.
This book covers a lot in such a short amount of time. Based on the authors experiences and lessons and those of many others we can glean sound advice from others that have been there. Great book!
**Disclosure** This book was sent to me free of charge for my honest review from the author. All opinions are my own.
Find the good in your failure. Failure is a fact of life, one we’d rather forget. Fortunately it has a silver lining. Failure, the Back Door to Success shows us how God uses even our sins, shortcomings, and weaknesses in His perfect plan. It will inspire you to:
Learn from the past without being controlled by it
Embrace your limitations
Accept yourself as God accepts you
Be more gracious toward others
Redefine your idea of success
Easy to follow, illustrated with engaging stories, and deeply encouraging, Failure, the Back Door to Success speaks straight to the heart. It will make you feel free to try and unafraid of failing, knowing that God is the one at work in you, and that he’s not finished yet. And that’s the first step toward success, every time.
My Review:
If you have ever listened to Mr. Lutzer speak you have truly listened to a treasure. His speaking really speaks directly to you. He doesn't sugar coat or tickle your ears. He is upfront and blunt and his speaking will relate to your everyday life.
Mr. Lutzer take, commentary and research on this topic is very well grounded and thorough. He can tell you exactly what it will take to get you back on the right road with God to get rid of the weight of your failures whether it is a past that will not listen its grip or for you to see in you what God sees, it is all in there.
The author covers the failure quotient from several angles. He shows it to us in a comparison to others. Which is probably something that we all do and we have that at the top of our list. The suthor has really got me to thinking about my view of failure and what it could possibly mean in the eyes of God. And many times our perception and God's do NOT line up. This is when we need to truly seek God on the matters that we feel are holding us back and listen for Him to respond.
This book covers a lot in such a short amount of time. Based on the authors experiences and lessons and those of many others we can glean sound advice from others that have been there. Great book!
**Disclosure** This book was sent to me free of charge for my honest review from the author. All opinions are my own.
September 9, 2016
I can see why there have been over 100,000 copies sold! In this day and age where people idolise success and quick-fixes to problems, it great to read people wrestling with the theology of mess or failure. Lutzer writes his book from the conviction that "failure of some kind is common to us all... Successful people are those who apply God's remedy for failure" (14). For people like me who lived riddled with perfectionism masking a tremendous fear of failure, books like that are so important!
Lutzer's writing is biblically grounded, concise, logical, and takes some complex themes and presents them simply. He states his case humbly, while providing adequate challenge and practical steps toward godliness. He anticipates the reader's push-back well, for example, qualifying his theology of failure, "It is not necessary to fail before we succeed, but God often uses our failures to make us more sensitive to our need of Him" (53), drawing attention to the value of these painful seasons.
This is a solid, biblically grounded, and devotionally valuable book! I look forward to reading more from Lutzer!!
(I received this book from Moody Publishers in exchange for an honest review)
Lutzer's writing is biblically grounded, concise, logical, and takes some complex themes and presents them simply. He states his case humbly, while providing adequate challenge and practical steps toward godliness. He anticipates the reader's push-back well, for example, qualifying his theology of failure, "It is not necessary to fail before we succeed, but God often uses our failures to make us more sensitive to our need of Him" (53), drawing attention to the value of these painful seasons.
This is a solid, biblically grounded, and devotionally valuable book! I look forward to reading more from Lutzer!!
(I received this book from Moody Publishers in exchange for an honest review)
July 1, 2016
Recently, I have discovered Erwin Lutzer's books and am grateful for his Biblically-sound words of wisdom. I have greatly enjoyed reading a few of his books and look forward to reading more. I finds his writing humble yet powerful, and relevant to a variety of ages and levels of understanding. As with the other books by this author that I have completed, Failure: the back door to success was clear and well-organized while being deep and meaningful. I was excited about this particular title because I need a better idea of failure. I tend to become quite disappointed with myself and don't often know how to turn my failures into something good character-wise. I was blessed to read this book. Every chapter was interesting and helpful and I found it very easy to read this book. At the same time, as with Erwin Lutzer's other books, I hope to go back and slowly read the book, properly meditating on each chapter. I recommend this book to a variety of readers!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.
May 21, 2016
This book first came out in 1975 and is being reprinted this year. I read the first edition. I recommend this book to all believers in Christ. It is an encouraging and easy to read book. It is a book that you will want to refer to many times. There are some excellent illustrations. You will understand clearly what "failure" and "success" mean in the Biblical sense. What we call failure may be a step on the way to success. And what we call success may in reality be only failure.
August 1, 2008
nothing ventured, nothing gained. Any questions?
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews