Play the Man: Becoming the Man God Created You to Be

by Mark Batterson

So let me ask you this: Is your version of Christianity worth dying for?

The key is getting angry about the right thing, at the right time, in the right way.

Because Jesus knew that conflict, not comfort, is the catalyst for growth.

Tough love demands tough decisions, tough conversations.

You must genuinely have the other person’s best interest at heart. And bookend your goading with lots of affirmation. That’s how you speak the truth in love.

Don’t let an arrow of criticism pierce your heart unless it first passes through the filter of Scripture.

Truth is crucified in the name of tolerance, undermining civil debate, conscientious objection, and religious conviction.

Remaining silent on a subject that God has spoken about isn’t loving—it’s cowardly.

You can’t make a difference without making waves, and some people in the boat won’t like it.

If you try to make the world revolve around you, you’ll be miserable! You’ve got to get over yourself so you can get on with whatever it is that God has called you to do!

You may not control your circumstances, but you control your reactions to them. And that is what sets the men apart from the boys!

an opportunity is not an opportunity if you have to compromise your integrity.

When a church loses sight of their mission, they involuntarily and unwittingly create problems to keep themselves busy!

Don’t wash your hands like Pilate. Wash feet like Jesus.

vague confessions result in a vague feeling of forgiveness.

True courage is being vulnerable enough to admit your faults and foibles.

We can pray “Your kingdom come, Your will be done” until we’re blue in the face, but it won’t make any difference if we hunker down in the comfortable confines of our Christian subculture. We need to invade some hellholes with the light and love of Jesus Christ.