Greatness is overrated.
People tend to measure success by worldly standards. We assume that greatness comes from charisma, influence, and followers. But God cares more about our character than about what people around us think of our reputations.
Pastor Jae Hoon Lee challenges us not to pursue greatness but to grow in goodness. Jesus called his followers to cultivate character of goodness, not to aspire to positions of power. The faithful Christian life is one that seeks to become good. These reflections and meditations on the good Christian life unpack what it means for the church to live in obedience and faith, to strip away ambitious self-glorification, and to instead live humble lives of goodness and love.
Jadual kandungan
Introduction
Part One: In Search of a Good Christian
1. Cultivate a Good Conscience
2. It’s Morality, Stupid
3. Pain Is a Part of Joy
4. Torn from Evil and Set Apart for Good
5. A Christian Without Following Christ?
6. We Represent a God of Love
7. Justice Comes from Love
8. Strip Away Your Facades
9. True Blessings of Christ-Followers
10. Goodness Shines
Part Two: A Good Leader Builds Christ’s Church
11. Be the Best Man, Not the Bridegroom
12. Signs of Judas’s Betrayal
13. Fools for Christ
14. Why Is the Church Weak?
15. Happiness Comes When We Come Back
16. The Spirituality of Simplicity
17. Seek Wisdom
18. Rely on Teamwork
19. Not the Authority but a Steward
20. Your Best May Not Be God’s Best
Part Three: Choose Truth, Even When It’s Painful
21. Making the Right Decisions
22. The Right Mentality
23. Why Do Humans Want to Be Gods?
24. Truths Everyone Must Accept
25. Finding Your Place in Life During Disaster
26. The Key Is Always the Gospel
27. Truth Cannot Be Divided into Public and Private
28. Lives Are More Important Than Rights
29. Truth with a Gentle Embrace
30. True Authority Leads to True Freedom
Part Four: Deny Yourself and Take Up Your Cross
31. Have You Lost Your Humility?
32. Only Shepherds Answered the Call
33. The True Leader Steps Up in the Storm
34. Embracing Conflict
35. Look to the Self, Then the Situation
36. Real Change
37. Know Thyself
38. Faith or Stubbornness?
39. Time for Job’s Repentance
40. God Loves Cities of Sinners
Part Five: Live Out Your Good Life
41. The Christian Life Is a Syntropy Drama
42. Your Mission Is to Go Beyond Your Backyard
43. Unlock the Future with Faith
44. A Calling Requires Courage
45. God Will Guide Us
46. Love Has Many Hues
47. A Bucket List Is a Calling List
48. When Duty Transforms into Joy
49. A Friend Who Will Never Leave
50. Not Success but Service!
Acknowledgments
Mengenai Pengarang
Jae Hoon Lee (DMin, Gordon-Conwell) is the senior pastor at Onnuri Church and chair of The Gospel Coalition Korea and Handong Global University. He also serves as the cochair of the host committee for L4, the 2024 Lausanne Congress on World Evangelism in Seoul. He is the author of My Country to God's Country, Grace Wins!, Thinking of Thinking, Heaven Opens Up on the Earth, and Authentic Gospel. He promotes justice, restoration, and societal well-being, embodying the gospel’s transformative power in many ways in Korea. He lives in Seoul, Korea, with his wife and two children.