Why I Wrote 8 Habits for Growth

My first book, How to Grow, was written primarily for individuals who want to grow in their walk with God. I know some churches used it, but my sense is that most readers picked it up and read it on their own.

8 Habits for Growth is different. You can buy it and read it alone, but my deepest desire is that churches use it as a discipleship tool to help their people build disciple-making relationships within the church.

In the book, I write:

A good way to use this book is to work through it by yourself. A better way to use this book is to invite someone to join you…

Perhaps the best way to use this book, though, is within the church. I’m a big believer in God’s gift of the church. It’s where God intends us to grow. If you’re a pastor or church leader, use this book as a resource in your ministry as you make disciples who make disciples.

I believe the 8 Habits will benefit those who use them, but I hope they will be adopted in the church as a tool for disciple making.

The Story Behind 8 Habits

I pastor a small church plant. A few years ago, I recognized the need to help our people build important habits. I got to work. My wife and I brainstormed the key habits we want to teach, and I started writing material for our community.

We originally envisioned this as a course. We recruited some people from inside our church, as well as some trusted people outside our church, to give us feedback. They received a lesson each day with questions. I received the answers from our men and coached them; Char coached the women. We loved the experience. We got to know our people much better, and the participants said it really helped them.

After a while, we started making the same material available to others. I realized that having pastors coach the material would be the best option so they can experience what we did. We had some good results.

I began to wonder how we could make this material available to others. I spoke about the idea with Moody Publishers, and they saw the potential, too. I hope this will be a helpful tool for churches and pastors to assist their congregations in building essential Christian habits.

It’s good for someone who wants to say to one or two others, “Walk with me. Let’s see if we can grow together.” It’s also good for small groups. It’s really designed to work best in the context of relationships.

The Design

I’ll be honest. I wasn’t sure how something that started as an online course would translate into a book. I remember when I saw the first galleys. I was stunned. Moody’s designers erased all my doubts. The book looks beautiful.

“Your design/layout was fantastic,” a friend with an advance copy emailed me. “One of the best I’ve seen this year.” I agree. All the credit goes to Moody’s design staff, who are doing some great work these days. (See Patrick Schreiner’s The Visual Word for another example of a beautiful book from Moody.)

I’m all for ebooks, and I’m happy for you to buy whatever works best for you. But I love the paper version. It’s beautiful, and I think it works well for this kind of book.

If you’re interested, find out more here. I’d love for you to pick up a few copies and invite others to work through it with you. Best of all, I’d love to see churches use it as a tool to help their people grow. I’d appreciate your prayers that this book will make a difference. I’m excited and grateful that it’s out.

Visit the 8 Habits for Growth page at GospelforLife.com.