Hey church, I hope you’ve appreciated the Thought Life series so far. The truths and practical steps we’ve been discussing have changed my life, for sure. I hope it’s doing the same for you. As in most of what I share, I’ve gotten the information from someone much wiser and more experienced than me! That’s certainly the case in this series.
I’ve mentioned quite a few resources over the last three weeks. I want to make sure you have them in your hands so you can explore them on your own. If we’re serious about life-change, then we’ll be serious about learning how to do that. I can’t make you take the steps… no one can except YOU!
So check out the three main resources I’ve used:
1. Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life by Craig Groeschel. Groeschel is the senior pastor of Life Church, based in Edmond, Oklahoma. He’s written several books and has a popular leadership podcast (that I would also highly recommend!). Winning the War in Your Mind reveals the overlap of modern social psychology and the Bible. A lot of research-based facts reveal how biblical principles of self-control, discipline, and community can radically affect how your brain works. Groeschel emphasizes an extremely practical approach to taking back your mind, so that the out-of-control thoughts you may experience don’t consume you. Rather, God has given us the tools in his Word to take back our mind. This book does a great job of pointing those things out. It’s very readable.
2. Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts by Jennie Allen. Allen is an author, teacher, and founder of IF:Gathering. Get Out of Your Head takes a similar approach to Groeschel’s book. It reveals the extreme overlap of modern psychology and Christianity. She looks at how we can stop spiralling out of control in our thought life by giving us the Christian disrupter of having a choice in how we think… we can mind our thoughts! While I’m not always a fan of her writing style (it’s a book geared toward women, specifically) the content is unbeatable and highly practical in apply biblical truth to how we think. Also a very readable book.
3. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg. I read this book several years ago, and the principles about shaping habits have stuck with me. While not a Christian book at all, it studies how our minds work when forming habits, whether good or bad. As you read it, you can begin to see the overlap with biblical principles. After studying how our minds work, then Duhigg gives research-based, practical advice on how to change bad habits by replacing them with good ones. Very readable, full of interesting stories. I highly recommend it.
Author: Pastor Carter Mundy
Carter is the Lead Pastor of Redemption Church. Check out more about him and his family by clicking here.