Skin in the Game by Rick Lawrence

 “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” —Matthew 10:39

Christians are longing for more life in their lives, a sense that they’re more present to Jesus and to their own story in the everyday. They’re looking for the answer to the deepest question of human experience: “How do I find the freedom I crave, and become the person I long to be?” Too often, though, they’re scared to risk too much to find the answer—so they simply continue to lead lives of “quiet desperation.”

Rick Lawrence says that’s exactly the problem. We’ve seen too much. We know too much. And so we manage our risk so well that we choke off the very fuel that our soul needs to stay alive. In fact, risk should be a primary aspect of our relationship with Jesus, not the thing we avoid.

In this book, Lawrence argues that if we pay attention to the way Jesus related to people, we discover that he asked every person he ever met to put their “skin in the game”—invest part of themselves. Only then did they find the life they always longed for.

Lawrence asks eight key questions, including:

 • Will you embrace your shame?
 • Will you receive grace?
 • Will you confront your fears?
 • Will you wait, even when all hope is lost?

With a vigorous, fast-paced, and conversational style, he uses these questions plus stories straight from Scripture and pop-culture corollaries to explore the kinds of risks we find in our lives today and how to stop waiting and start going all in for Jesus.

For Purchase:
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rick is the longtime Executive Editor of GROUP Magazine (youthministry.com) and the co-leader of the Simply Youth Ministry Conference (youthministry.com/conference). His latest books include Shrewd: Daring to Live the Startling Command of Jesus (2012, shrewdbook.com), and Sifted: God's Scandalous Response to Satan's Outrageous Demand (2011, siftedbook.com). He's married to Beverly Rose and has a 13-year-old daughter named Lucy Rose and a 9-year-old daughter named Emma Grace.

You can follow Rick 
on Twitter @RickSkip, 
on Facebook at Facebook.com/RickSkip,
or you can email him at RLawrence@group.com, 
or you can drag a banner behind your biplane over Denver, Colorado with a special message for Rick. 

I received this book courtesy of Kregel and TBCN in exchange for my personal opinion.

My Thoughts:

"The dependence we hate is the dependence we desperately need; the antidote to a life dominated by insidious demands of being in control."

Safe or Risky? How do you live your life? 

A total devotion to Jesus cannot be derived without risk! As Christians we need our "skin in the game". We need to be invested, committed, willing to take risks. That's what this book is all about.

Rick is offering a challenge - living a Jesus centered life,  not a safe life. And believe it or not, Jesus was a risk taker. Rick repeatedly offers stories of Jesus as well as other Bible characters who had to take risks to follow Christ. The chapters cover Facing our Shame, Accepting Grace, Our True Identity, What We Want, Our Fears, Taking a Risk, Endurance, and Total Commitment to Christ.

Sometimes its hard to decide if we should live small or live large. Play it safe or take risks, know when to do what, There are times when God does call us to embrace the smallness, enjoy the moments, just be... Other times he calls us to take risks, live large, attempt great things for God, have our skin in the game.  We need to find out what voice we are listening to, our own, the enemies, or the Spirit of God. 

This book is about investing it all for Jesus! If that is the kind of life you want then this book is for you! Personally, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.