Book of the Month - April 2023
Didn’t See It Coming
Carey Nieuwhof - ISBN: 978-0-7352-9133-1 - 2018
Author:
Carey Nieuwhof
Carey Nieuwhof is a former lawyer and founding pastor of Connexus Church in Barrie, Ontario, one of the most influential churches in North America. He is a sought-after speaker, podcaster, and thought leader, regularly appearing at major US conferences and events such as Orange, Exponential, ReThink Leadership, and LifeWay Leadership. With millions of listeners regularly tuning in, the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast features today’s top leadership and cultural influencers. Carey and his wife, Toni, reside near Barrie, Ontario, and have two children.
From the back cover of Didn’t See It Coming.
Brief Synopsis:
Cynicism. Compromise. Disconnection. Irrelevance. Pride. Burnout. Emptiness. These are things that happen to other people, right? WRONG.
Too often, life begins a slow slide into circumstances that steal your hope and your confidence. Some of these situations might be creeping up on you right now. You have no idea it’s happening, which is precisely how it happens. Everything seems normal... until one day, it doesn’t. Left unchecked these areas will affect—and infect—your relationship with God and poison your relationship with others, especially the people you love most.
Carey Nieuwhof, a former lawyer and founding pastor of one of North America’s most influential churches, wants to make sure these seven critical life issues don’t catch you off guard. Each chapter of Didn’t See It Coming addresses a specific challenge and helps you see the warning signs so you can avoid or - if necessary - overcome these challenges and move forward into a more vibrant and fulfilling future.
These practices will lead you to the place where God’s love regenerates your most important relationships, your way of leadership, and your quality of life. Your past need no longer define your future.
It’s possible not only to predict life’s hardest moments but to actually alter the outcomes by stepping into every situation with newfound confidence, strength, and integrity.
You don’t become cynical because you don’t care, but because you do.
Un-compromised character, not competence, determines how far you get in life.
Technology doesn’t create disconnection. It just amplifies what’s already there.
Embracing change and fighting irrelevance helps deepen your impact.
Pride is incredibly damaging but can be mitigated by cultivating humility.
Recovering from burnout requires patience and outside help.
More stuff won’t a feeling of emptiness. But finding a mission you care about will.
From the back cover of Didn’t See It Coming.
Insights:
“The Problem with generalizing—applying one particular situation to all situations—is that the death of trust, hope, and belief is like a virus, infecting everything.” - speaking to Cynicism - pg 20
“Confession is the part of prayer and life where we come before God and one another to admit all that we aren’t: our shortcomings, our intentional sins, and myriad unintentional sins.” - Speaking to Disconnection - pg 73
“You’re ready to change because the pain associated with the status quo just became greater than the pain associated with change... Change is Painful.” - speaking to Irrelevance - pg 100
“Just know this: Of all the lies we tell, the ones we tell ourselves do the most damage.” - speaking to Pride
Should I read it or skip it?
Over my 25ish years in ministry, I have found each and every one of these seven challenges will come your way. They may even come at you from different angles. Carey has a way of approaching seven different topics in one book while not making you feel like you are reading seven different books. This book was a risk and I believe it paid off.
Each of the topics received the right amount of treatment. Each concept has two chapters: one to flesh out the problem and one to flesh out the proposed solution. His solutions were spot on and able to be appropriated by the reader.
I would not skip this book and I would even add it to your multiple-read book.
