"EXPECT TO WIN" BOOK BACKGROUND

This page contains a link that takes you to a manuscript I have written with the hope it will someday become published as a book (I will refer to the manuscript as a book). The book has an introduction section so I do not want to duplicate what is said in the introduction, but a little background may be in order.

The book was written in order to help young adults "win" in life, and my view of winning is not scoring more points than the other team or beating out the competition for a date or a job. Winning is living up to our potential as a person, in other words, doing our very best in all we do. Winning is also having a life that is of value to others, it is having a life that truly will make a difference in this world.

Although this is not a book about sports, there is a strong sports theme, because what happens on the field or court often is a magnification of what happens in life. Living up to your maximum potential as an athlete is what sports are all about! Rarely is anyone pushed (by coaches as well as the athlete) as hard to achieve their potential than an athlete. The effects of teamwork, self-discipline, and self-sacrifice are so obvious in sports, and these attributes are key ingredients to a successful life.

Other magnifications of life that occur in sports are successful performances being noticed, with the flip side having failure out there for everyone to see, greatly increasing the emotional impact of not achieving what we want to achieve. To me the greatest aspect of sports is witnessing the extreme joy of an athlete when they have made a positive difference in the game, and/or when their team has overcome a struggle or huge challenge to win, and then thinking of how much more fulfilling it is to make a difference in matters far more important than sports.

Although the book uses many sports examples, it is not a book about sports, it is a book about spiritual growth. We need far more than sports or other activities that teach constructive qualities in order to reach our potential as a human being. We need far more to have a life of value and fulfillment. I believe in what Jesus said in John 10:10 of the Bible - that he came to give us life to the full, a more "abundant" life. This book is "Theology 101", a textbook that uses scripture and respected references, along with sports examples, to explain the benefits of Christianity and how spiritual growth will impact your life.

The first two chapters of the book go into detail explaining how spiritual growth benefits us as well as giving evidence how a strong faith makes a difference. For a brief overview of why understanding what is behind Christianity is so important please click on this link - "What's The Big Deal About Christianity".

I understand many will not share my views on faith and of course I respect those individuals so I will never beat anyone over the head with my Bible trying to convince them of what I believe. I sincerely want to do what I can to make other people's lives better. I firmly believe a strong faith will achieve this, and with the book I attempt to articulate why and how. I also believe many just don't understand what Christianity is all about, including many that call themselves Christians. An important purpose of the book is to dig deeper into what is behind Christianity because it is only a deep understanding of what faith is that will lead to a life changing experience.

What are my qualifications to write about this subject? I simply have a great love for God and have spent many years intensely studying scripture because I want to know all I can about him. I am also taking theology courses through a well respected Seminary College - Liberty University and hope to complete my Masters in Religious Arts sometime this century. The book is based upon scripture as there are many scriptures referenced and printed in the book. I also have referenced many well respected authors. Click here (under construction) to go to a page that will provide links for many of the books referenced.

I am not interested in earning one cent for this book so you have my permission to download and make your own copies. Anyone else taking credit for any of this book is prohibited.

THE REAL EXPECT TO WIN BOOK!
 

During a web search I discovered my book title was not an original title. Initially I was very disappointed because the title is meaningful to me. After further investigation my disappointment turned to joy because "Expect To Win" by Bill Glass fits perfectly with the theme of my book. And ironically I met the author many years ago!

Bill Glass, the author of the original Expect To Win book is a former professional football player who played for the Cleveland Browns (being from Cleveland and a lifelong Browns fan I met him at a Browns function several decades ago). Since his retirement from football in the early 80s he has dedicated his life to motivating other people into developing winning habits. He founded the Champions For Life Ministry. Champions for Life specializes in youth outreach and prison ministries.

His book "Expect To Win" offers principles to developing a winning attitude toward life. It is based on tried and true Christian truths that will help you be all that you can be! If I ever have the good fortune of publishing what I have written I will change the title.

Expect To Win by Bill Glass  from Amazon.com

 

 

Click here to go to my version of "Expect To Win". This book is in PDF format which means you should use Adobe Acrobat 6.0 to view the book. If you do not have this free Adobe program on your computer click here to download the program. Listed below is a table of contents with a brief summary of each chapter as well as the page number.

Forward
page 3
FORWARD: An endorsement from Dr. Knight, Pastor and friend.
Introduction page 7
INTRODUCTION – A brief explanation of what was behind writing this book and what is the purpose. This book is designed to give readers a deeper understanding of Christianity, an understanding that will help deal with life’s challenges as well as help us reach our God given potential.
THE BENEFITS
Chapter 1 page 13
THE SECRET – Christianity is much more than a religion. It is having a purposeful relationship with God that gives us peace, contentment, and an abundant life. This chapter offers strong evidence, as supported by various studies, of how strong faith will lead to a happier and more fulfilling life. It also touches on the purpose of our creation, why free will is so important, and God’s love for us.
Chapter 2 page 27
PEAK PERFORMANCE – Spiritual growth does far more than just get us into heaven! Our spiritual growth will help us develop personal attributes that will help us improve performance in all aspects of our lives.
TRUTH OR MYTH?
Chapter 3 page 41
CAN WE TRUST OUR PLAYBOOK – A very important chapter that offers compelling evidence why the Bible can be trusted. You will read how science does more to point to a creator than disprove one as well as other evidence that indicates the Bible is far more than just a good book of literature. This chapter quotes various well-respected authors that in their quest to disprove the Bible ended up being staunch defenders of Scripture.
Chapter 4
page 57
THE ONLY WAY! – One of the biggest and most dangerous conceptions about Christianity is that it is just like all other religions. There is nothing further from the truth, as this chapter will point out. In addition you will learn we can never “earn” our way into heaven and this will help you understand the significance of Jesus.
WHO DO YOU SERVE?
Chapter 5 page 71
WHO’S DRIVING YOUR CAR? – What drives us? For many peer pressure and destructive forces do. This chapter simply asks us to examine what the driving forces in our life are and what they should be.
Chapter 6
page 81
TRUE FREEDOM – Why is obedience to God important? You will learn in this chapter how ignoring God’s instructions causes tremendous bondage and living by his standards actually gives more freedom in our lives. Promiscuity and substance abuse are important topics dealt with in this chapter.
STUMBLING BLOCKS
Chapter 7 page 99
WHO AM I? - Peer pressure has so much to do with how we value ourselves and others, and often this peer pressure makes us feel inferior because we feel we don’t “measure up” or it influences us to make unhealthy choices. Our spiritual growth should change the way we view ourselves and what is really important to us, in other words how we form our identity. This chapter ties in baptism and communion to our new identity as a child of God.
Chapter 8 page 109
PRIDE – A MAJOR STUMBLING BLOCK – Pride is the number one reason people reject God. Christians are not exempt of suffering from pride as we can become more judgmental then loving. Pride also keeps us from reaching our potential as a person.
FAILURE AND FAITH
Chapter 9 page 119
DEALING WITH FAILURE – We suffer more than we should and too often “beat ourselves up” because of performance and spiritual failures. Redefining our view of failure will help us. This chapter should help us cope with the disappointment and sometimes heartbreak we experience when we feel we are not meeting our expectations or hopes.
Chapter 10 page 135
EXPECT TO WIN – We too often sell ourselves short and discount God’s power in our lives. This mind set is due to a lack of faith in our self and in God, and the two are strongly intertwined. Strong faith will help us “win” by giving us the right frame of mine, a frame of mind that will give us strength and help us reach our potential.
HOW TO WIN
Chapter 11 page 149
THE GAME PLAN – The nuts and bolts chapter of this book. This chapter will take you through the important steps needed to grow spiritually.
Chapter 12 page 163
BE PREPARED FOR WAR – Beware! There are spiritual forces out to destroy us. If you believe in the God of the bible then you have to understand there is a powerful spiritual force out to destroy your relationship with God. Knowing there is this enemy helps us prepare for the battle we are in.
THE FRUIT
Chapter 13 page 175
LOVE – THE END RESULT – There is a reason why Jesus said the most important commandment is to love God and the second to love others. Love is what gives Christianity the power to make a difference. Love is what God is all about.
Chapter 14 page 187
MAKE A DIFFERENCE – We can’t experience anything more fulfilling than knowing we have a life that makes a difference. Our love of God and of others should give us a desire to make a difference! This chapter gives us ideas on how to make a difference.