(Un)Qualified by Steven Furtick

(Un)Qualified by Steven Furtick ISBN-13: 9781601424594 Hardcover: 224 pages Publisher: Multnomah Books Released: March 1, 2016

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Many of us wrestle with the gap between our weaknesses and our dreams, between who we are and who God says we are meant to be. But God has a way of using our weaknesses for good. In fact, God loves unqualified people.

Who you think you are is not as important as who God says you are. In (Un)qualified, Pastor Steven Furtick helps you peel back the assumptions you've made about yourself and see yourself as God sees you. God can't bless who you pretend to be, but he longs to bless who you really are--a flawed and broken person. True peace and confidence will come not from worldly perfection but from acceptance: God's acceptance of you, your acceptance of yourself, and your acceptance of God's process of change. God is in the business of using broken people to do big things.


My Review:
(Un)Qualified is for those who feel like they need to fix their weaknesses before they can be acceptable to God. The author talked about God's name being "I AM" and how it matters how we fill in our "third words" ("I am ____"). Maybe the weaknesses we're most concerned with aren't the ones God's working on, and God uses people who are willing to depend on Him. He talked about not comparing ourselves with others, setting the correct goals, and many other topics.

He referred to Jacob from the Bible, his own life, and others to illustrate his insights. It's written in a casual tone with mild humor, and it felt like an "I'm in the trenches with you" pep talk. He made many good points. Overall, I'd recommend this book to those who feel trapped by their weaknesses.

Here are some quotes (from an ARC, so they may not perfectly match the final copy): From page 53: "The belief that God is more interested in our perfection than our relationship with him is the birthplace of insecurity." From page 124: "...our relationship with God will continue for eternity. That should tell us something: we shouldn't lose sight of what is eternal in our efforts to improve what is temporary."

From page 121: "God knows certain things will suck the life out of us. They will hurt us. They will hurt people around us. They will hurt our relationship with him. So he calls them sin, and he enables us to stop doing them."


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.