Rick Lawrence

"People who have been sifted and revealed see God's heart
more clearly, and therefore understand His goodness
more deeply, and therefore give what they have
more freely."


Have you experienced deep pain that has left your world in shattered pieces around you? Have you looked up to find that some cataclysmic event in life, some unexpected storm has left your world turned upside down? Or are you the one who looks up one morning and feel as if the weight of the daily grind has pulled so much from show more you that you just don't know if you can handle one more of life's "little aggravations" because if your honest you've just had too many of these little events to juggle with lately. Your broken, your empty, your all poured out, your exhausted and the road you are walking is suffocating darkness. You look up and wonder what your faith has really done for you - who is this Jesus that you've loved and served - where is He now - and if He loved you so much why isn't He helping you?

This is one of those rare books that you pick up that has the power to cause you to stop and reevaluate your life and your beliefs. It is one of those books that on the outside seems absolutely harmless, maybe even interesting - then you crack the cover and what you begin to realize is this is a book that reflects some of your deepest questions about God - that known thing that you are too "religious" to admit out loud; the thought that God seems filled with contradiction - deep a passionate love, and then a "brutal" terrible side that conditions us and allows sifting that will shatter us so that we better understand Him.

My copy of this book is already separating from it's binding, it is dog-eared, tabbed, underlined and has thoughts and revelations written in the margins. It has been re-opened time and time again to certain passages and cross-referenced with scriptures. It is in a sad shape for a book, but it bears the evidence of one that has already been well read - as I am sure every copy sold will.

Dealing mainly with the topic of Simon Peter's sifting experience this book explores what on the surface is the contradiction of God's loving side. This is eventually exposed as our misinterpretation of God's deep, intense, personal love for His creation; and His driving desire to have His creation conformed to His image.

I am adding this book (a new copy of course) to my shelf to recommend to those going through a sifting process. Almost a year ago we lost an infant son at 4 months of pregnancy due to a Subchorionic hemorrhage. This condition is usually resolved, however just when we got the confirmation that it was resolved just a few days later it reappeared. I will say that of all the sifting experiences in my life this was by far the most devastating and most life-changing. I can personally relate to this book. As in the middle my only hold to life when my faith became thread-bear and I began to wonder how much more can I bear. In the midst of the darkness I cried out for God to just show me the cross - I knew if I could just focus on that I would somehow survive this great ordeal. Continually I prayed for the survival of Caleb Levi - but on the other end of this prayer was a mother's heart broken plea, "Father, please give me the courage, the strength to accept Your will no matter what it is. Please give me spiritual eyesight to see past this numbing pain and recognize Your glory". Needless to say we lost our child - but in an essay labeled "The Sacrifice of Praise" I explained how this very experience brought to me a deeper more intimate knowledge of Christ and my identity in Him. In the wake of this loss my husband and I learned of the need for a new ministry, our raw hearts longed to comfort those who did not have the same tie to Jesus - to introduce them to the calm waters of His land even in the midst of a crashing world and shattered dreams. I remember telling my when he said he did not know if he could go through this again, "Who are we to say what we can or can not go through - these things are in God's hands and are for our good. I must believe and hold to the fact that He said He has good thoughts toward me - even in the bad. Therefore He will sustain me again and again...I must trust that He will not crush me completely".

Page 97... " God has not promised that He's going to stop [the bad from happening], but He'll show up in the middle of it, and there is nothing so dead that He can't grow something out of it. There's nothing so broken that He can't heal it. And there's not anything so lost He can't find it."

Special thanks to B&B Media Group, Inc for this review copy. show less

First of all I liked this book and felt like it kicked me in the pants in a good way. I need to be more attentive to details and thoughtful about how I handle situations and people. I enjoyed Rick Lawrence's writing style, loved his stories and felt encouraged.

However parts of this rubbed me wrong. He encourages us to be strategic in our relationships with others. When this is applied 'evangelistically,' as he suggests, it comes across as manipulative and dishonest. I am not saying there show more isn't a kernel of truth in what he says or in his use of Jesus' parable of the shrewd servant who knows how to use money to make friends, but I think he oversimplifies a little and ends up saying somethings he doesn't quite intend.

Also there is a lack of clarity in what Lawrence means by 'shrewd.' Sometimes it just means coming at things sideways rather than applying a direct attack (there is a certain wisdom in this). Other times I think he uses it as a catchall term for any thoughtful engagement with relationships, worlds, adversaries, situations, middle school girls, etc.

I liked the book and will likely refer back to some of the practical, interactive sections Lawrence includes (he is an editor for Group Publishing so he can't help himself). show less

Rick Lawrence recounts Warren Buffet's sixties-era investment when he invested $105,000 from of eleven doctors and put in $100 of his own money (11). Buffet's investment success is well documented, but it took this seed money to allow him to develop and grow his own portfolio. Lawrence sees an analogous risk for would-be-disciples of Jesus. Like Buffet with his investors, we have a partner with significant resources for us to invest (namely Jesus); however in order for us to get the most show more benefit out of our investment, it will cost something from us. We also have to put our life on the line, and be willing to take part of the risks of faith.
Skin in the Game is a short book which explores the places that Jesus asks us to share in his reward by putting ourselves on the line--putting skin in the game. He invites us to face our shame (with the Samaritan Woman in John 4), He challenges us to move beyond a karma life where we get exactly what we deserve, and to throw our lot in with Jesus who lavishes grace on the undeserving. With the Canaanite Woman (Matt 15), Lawrence calls us to look beyond our destructive narratives and to see our true-identity. With the lame man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5) he asks us to 'own what we want' God to do for us. Lawrence points to Jesus walking on the waves in the storm and the terrified disciples and exhorts us to face our fears. Finally he summons us to wait on the Lord and to 'make Jesus our first and last.'

Lawrence spends about 137 pages, calling us in different ways to press deeper into Jesus in ways that are personally risky. There are lots of good stories and pop-cultural references (Lawrence blogs at youthministry.com and is the executive editor for GROUP publishing). He is a good communicator and his message is on point in a lot of respects. This is the second book of Lawrence's I've read and I much prefer this one to his earlier effort. The prose is winsome and I feel the call to a more compelling personal faith.

There in lies the rub. This is a book about personal faith and the risks that Lawrence calls us to, addresses us as individuals. This of course is appropriate on many levels. We must own our own faith. We have to face our shame, take hold of grace, discover our true identity, own what we want from God, face our fears, wait on God and prioritize Christ in all things. As a Christian and as a pastor I add my voice to Lawrence's. But as I read this book I wished that the communal aspects of the risk of faith were explored more in depth. I mean reconciliation, justice, care for the vulnerable requires risk. If we want transformation to come to our churches, our communities and neighborhoods it requires skin in the game--personal risk. It is costly and there are no guarantees on the actions of others. But transformation and the epic Jesus-centered life can't be fully experienced without giving our lives away to others.

Lawrence didn't write that book, but he did write a good book. I recommend this for anyone wishing to deepen their faith in Jesus. My first thought while reading this was that it would make a good graduation gift (high school or college) because it is pithy and helps you focus your life on things that matter. But of course we all need to hear Jesus' call to greater trust and risky faith. Put your skin in the game. I give this four stars.

Notice of material connection: I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. show less

I loved how the author used different illustrations from the bible to show us how God looks past our imperfections and welcomes us with open arms. The Samaritan woman at the well who didn't think she was good enough to give Jesus a drink of water demonstrates the shame we feel when we are accepted by others. Jesus wants us to drink from "the living water" and not be ashamed of who we are.

The author says,"When we are thirsty enough and desperate enough, he has a shot at convincing us to show more offer our skin in the game-to give with abandon who we are, not just what we have." It is time for us to give all we have , not be just pew warmers. We all have gifts that God has given us and it's time to start using those to reach others.

In the book is eight chapters that go in depth about facing our shame, accepting grace , and several other topics. As you read the chapters, soak in his word as the bible stories are used to understand the concept of each chapter. I think the stories really reinforce what the book is saying. Put yourself all the way in, have no fear, embrace your grace and be confident of who your are.

Are you ready to take risks and be "Skin in the Game" or will you choose to sit on the sidelines and let the enemy whisper discouragement to you?

I received a copy of this book from The BookClub Network for an honest review. show less