Chip Ingram

I mentioned a couple of days ago that I had an opportunity to see Chip Ingram. He was promoting his newest book, Good to Great in God’s Eyes: Ten Practices Great Christians Have in Common.

He spoke about some really great things, and the ten points he made in the talk are the ten chapter titles in his book, so the talk was a great primer for the book. I got a copy of the book, and will be reading it soon, but in the meantime, here are the ten points - actually here are five – you’ll get the other five tomorrow:

1. Think Great Thoughts – we are product of our thoughts – we become what we think about. Knowing that, make sure your thoughts are worthy of who you want to be.


2. Read Great Books – We need to put great stuff in our minds if we want to have great stuff come out. We are transformed by the renewing of our mind (Romans 12:2), reading the thoughts of others will stretch us, and renew our mind.


3. Pursue Great People – We need to spend time with great people, and some of their greatness will rub off. Chip had a quote, “Show me your friends, I’ll show you your future.” When I first shared the news that we were expecting our first child, a good friend shared with me the importance of controlling their friends. It really makes all the difference!


4. Dream Great Dreams – Our dreams give us hope. God uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things – and often he gives us glimpses of these extraordinary things through our dreams! What is your dream? I’ve noticed in counseling and sharing with people that use our food pantry that most people really don’t have any dreams. They’re to busy with the day to day, and have been let down too many times, and have given up on their dreams. A dream given up on is a dream that will never be realized.


5. Pray Great Prayers – The greatest prayers are birthed in brokenness. You will pray great prayers when you pray about the things that really matter to you, the things that break your heart. “Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete” (John 16:23-24).

I hope these will give you something to think about. More tomorrow…