Amazon.com: 11: Indispensable Relationships You Can't Be Without: Leonard Sweet Ph.D: Books

Product Description

As believers, our journey is just as important as the destination. And because relationships are essential to our walk through life, it is vital that we partner with people who positively impact our world.

Dr. Leonard Sweet believes these essential people are found in the pages of God's Word. Using eleven classic figures from the Bible, Dr. Sweet details key personal attributes that make up God's Dream Team for your life. Readers of all ages will be encouraged to not only seek out such people, but to find their place with those around them.

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About the Author

Dr. Leonard Sweet is the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the Theological School at Drew University. He also serves as a consultant to many of America's denominational leaders and agencies. In 2006 and 2007, he was voted "One of the 50 Most Influential Christians in America." Dr. Sweet is the author of more than one hundred articles, over six hundred published sermons, and a wide array of books. To learn more, visit him at www.leonardsweet.com.

Product Details

Hardcover: 264 pages
Publisher: David C. Cook; New edition edition (April 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1434799832
ISBN-13: 978-1434799838
Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,370 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
John Mark, Holy Spirit, West Virginia, Epaphras Barnabas, Christ Jesus, Orcas Island, Black Forest, Martin Luther, Paul Withnesses, Harry Potter, Onesimus Barnabas, May the Spirit Bless, Billy Bray, John the Baptist, Barnabas Withnesses

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Customer Reviews

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4.1 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leonard Sweet on Relationships, May 29, 2008

By	W. Elizabeth Chapin "chaotic creator" (Kenmore, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"A book is a hand stretched forth in the dark passage of life to see if there is another hand to meet if." Leonard Sweet offers this Harriet Beecher Stowe metaphor for why authors write in his Acknowledgments for 11: Indispensable Relationships You Can't Be Without and if you haven't reached out your hand to pick up this book, you are missing out on and indispensable book for life's journey. In 11, Sweet proposes that "the real meaning of life is not a journey question or an arrival question. It's a relationship question." Sweet offers relationship advice as a seasoned sojourner who has experienced some of the best and the worst in the realm of relationships. While 11 may not be nearly as controversial as some of Sweet's earlier writings, it is seasoned with Sweet-ness borne out of his years of scholarly, futurist and prophetic emerging culture work.

Undeniably, I prefer to hear rather than read Sweet, and the first couple of chapters tasted like crumbs from the table to me, but a veritable feast is eventually served up and the book finishes with the cr�me de la cr�me - a chapter on relationship with "The Invisible 12th" - the Holy Spirit. While Sweet talks about friendship with God as the conclusion to his treatise on relationships, he does not minimize or equate this unique relationship with the other indispensable relationships he discusses. Sweet cautions, "God gives us closeness and intimacy with Christ, but do not mistake the near for the casual. Our relationship in the Holy Spirit is not one of equals, though it is one of lovers."

While 11 can be read alone, as I did, it is best suited for reading within the context of relationship. Each chapter offers "Interactives" - thought provoking questions and discussion topics designed for the reader to interact with the text as well as with others. If you are like me and probably a few others who wonder whether we even have 11 friends who could somehow fit into one of Sweet's categories of indispensable relationships, you will be pleasantly surprised as you read each chapter and put at least one name and one face to each of the 11. In classic Sweet fashion, he attempts to coin a new word: Withnesses. No, not WITnesses, but WITHnesses. "Withnesses is my shorthand for 'indispensable relationships,'" Sweet says in his introduction. He goes on to posit, "Each of the 11 Withnesses presented in this book is a biblical character made into a metaphor that constitutes God's Indispensable Dream Team for you. Your success or failure in life is shaped to a significant degree by the success or failure of these 11.

While this book clearly details the benefits of the 11 types of relationships, personal experience bears witness that none of our lives fit neatly into some categorical formula, even on a metaphorical level. While many of us may dream of having a "Dream Team" to help make our dreams come true, I know far too many people who exist in quiet desperation without even a thought of reaching out a hand to grasp another hand to help them through the dark passages of life. For an outgoing people-person like myself who thrives in relationship with others, it is conceivable that I may have and be many of the 11 Withnesses, but some people are lucky to have or be only one or two and I'd hate to pronounce failure on their lives because of their lack of relationship, though I fear this may be true.

This book is a welcome breath of fresh air to remind us of the preeminence of relationships in a driven culture that is often more focused on doing than being, on accomplishments than accompaniments, on stocking up than standing with, on fighting for rights than living in love. This book will help you focus your life on what matters to God - relationships. Some of the relationship metaphors Sweet offers are:

* Who's Your Jonathan? You Need a True Friend
* Who's Your Jethro? You Need a Butt-Kicker
* Who's Your Peter/Paul? You Need a Yoda
* Who's Your Zaccheus? You Need a Reject

In "Who's Your Jonathan?" Sweet sings the same song I was singing to my kids recently in his section: Not "Best," but "True" friends. "The worst thing you can do is to play favorites with your Withnesses. God doesn't play favorites with us - we mustn't fall into the trap of relational hierarchy. Sooner or later, that game forces us to pit friend against friend - whether directly or indirectly." I'm also fond of Sweet's fair-minded ideas in "Who's Your Zaccheus?" where he says, "Jesus didn't relate to men as men and women as women, or to rejects as rejects, but to everyone he encountered as a person in need of love." If you are interested in upping your relational IQ, then this is the book for you. After reading 11, you will not only value your existing relationships more, you will be a better "Withness" to others. I hope you will not read this book in isolation as I did, but that you will read it WITH others - perhaps with a small group of two or three friends, like a "Three is Enough" group.

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 11 is Sweet, April 14, 2008

By	N. Hooker "Nevan" (Louisville, KY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Leonard Sweet has written a wonderful book.

11 is perhaps more of a self-help book than any self-help book on the market because it's all about relationships with others.

Relationships are like investments...it's important that you diversify. Sweet highlights 11 key relationships that we all need, and the best part is that they're all rooted in Biblical stories and teachings.

I had a lot of random relationships, and they seemed like one big formless blob. After reading 11, I'm now better able to sort through them, categorize and re-direct my energies towards building relationships that truly matter.

I like Sweet because of his line..."the older I get the more complex my theology becomes...but the older I get the more simple my faith becomes." This is a complex book that is just plain simple to understand and act upon.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You can't do it alone ~, May 26, 2008

By	Maria Battista Hancock "postmodern thinker" (Italy & USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

perhaps a fresh new way to look at 'teamwork' for reaching your dreams?! ...this book was written to meet people like me, like you...who live life with passion and meaning - after digging through it you will see your friends under a whole new light, and see or 'place' yourself in relationship to them and others with new understanding. Life is short yet long enough to be LIVED and be. Along the way we meet all kinds people and create realtionships at different levels...we all impact each other, but how? how deep? -there are friends and 'friends'...which to do you want?...which kind are you? ...examples...Chapter 3 'Who's your Jethro? you need a [...]' Chapter 6 'Who's your Peter/Paul? You need a Yoda' Chapter 7 'Who's your Deborah? you need a back-coverer'

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars If you're a linear thinker, don't waste your time reading this book.
This book argues that Christians need a particular set of relationships as represented by certain Biblical characters: Jonathan, Timothy, Jethro, etc. Read more

Published 5 months ago by G. R.

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet, Sipped and Savored
Leonard Sweet's 11: Indispensable Relationships You Can't Be Without is best sipped and savored with friends and loved ones. Read more

Published 6 months ago by D. Patrick

5.0 out of 5 stars 11 is an 11 out of 12
I recommend Leonard Sweet's book - 11.
Very practical and using Biblical examples urges us to have these 11 relationships in our lives. Read more

Published 8 months ago by R. Sheldon

2.0 out of 5 stars Behaviors to live by
11 indispensable relationships you can't be without, are values and ethics everyone should have and live by. Read more

Published 10 months ago by R. Griffin

5.0 out of 5 stars We're Not In This Alone
I like Sweet's reference to the movies Oceans 11 & 12 in that it points out how we're not completely equipped to meet our own needs. Read more

Published 11 months ago by Ben Raines

5.0 out of 5 stars In an age when people have far more friends on Facebook and MySpace than in real life, this is a book that needs to be read!
Think about your friends. Who has your back? Who pulls you up when you're feeling down? Who are you ready to encourage? Read more

Published 12 months ago by FaithfulReader.com

3.0 out of 5 stars 11: Indispensable Relationships You Can't Be Without
While the author has a good idea, his lack of life experiance shows in the number of characters he does not include. Read more

Published 14 months ago by J. Cox

› See all 10 customer reviews...

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