I Am Not But I Know I Am: Welcome to the Story of God [Hardcover]

Louie Giglio (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 26, 2005

We wear ourselves out trying to be smarter, bigger, the center of attention. But dynamic communicator Louie Giglio’s latest book puts success back in perspective. When John the Baptist said that he must decrease while Jesus must increase, he was expressing the secret to astonishing freedom…and incredible rest. This book will teach you the rich, meaningful lifestyle of being small. Free from the worries that used to strangle you, you’ll radiate the power of the God who is all the things you aren’t!

I am not, but God knows my name.

I am not, but He has pursued me in His love.

I am not, but I know the Creator of the universe.

I am not, but I know I AM!

If you see life as your own one-act play and history as your story, you could be in for a rude awakening when the curtain finally closes on your tiny tale—and you discover that life wasn’t all about you after all.

The real story of life is God—I AM—the main character and true star of time and eternity. He is at center stage in all of Creation, and He wants you to know Him by name. Knowing I AM means embracing your smallness in light of His greatness.

Savor the true meaning of life as you learn to work and rest in His power, spending your life for what lasts forever—the unending glory that is God’s alone.

Story Behind the Book

Louie Giglio recognizes a world and culture that keeps pushing us to be bigger, to be known, to be on top, to be at the center of everything. He encourages those who know how to right-size it all. Instead of pumping up their own programs, agendas, ideas, and plans, their goal is to keep getting smaller in order for Jesus to get bigger. Regarding themselves in relation to Jesus, they have the same goal John the Baptist had: “He must increase, I must decrease.”

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

A passionate communicator and innovative thinker, Louie Giglio lives in Atlanta with his wife, Shelley. He’s the founder of Choice Resources, the parent ministry for the successful Passion Conferences. Louie is the author of The Air I Breathe.

As a part of the Passion Network, Louie also heads sixstepsrecords, a worship label partner with Sparrow Records. Committed to cutting-edge, God-focused music, sixsteps is home to familiar Passion players David Crowder, Chris Tomlin, and Charlie Hall.

In addition to his responsibilities with Choice Resources and Passion, Louie speaks throughout the world for various events. Shelley plays an active leadership role in Choice Resources and its related ministries. They are active members of North Point Community Church.

From AudioFile

Louie Giglio speaks with the rousing, enthusiastic cadences of an experienced minister. He is inspired by great cathedrals and by the wonders of existence, and the grandeur of both are occasion for him to wax poetic about the majesty of God. His sincerity is unmistakable, and he evokes the emotional aspects of humanity's abjection before the Divine well. However, Giglio seems almost arrogant at times in his claims to know what God thinks about humanity, and some of his specific points state God's supremacy so intensely that listeners might think it doesn't matter what they do because they are so small in the eyes of God. G.T.B. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Multnomah Books (April 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590522753
• ISBN-13: 978-1590522752
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,518 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A passionate communicator and innovative thinker, Louie Giglio is the author of The Air I Breathe: Worship as a Way of Life. He is the founder of Passion Conferences, a collegiate movement calling people around the world to lives that make much of God. Louie and his wife, Shelley, live in Atlanta, Georgia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good reminder that life is all about God, December 30, 2005

By 

OneThing - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Am Not But I Know I Am: Welcome to the Story of God (Hardcover)

Louie is an excellent communicator, and this book was no exception. It's easy to read and makes its point clearly. He also draws on Scripture without making the reader be too weighed down by Scripture references and theology.

The message Louie brings in this book is one that most churches (at least the ones I've been to) gloss over. Here's a basic summary of what he's trying to say:

- Everything in this universe is all about God (whose name is I AM, from the verb "to be").
- The story of God is an eternal story of everlasting significance.
- The story of you is a brief story like a wisp of vaper that disappears.
- So, if you want your life to count, you should join your story with His story.

It's a good book, and a fairly quick read; it'll only take a couple hours to finish. However, it's an excellent reminder that this universe is not about me; creation is all about God.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, But Very Short, July 2, 2005

By 

Ryan (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Am Not But I Know I Am: Welcome to the Story of God (Hardcover)

The writing is easy to follow and full of personal anecdotes. Overall, the book does a good job of showing that:

1) God is amazingly large. (There are a lot of numbers about the universe here.)
2) This is all really God's story, and that he chose for us to be in it.
3) Trying to make our names great leads to death.

I also really enjoyed the re-telling of John the Baptist's story in the context of those points.

However, the book is very short. I finished it in the same day that the UPS truck delivered it. The actual text of the book is about 140 pages, and it's 1.5-spaced. It almost seems like part of another book.

Also, don't expect to get too much "deep" theology. The book uses Biblical support for its points, but it doesn't feel like a book that really makes you stop and think.

In conclusion, the book is well-written and makes good points, but it feels like it only skims the surface of the material. It could certainly have been longer. That's why I gave it 4 stars.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learning to become small, the key to life., July 27, 2005

By 

Alonzo Key (Lubbock, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Am Not But I Know I Am: Welcome to the Story of God (Hardcover)

Louie Giglio invites you to embrace the bigness of God from cover to cover. I completely loved this book for the many simple truths that it provides, namely to live a life that makes much of Jesus. The message the book communicates was revolutionary to me and to my friends. It was an easy read and fun to read.