Living on Purpose: Finding God's Best for Your Life [Paperback]

Tom Sine (Author), Christine Sine (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0801063884 | ISBN-13: 978-0801063886 | Publication Date: January 1, 2002

In this era of "life makeovers," personal coaches, and success-oriented mission statements, many people are working hard to get it together. They're looking for a good life, which at its core includes wanting their time to count for something, to be meaningful and mindful. But as Christine and Tom Sine point out, "more and more people are missing the best and settling for less."
Living on Purpose presents a true life-changing strategy--one rooted in God's greater purposes for our lives, not merely our own desires for success. The book has a laser-focus on God's mission and vocation for each of his children, and it shows how staying on his course will lead to the very richest and most fulfilling life. Questions for reflection and discussion make Living on Purpose ideal for group use.
The Sines help readers make the connection between their everyday pursuits and goals and God's will for their lives. They show how to draft a personal or family mission statement to reinvent "timestyle" and lifestyle, using relevant examples from the Bible and other writings. Packed with inspiring stories and practical how-to, Living on Purpose leads readers to a more relaxed, festive, and meaningful life that truly counts--for today and eternity.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Christine Sine, a former medical missionary, and Tom Sine (Mustard Seed vs. McWorld) here challenge overachievers afflicted with "hurry sickness" to discover "God's best" for their lives. The Sines' premise is that the values of contemporary American culture, which they represent allegorically as those of "Boom City," are counter to the values of "the City of Shalom." For example, they state that the purposes of Boom City "elevate the individual pursuit of happiness as the cardinal goal of life," while "the good life of God is found through losing our lives in service to God and others." In order for people to remove themselves from the hustle of Boom City, the Sines provide a roadmap constructed of "off-ramp" reflective exercises structured by biblical principles and interwoven with anecdotes. The ultimate goal of the book is to provide readers with steps for developing a life-changing personal or family mission statement, which can then be fine-tuned as individuals reflect on how they are meeting their spiritual, physical and financial goals. The Sines differentiate their book from others that encourage mission statements, such as Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, by stressing that it is grounded in Scripture and the question "What kind of people does God want us to be?" The steps and exercises that the Sines provide are practical and their principles compelling, but one wonders how their intended audience will ever get off the highway long enough to listen.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From the Back Cover

"A practical step-by-step process to create a more focused, less stressed way of life with a difference."
Les Parrott, Ph.D., Center for Relationship Development, Seattle Pacific University


Are you looking for a way of life that is less stressful and more satisfying--a way of life that counts for something? Then begin Living on Purpose and discover God's best for your life.

Christine and Tom Sine map out, step-by-step, how you can find and follow God's direction. With this book, you will learn to:

• Make a connection between your Sunday faith and your everyday life seven days a week
• Draft a personal mission statement that will enable you to put first things first
• Reinvent your "timestyle" and lifestyle for a more festive and less driven way of life
• See how God can use your life to make a difference in the world

Packed with inspiring true stories and practical, creative direction, Living on Purpose will enable you to find a more meaningful and celebrative way of life that truly counts--for today and eternity.


"A must-read for those searching to live life to the max!"
Tim Costello, president, Baptist Union of Australia

"Finally, a practical guide for whole-life stewardship. This book is a compass to navigate one's spiritual gifting and calling in life."
Scott Preissler, president and CEO, Christian Stewardship Association

"Christine and Tom Sine reflect on Scripture and ask practical questions about how you spend your energy and what influences your choices. If you want to be a part of God turning the world upside down, this book will help you."
Paula Harris, acting director of Urbana, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Baker Books (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801063884
• ISBN-13: 978-0801063886
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,351,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Read, but read with caution., May 1, 2002

By 

2G Software Inc. (Winnipeg, MB Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Living on Purpose: Finding God's Best for Your Life (Paperback)

Living on Purpose: Finding God's Best for Your Life
Christine and Tom Sine
Baker Books 2002, 206pp.

Futurist Tom Sine is a master of metaphor. At the end of the 1990's, Sine released Mustard Seed vs. McWorld, drawing attention to the incompatibilities between kingdom perspectives and contemporary Western values. The mustard-seed kingdom of God begins unnoticed - its progress is often imperceptible - but it transforms the world with its quiet, steady influence on the soul of humankind. McWorld, the unabashed Western pursuit of the biggest and the best, generates tremendous sound and light, but is devoid of enduring substance. Tom and Christine (Tom's wife) Sine revisit this analysis of contemporary society in their latest book, Living on Purpose. Once again, metaphor is integral to the approach.

Boom City, the under-girding metaphor of Living on Purpose, is McWorld on a global scale. Conceived in the Enlightenment, nurtured in the Industrial Revolution, and now super-charged by the cyber-revolution, Boom City is a one-world economic order connected by satellite dishes, fax machines, and the internet. Its purpose is profit. Its price is personal serenity and negligence of the eternal kingdom.

The Sine's suggest that if we are serious about finding God's best for our lives, it doesn't begin with the question, "What do I want and what turns me on?" but "What does God want and how does God want to use me to make a difference in this world?" We discover the answers to those latter questions when we listen for God's voice in retreat from busyness, in stillness, in reflection on the past, in the spiritual disciplines, in the needs of others, and in dreams and imagination (to name a few). Listening to God's voice enables us to discover our mission and set goals that are harmonious with our true nature as citizens of God's kingdom.

Living on Purpose makes a great point, but suffers from a somewhat disjointed construction. It's not readily apparent how the separate chapters form a cohesive whole. More importantly, the book needs to give more attention to the mechanics of writing a mission statement and setting goals. As it is, Living on Purpose is largely anecdotal, which goes a long way to helping the reader understand what the destination can look like, but does little to help the reader actually get there. There are some great stories in this book - from individual business people and students who have discovered a kingdom-centered life to kingdom-focused communities and churches such as Mars Hill Fellowship, Burnt Street House, Solomon's Porch, and Temescal. Plus, the Sine's have included "off-ramps" or specific, practical ideas on how to live a kingdom-centered life. The anecdotes and ideas are inspiring. However, readers of Living on Purpose will need to refer to Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People or First Things First, or Hyrum Smith's What Matters Most, to get more practical help on writing a mission statement or setting goals. On its own, the book is liable to send the reader in a multitude of directions, trying ideas and copying examples without really doing the hard groundwork needed to form a personal mission statement and set of corresponding goals before launching into action. Read this book, but read with caution.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Self-help? Yes and no., December 18, 2003

By 

R. D. Hudgens (Evanston, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Living on Purpose: Finding God's Best for Your Life (Paperback)

If the modern world is an expressway leading noplace (i.e. utopia), where can we find an offramp leading in a different direction, i.e. someplace? You are way too busy, too much in debt, too little related to your family and friends. You consider yourself a Christian, but what that means is that you may go to church on Sunday (if you have the time and the energy). You suspect that if you really believed that Jesus knew what he was talking about your life might look a lot different than it does. Is there a way out of the rat race to something more lasting and meaningful?

You might consider Sine's little book another in the genre of self-help tomes focused on developing a personal mission statement and enhancing both your own individualism and your consumerist, careerist ambitions. In reality the authors are wanting to subvert all of that. Sine's countercultural goals here are community, mission, and a vital, life-changing relationship with God. If you are looking for that off-ramp then begin here.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Discovering a new call of God on your life, March 2, 2008

By 

Dion "Dion" (Papakura, NEW ZEALAND) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Living on Purpose: Finding God's Best for Your Life (Paperback)

I attended a seminar lead by Tom and Christine Sine the authors of this book. They had a gentle way of helping you discover what God was wanting to do in our life, and what your vision was for your future life, and the future shape of your faith community. They helped you with integrity listen to God.

At the same time many friends were reading "The purpose driven life" by Rick Warren. That book did not connect with me as its language was not gender inclusive and it seemed more of a prescription: in the sense of do this: and this will happen.

I prefer the way presented in Tom and Christine's book which is more of an exploration, it allows lost of _room for the Holy Spirit to speak_ to you in new and different ways. This is a way I have discovered that God speaks to me. Prescriptions don't work for me.

If you want to discover a new life, and explore a new call of God on your life, then this book is highly valuable in _starting_ to explore this.