21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Time to make a difference, January 3, 2002
Heard any of these lately:
"It's too late."
"I don't have time."
"It's her fault."
"I don't think it's worth it."
"I own it."
"I can't help myself."
Excuses, excuses, that somewhere along the way, we have used them. It is time that as men we stop making excuses and remove them from our vocabulary. It seems that when we are confronted with something we don't like or someone points out the real truth about us our response is an excuse, we don't accept the blame because we are men. But in reality because we are men we should accept the responsibility of our past, present and future actions.
Author Tony Evans says all the excuses in the world don't change the fact that God has given men certain responsibilities in the home, church, and community, and the only way they can fulfill them is to stop rationalizing and turn to God for what they need.
Nearly every excuse a man can utter about something he addresses each of them throughout the 18 chapters. Evans pretty much hits them all on the head with chapters on feeling worthless, allowing for immorality, clock-punching, playing the lone ranger, business as usual, etc.
In addition to being inclusive on the subject, Evans keeps the tone and vocabulary that have made him a popular speaker for Promise Keeper events and on a daily radio program broadcast worldwide from Dallas where he serves as senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship. He also speaks regularly at crusades, conventions, and Bible conferences around the globe. He doesn't care what race or nationality a man may be, what he cares about are the issues that affect every man.
In the middle of the book, he speaks of the life-changing purpose God had in mind when He commanded fathers to instruct their children. Evans believes in discipline for children ("Whom the Lord loveth, he skins alive" is the Evans rendering of Hebrews 12:6), and he recalls his own father's rigorous discipline. He credits his love for Jesus Christ today to being accountable as a youth to his father at home. He's not hanging out on the corner in Baltimore where he grew up.
Evans' knowledge of the Bible and his ability to relate points to Scripture in colorful language explain his great appeal as a speaker. He draws from the lives of Moses, Jonah, Nehemiah, Peter, David, and a host of other biblical men to make his points. Unlike a lot of preachers who expound on specific sins and then give a general altar call at the end, Evans gives just as much attention to helping men let God empower them so they can move forward and accomplish more than they ever imagined. He makes clear that he has a big vision because he believes in a "big God."
And after sharing this vision, he helps men develop one for their own lives. He urges all men to develop a Vision Statement for their home and family with five specific areas of responsibility: Spiritual, Recreational, Financial, Educational and Community. Not a bombastic know-it-all, Evans uses a lot of illustrations about himself and his family that make clear he practices what he preaches.
This book No More Excuses will apply to the men who attend this retreat. While this retreat is a time for men to gather together it is also a time for us to stop making excuses and get on with the mission God has instilled in us all.
Portions of the review are from Jack Watkins who reviews books from his home in Baltimore, MD.
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