Plan B: What Do You Do When God Doesn't Show Up the Way You Thought He Would? [Paperback]

Pete Wilson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This new young voice in evangelical Christian circles, a pastor and church planter in Nashville, finds a distinctive way to weave Bible stories with his own and other life stories. People develop Plan B, Wilson argues, when life does not deliver what someone wants. It also entails a firm belief that God is there both in the failure of Plan A and in the redemption that comes in Plan B. Wilson draws on other Christian writers and thinkers as well as the Bible; the foundation for Plan B comes from such Bible texts as John 16:33, in which Jesus says, 'In this life you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.' Wilson cautions that taking only one part of this teaching—either the trouble part or the overcoming part—leads to bad theology. Good theology comes from holding these two together in tension, balancing disappointment and suffering with faith in a loving God. While the teaching is sound, the way he delivers it needs tweaking; Wilson's writing lacks the kind of humility that draws the reader in. (May)
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Product Description

Learn how God often does His best work in our most hopeless situations.

What do you do with a shattered dream? Or an unmet expectation? What do you do when your life isn't turning out the way you thought it would? What do you do when you have to turn to Plan B?

In Plan B pastor and author Pete Wilson uses real life stories of disappointments and hurts along with the biblical stories of men and women like David, Joseph, and Ruth to help readers come to grips with the truth that they will face situations that in themselves they are completely unable to handle but that in them God is simply trying to get them to surrender their plans so that they can receive His. He identifies our common responses to difficulties and offers hope, helping us to

• Understand what God might be up to
• See how surrender helps us to receive God's plan
• Embrace the community of believers
• Reconcile a God of love with a life of tragedy and suffering

Wilson points readers to the cross as not just the starting line but the centerpiece of our story with God and shares that it is there we turn in our Plan B and find the undeniable relationship between crisis and our hope followed by true spiritual transformation. "God wants to live inside the questions" says Wilson and then reminds us that "the cross is proof that He does not always change the circumstance but that He always has a purpose in every circumstance. He will never let go of us. He will hold us and His cross will be an anchor for us."

Praise for Plan B

"What do you do when you wake up with shattered dreams and unmet expectations? Pete Wilson's book, Plan B, offers honest encouragement and spiritual insights when life doesn't go as planned."

-Craig Groeschel, senior pastor, LifeChurch.tv, and author of The Christian Atheist

"If your life is going according to plan, if your pain level is low and your ease meter is high, you probably don't need this book. But for the rest of us, I am glad it's around."

-John Ortberg, pastor and author, Menlo Park Presbyterian Church

"Pete Wilson is a fresh voice for all today who wonder if they've missed God's best life and are relegated to gathering dust. He provides honest hope, a sound biblical base, and real answers. What also touched me as a reader was his warmth and authenticity. A great read for us all."

-Dr. John Townsend, author of Boundaries, psychologist, and business coach

"No matter what you're going through, Plan B will help you get through it. Plan B is a down-to-earth book written by a down-to-earth pastor. Authentic hope is only a book away!"

-Mark Batterson, senior pastor, National Community Church, and author of Primal

"Pete Wilson is a young, dynamic leader with a growing church and a heart to see people reach out and find Christ in the midst of any and every circumstance. His sincerity and desire to disarm some of life's difficult twists and turns with godly perspective will help anyone struggling with life's realities and Plan B."

-Brian Houston, senior pastor, Hillsong Church

"Hope is packaged and sold in many different ways in our society, often wrapped with false promises and an unrealistic view of life. This is why Plan B is such an important book. Pete deals openly and honestly with the disappointments we experience, pointing us to a hope that endures, sustains, and overcomes.

We all know people who have walked away from God because of Plan B experiences, not realizing that these are the moments God uses the most. Pete shows us that we don't have to deny the reality of what we face. We simply need to embrace the reality of a God who loves us and who is greater than our greatest disappointments. After all, His Plan B for our lives is the best plan of them all."

-Jeff Henderson, pastor, Buckhead Church

"Pete Wilson is a tremendous communicator whose warmth and care for people are evident on every page of this fantastic book. Plan B is a powerful resource for the detours of our lives. I wish this book would have been available years ago when some of my Plan As crashed, but I'm so thankful for the wisdom of its pages for my Plan Bs today."

-Jud Wilhite, senior pastor, Central Christian Church, and author of Eyes Wide Open

"While reading Plan B, I cheered, wept, and rediscovered parts of my faith that I'd long given up on finding. Like a conversation with an old friend, Pete Wilson's reflections about God and life are engaging, sensitive, and moving. As far as I'm concerned, if you're working on plan A, Plan B is a good prerequisite."

-Matthew Paul Turner, author of Churched and Hear No Evil

"In a generation that faces ever increasing disappointment with life, this book masterfully reminds us that God is at work and turns everything around for good. As you read Plan B, you will sense the genuine love and concern from a pastor who cares. Well done, Pete."

-Chris Hodges, pastor, Church of the Highlands

"If Plan A for your life isn't working out too well, you're not alone. In this book, Pete Wilson helps you make sense of life's frustrations and disappointments. The stories in Plan B remind you once again that God, who began a good work in you, is faithful to complete it. Pete is a passionate voice for a new generation of Christians. He is a man who lives what he writes."

-Robert Emmitt, senior pastor, Community Bible Church

"Pete Wilson tells the truth. Following Jesus is hard . . . really hard. Plan B is not another book filled with pat answers to life's most painful questions; it is a bold yet gracious exploration of how the love of God sustains when the broken dreams and shattered expectations of life threaten to overwhelm us."

-Ian Morgan Cron, speaker and author of Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim's Tale

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (May 4, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0849946506
• ISBN-13: 978-0849946509
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (288 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #9,666 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When Life Reverts to Plan B, May 3, 2010

By	Chad Estes (Boise, Idaho, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Plan B: What Do You Do When God Doesn't Show Up the Way You Thought He Would? (Paperback)

There are a few key cities in American Christendom. Tulsa is the Mecca of the Gotta Have Faith movement. Colorado Springs is the center of all things evangelical. Nashville (or as some people refer to it as Nashvegas) is the city where Entertainment and Christianity have blended together into its own special synchristic religion.

When I review a book written by one of the pastors in these cities, I usually have an idea of the book's bent. As I picked up this book by Pete Wilson, pastor of the Cross Point Church in Nashville, I assumed it would have the "Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me" flair. I mean the guy already looks like Keith Urban, why not use his lyrics too? Pete has a successful church with multiple campuses, a pretty blonde wife, three young boys, a popular blog, and now he's even published a book with a green cover that we can add to the list of everything we envy about him.

There are shelves of books on the Christian market that talk about the Good Life. There is a lot of preaching from our pulpits about the promises that will be ours if we pop our coins in their Christian slot machines. Problem is it's a losing gamble. More often than not, there is no payoff and we are left as broke and broken people.

Pete could have written about the good life. He didn't. Instead he wrote about the life that most of us live--when God hasn't shown up for us the way we thought, and have been sold, that he would. We all have an idea of what our life should look like, our Plan A. When that doesn't materialize, what will happen when we turn to Plan B?

Pete could have filled his book with stories of people who have made it. He could have included illustrations of people who faced adversity but overcame it to be even more successful than they once were. Instead, Pete shares stories of people who were well on their way and then it all crashed down around them. Some of their situations never bettered themselves--even when they tried playing the country music backwards they found out the return of their life as they knew it was just a Nashville joke.

Pete could have shared the Bible Stories in his book in such a way that all God-followers become prophets, priests and kings. Instead he shows how those in the scripture who actually had those titles were not strangers to disappointments and failures themselves.

Here's a taste of what Pete shares:

"We spend a lot of time worried about what is happening to us. We focus a lot of attention on when things might happen. We ask a lot of questions about where we will end up. Often in life, the what, when and where are not going to turn out the way you want them to turn out. You don't always get to choose those things, but you do get to choose the why. You may not get to choose what your future is going to be, but at any given time you do get to choose why you're living the way you do."

Pete could have shared 10 steps toward victory, overcoming, or finding perfect will of God for their life. Instead, Plan B, discusses how to keep living, how to keep breathing, how to have hope when life simply hasn't turned out.

"When people ask me how they can know God's will for their lives, I tell them the best first step is to know God. Beyond that, I really don't have any steps."

Have I made this book sound like a downer? It isn't. It's very real and very encouraging. Reading these pages I didn't feel so alone.

If Your Best Life Now, hasn't arrived. Or if it did but its stay was way too short, consider reading Plan B--not for Pete's sake, but for yours.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Plan B is a masterful guide to getting through the difficult times in life., May 9, 2010

By	Jeremy Barr (Toledo, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Plan B: What Do You Do When God Doesn't Show Up the Way You Thought He Would? (Paperback)

After watching the news for the last few weeks, I think possibly more than ever, this book came out at exactly the right time. As I watch oil creep towards the beaches in the Gulf of Mexico, and as the flood waters recede from Nashville, I think many people are seeing their "Plan A" going down the drain and are wondering what to do, and I think this book really lives up to it's title when addressing our Plan B.
Pete has done a fantastic job with this book. I think most of us go through life expecting everything to go just as we planned it. To get that great job, find that perfect companion and get married, buy a great house and raise our 2.5 kids, and retire somewhere to gracefully live out our days watching our children and grandchildren. But realistically, that isn't always how it happens. You've yet to find that perfect mate, or maybe they walked out on you because they didn't want to be married anymore. That great job you had laid you off last year and you haven't been able to find steady work since. Maybe you've had kids, and one of them develops cancer, or they take a wrong turn and end up in jail. In an instant, all those things you've planned for go up in flames.

Pete doesn't pull any punches in his book, nor does he admit he has all the answers. I think that's one of the great things about the book. For everyone, our situations are a little different, and no one has all the answers, and Pete explains how to work through Plan B in our lives, but admits that he's walking the same path as the rest of us. I love the illustrations and stories that he uses throughout the book to illustrate different aspects of our lives and how we can learn to accept things when they don't work out the way we intended them.

I really enjoy the part where Pete talks about idols, and how Plan A in our lives for pretty much all of us turns into an idol.

Not many of us walk around saying, "I worship my stuff. I worship my job. I worship this pleasure. I worship her. I worship my body. I worship my dream.> But the trail never lies. In the end our worship, our idolatry, is more about what we do than what we say. And I think for those of us in the midst of a Plan B we'll discover that one of our idols all along has been a picture of the way life should be. Our idol was an expectation or a dream.

I have never thought about that before, and I think it's very true, at least in my life. Pete also talks about how God uses our Plan B in our lives. God will always take these situations in our lives where we have pain and struggle, and will never fail at the opportunity to show us how much he loves us. God never destroys our lives, but he does allow us to make our own decisions, even when those decisions take us farther away from God.

Pete also discusses our timing versus God's timing, especially in a Plan B situation. As Pete says, we often wonder where God is, why are things going so badly, and why do I continue to struggle through this pain for years and years. Too often, we want that pain to be over as quickly as possible, and we scream at God when it doesn't happen in our timing. Pete talks about the fact that God's timing is nothing like ours, and if there is a reason the pain is allowed to go on, maybe God is working in your life and his timing isn't ready for you to be out of this season in life. A tough thing to swallow, that's for sure, but very true.

I especially liked the illustration Pete used that explains why, when we're in a painful situation, we think God isn't there. In all reality, maybe we've pulled away from God, and he's been right here all along, just waiting on us to come back to him. He's never left us. This was something I've never really considered, and too many times I've asked God where he was, why wasn't he fixing this, why weren't my plans coming true. When in all reality, maybe I've been the one running from God and he's never left me, but instead, I've tried to leave him.

This book was absolutely fantastic, and I would highly recommend everyone pick this up. Even if you don't read it right now, or things are going according to your plan for life; sooner or later, you're going to run into a Plan B, and I think this book is an excellent instruction manual to help you deal with and makes it through those situations in your life. Pete has done a fantastic job with this book, and I'm really looking forward to reading the next book that he writes.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Working through the Plan B's of Life, April 21, 2010

By	Anthony B. York "Tony York" (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Plan B: What Do You Do When God Doesn't Show Up the Way You Thought He Would? (Paperback)

Any time I pick up a book that approaches a topic from a faith standpoint, especially from a new author, my hyper-analytical antenna raise. In a day where celebrity can become more important than the message it is important to test the messenger and the message.

Pete Wilson is the pastor of Cross Point church in Nashville, TN and the author of WithoutWax.tv blog. The book, Plan B, mirrors the message and the person that he presents in both the church and blog mediums.

Plan B is a book intended to help the reader deal with those moments in life where things have not turned out the way they had dreamed or hoped. Let's face it, most of us have either had one of those moments or will. Someone once said that life is what happens when we are planning for it. So how can we deal with those unexpected twists in our lives? While this book is presented from a faith standpoint and will speak very clearly to the Christian reader, it brings a lot of practical wisdom that the non-Christian reader will benefit from as well.

Pete's conversational style has a way of drawing the reader in to the inner circle of the stories he relays as examples for the lessons he has learned from his own life or from others. It is easy to laugh along and to grieve along with the persons inside that circle that Pete invites you to witness.

So what do you do when faced with that moment when the world seems to fall away from under your feet? Do you run? Do you stand paralyzed not knowing what to do? Do you struggle with who to turn to or understanding where help can come from?

I recommend you pick up Pete's book and take a journey through the process. You won't find all the answers and he is wise enough to tell you that himself in the book ... but you may find an anchor in the storm of your life that will help you weather your Plan B.