The Relationship Principles of Jesus [Hardcover]

Tom Holladay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 2008

What would you give to radically improve, even transform, what matters most in your relationships? How about forty days of your time? In forty days, bring new depth and health to your marriage, your family, and your friendships. Six weeks to explore and implement six foundational principles that Jesus taught and lived. You'll be equipped with insights and a practical path for fulfilling God's intention for all your relationships---even the difficult ones. Shaped after Rick Warren's monumental bestseller, The Purpose Driven Life, this book invites you to learn from the Master of relationships. The Relationship Principles of Jesus will profoundly shape how you view relationships.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Tom has written a truly useful and biblically sound guide to relational greatness. -- John Ortberg, Author, If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat <br><br>

About the Author

Tom and Chaundel Holladay have three children and two grandchildren and have served together at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, for over twenty years. Tom, in addition to his pastoral leadership and weekend teaching ministries, is a part of Saddleback's ministry of training church leaders around the world and produces a weekly podcast through the Bible at drivetimedevotions.com He is author of The Relationship Principles of Jesus and, with Kay Warren, Foundations: 11 Core Truths to Build Your Life On. andnbsp; SPANISH BIO: Tom Holladay es pastor de ensenanza en la iglesia Saddleback en California. Tom y su esposa Chaundel tienen 3 hijos. En adicion asu autoridad pastoral y ensenanza los fines de semana en Saddleback. Tom ayuda a Rick Warren en la ensenanza de Vida con Proposito, conferencias de Iglesias a lideres cristianos al rededor del mundo. El ha desarrollado y publicado fundasiones mas adelante con Kay Warren para ensenar los 11 corazones confidensiales que nosotros construimos en nuestras vidas.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (September 16, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310283671
• ISBN-13: 978-0310283676
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,189 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #72 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Jesus

More About the Author

Tom Holladay is a teaching pastor at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. In addition to his pastoral leadership and weekend teaching ministries, he assists Rick Warren in teaching Purpose Driven Church conferences all over the world. With Kay Warren, he is the coauthor of Foundations: 11 Core Truths to Build Your Life On. Tom and his wife Chaundel, have three children. Tom Holladay es pastor de ensenanza en la iglesia Saddleback en California. Tom y su esposa Chaundel tienen 3 hijos. En adicion asu autoridad pastoral y ensenanza los fines de semana en Saddleback. Tom ayuda a Rick Warren en la ensenanza de Vida con Proposito, conferencias de Iglesias a lideres cristianos al rededor del mundo. El ha desarrollado y publicado fundasiones mas adelante con Kay Warren para ensenar los 11 corazones confidensiales que nosotros construimos en nuestras vidas. Kay Warren is a speaker, Bible teacher, and advocate for women and children affected by HIV/AIDS. Married to Rick Warren, together they founded Saddleback Church, the Purpose Driven Network, and the Global P.E.A.C.E. Coalition. She is the author of Dangerous Surrender. Kay Warren es maestra de la Biblia y una activista a favor de las mujeres y los ninos afectados con el virus del HIV/SIDA. Ella y su esposo Rick iniciaron la obra de la iglesia Saddleback en su casa, en 1980, con siete personas.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If your own relationships are suffering, this 40-day journey may be just the prescription you need to follow, March 4, 2009

By 

FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Relationship Principles of Jesus (Hardcover)

Tom Holladay, a teaching pastor at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, has learned well from his senior pastor, bestselling author Rick Warren. In a sense, THE RELATIONSHIP PRINCIPLES OF JESUS picks up where Warren's THE PURPOSE-DRIVEN LIFE left off. Warren himself asserts this in the foreword; where his book focused on personal renewal, he writes, Holladay's focuses on the next logical step: relational renewal.

Nothing is more important than relationships, Holladay states in the opening chapter, and no one was more of an expert on relationships than Jesus was. Drawing on Jesus' practices and teachings, the author structures his presentation of relationship principles much like THE PURPOSE-DRIVEN LIFE, with 40 chapters to be read daily over 40 days and encourages readers to follow that daily reading plan rather than read ahead. Good luck with that.

The daily chapters support one of six relationship principles that also give structure to the book: placing the highest value on relationships, loving as Jesus loves, communicating from the heart, judging as you will be judged, recognizing servants as "the greatest" and treating others as you want to be treated.

The chapters are intended to be read slowly and thoughtfully. A sidebar within each chapter provides a relevant meditation based on a portion of Scripture; a section at the end of each chapter highlights a "point to ponder," a related Bible verse, a question to consider and the title of the following day's chapter. Readers will likely find it difficult to stick to a chapter a day, either because they're eager to discover what's next --- or because they're hoping to discover something new. Much of the material is basic and very familiar to long-time Bible readers.

Even so, Holladay makes important points that are too often missed or forgotten. One of the best examples is found in a chapter on communication (you have to wait until Day 21 for that chapter if you've chosen not to read ahead). There Holladay shows how Jesus responded to criticism (he answered clearly and confidently); doubt (he offered proof); ridicule (he said nothing); entrapment (he offered truth); and rejection (he moved on). Many a strained relationship could be healed or improved by following Jesus' example, as presented by the author.

Holladay writes in a casual, conversational style, using anecdotes from his own life (as well as confessions that reveal his vulnerability and transparency) and stories from the lives of others to illustrate his points. "As I looked to learn about relationships from the example of Jesus," Holladay writes in the introduction, "I felt a little like a middle school algebra student thrown into a university trigonometry class. I was in over my head. Sometimes I had to admit that I didn't even understand the questions, let alone the answers." That's a refreshing admission from a pastor at what has become one of the best-known churches in America, if not the world.

If your own relationships --- whether they be with God, other people or yourself --- are suffering, this 40-day journey may be just the prescription you need to follow. THE RELATIONSHIP PRINCIPLES OF JESUS would also make a great Christmas gift, especially if the recipient is a fan of THE PURPOSE-DRIVEN LIFE.

--- Reviewed by Marcia Ford

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book for a Whole Congregation, March 30, 2009

By 

romevi (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Relationship Principles of Jesus (Hardcover)

This is a great book to have the whole congregation read together. As my pastor had us do, it was excellent to be reading and having our relationship priorities challenged by Holladay for the whole of our Church. We were able to grow and encourage each other with ideas and thoughts from the book, and share stories of how we grew in our relationship principles.

It is, in some ways, similar to The Purpose Driven Life, in that we read one chapter per day and are challenged to live out some of the presented ideas. But, as the title of the book suggests, we are to grow in our relationships with one another by following the words of the Christ himself. Holladay propounds many of Jesus' teachings, and places them in a format that we can follow day by day.

Great for a solo read, and (in my opinion) better to read as a group.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 40 days of love, October 16, 2008

By 

Diane E. Kley "PM in Fla" (Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Relationship Principles of Jesus (Hardcover)

This book is AWESOME. It follows the format of 40 days of Purpose (Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren). It coaches you through developing more loving relationships that follow the principles of Jesus Christ.

Our church is doing a group study on this and the message and outcomes are very powerful.