Small Footprint, Big Handprint: How to Live Simply and Love Extravagantly [Paperback]

Tri Robinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 26, 2008

What would you sacrifice to change the world? Your job? Your lifestyle? Your money?

We need a smaller footprint. The pursuit of the American dream has left most of us empty, stretched in nine different directions and self-absorbed. Aside from the occasional natural disaster, we've all but forgotten about the people around the world and down the street who need us and need us to live differently. We need to live more simply.

We want to make a bigger handprint. In a world crying out for help, we struggle to believe we can make a difference. But reformation starts with people who have one idea they believe can change their world and the power of God s love changes everything. We need to love more extravagantly.

The world is changing whether we like it or not. The question that begs to be answered is this: Will you sit by idly and watch it change for the worse or will you allow God to put you on the forefront of changing it for the better? Small Footprint, Big Handprint is your invitation to embark on a journey for the latter.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tri Robinson is the founding pastor of the Vineyard Boise Church in Boise, Idaho, a growing fellowship of over 3,000. He is the author of Saving God's Green Earth and Revolutionary Leadership. Tri and his wife, Nancy, life in Sweet, Idaho, and have two grown children, Kate and Brook.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Ampelon Publishing (February 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0978639480
• ISBN-13: 978-0978639488
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #996,812 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tri Robinson is the founding pastor of the Vineyard Boise Church in Boise, Idaho, and a self-proclaimed do-it-yourself rancher. With a strong teaching background that includes a Masters degree in administrative education, he is a sought-after conference speaker and passionate about transferring his working insights and experience on church leadership to a wide spectrum of churches. Tri and his wife, Nancy, live in Sweet, Idaho, and have two grown children, Kate and Brook.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Green Church, December 15, 2008

By 

Barbie Zell (Tustin, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Small Footprint, Big Handprint: How to Live Simply and Love Extravagantly (Paperback)

Tri Robinson pastors a Vineyard church in Idaho, which creatively provides a place for the community recycling and wildland renovation. How did this church come to embody the green movement in a religious culture seen from without as politically conservative? It started with a personal journey to live simply, consuming less. The result was a lifestyle with room enough to share, with time & resources to impact more. Love is the most extravagant gift one can give, a cluttered life can choke it's flow. Tri Robinson made personal life changes to recapture his spiritual roots, his faith community embodies these changes through revitalized community service.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leaving an Unforgettable Mark, April 7, 2008

By 

transformed dad (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Small Footprint, Big Handprint: How to Live Simply and Love Extravagantly (Paperback)

It's refreshing to read about a church leader who is taking seriously the situation of the world and doing something about it. Tri Robinson's refreshing call to action not invites readers to decrease so they can increase their reach and impact. In a world of consumers consumed with themselves, Robinson's book is a like a blast of cold water for a wakeup call, urging people to get their lives under control by living on less so they can spend more time doing things that count long after they're gone.

If you're looking for a book with both practical insights and engaging story telling about those who have embraced this radical Christian lifestyle, this book will leave an unforgettable mark on you.

4 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars But How Can I Make a Difference?, April 24, 2008

By 

Schuyler Peterson "Schuyler Peterson" (Charleston, SC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Small Footprint, Big Handprint: How to Live Simply and Love Extravagantly (Paperback)

Tri Robinson felt that his life has gotten too chaotic and complex. He was overcommitted. He was stretched in too many directions. He wanted his life to count - to leave a big handprint on the world. He was the pastor of a rapidly growing church and served as regional director of a hundred churches in nine states. He was traveling the world, teaching seminars and conferences. He owned a country home and ranch, a mountain cabin, and two rental houses.

To be more faithful to God's call, he simplified. He reoriented his life to be an adventure. He hiked through the backcountry of Burma on missions expeditions. He preached to the Karen people of Thailand. He smuggled Bibles into China. He went through the Amazon River basin on a riverboat planting churches. He served Christ in "practical" ways, and he urges us to do the same. He also practices disciplines like spending the first hour of every day in complete silence, raising chickens for eggs, and planting orchards.

As a middle class pastor in the Bible belt, I simply could not connect with Robinson's story. I struggle to make ends meet. I'm raising two small children and am just trying to get a good night's sleep. Neither I - nor anyone else I know - is burdened with the author's affliction of ridiculous prosperity! Those in my sphere of influence are living hand to mouth. I am glad that Mr. Robinson was able to turn his life into an adventure of faith, and I appreciate his encouragement to make my life matter. But I could not think of one person to whom I could recommend this book.