Charles Stanley was recently voted one of the most influential pastors of our day. Through In Touch Ministries, his sermons reach an audience of several thousand people each week. However, Dr. Stanley’s latest book, How to Reach Your Full Potential for God, is a mixed bag.

I tend to be very suspicious when it comes to self-help books. Even when they are written by Christian authors, they tend to be extremely self-centered and shallow. In my experience, self-help books have the power to be inspirational but not life-changing. That said, Dr. Stanley is actually able to communicate some good advice to the reader. By writing in plain language and citing many biblical principles, this book manages to make itself a worthwhile read.

At the beginning of the first chapter, the author explains that a dream inspired him to write this book. In the middle of the night, he turned on his bedside lamp and wrote the outline in an matter of minutes. This explains why the book seems so scatterbrained. In one section, Dr. Stanley exhorts the reader to cultivate Godly relationships. In another, he talks about the benefits of keeping your hands off of your face! While this advice isn’t bad, it seems like the author was trying to accomplish too many things at once with this book.

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