People are leaving the church J.D. Greear pastors. Big givers. Key volunteers. Some of his best leaders and friends. And that’s exactly how he wants it to be. When Jesus gave his disciples the Great Commission, he revealed that the key for reaching the world with the gospel is found in sending, not gathering. Though many churches focus time and energy on attracting people and counting numbers, the real mission of the church isn’t how many people you can gather. It’s about training up disciples and then sending them out. The true measure of success for a church should be its sending capacity, not its seating capacity. But there is a cost to this. To see ministry multiply, we must release the seeds God has placed in our hands. And to do that, we must ask ourselves whether we are concerned more with building our kingdom or God’s. In Gaining By Losing, J.D. Greear unpacks ten plumb lines that you can use to reorient your church’s priorities around God’s mission to reach a lost world. The good news is that you don’t need to choose between gathering or sending. Effective churches can, and must, do both.

In Matthew 16:24-26 (KJV) says "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Our life is more fulfilled and meaningful when we surrender our will to God. Life definitely will hand you surprises, unexpected losses or disappointments but follow Jesus. Allow God to take control, to lead and guide you in everything concerning your life. Only God can take less and do more; take nothing and make something out of it. And God receives the glory. What we consider to be a loss will be a great gain when we are in a relationship with Jesus Christ. It is all about accepting his love, walking in it, living a life that displays it. In a relationship with him, we learn true humility; we develop a prayer life and learn what should have destroyed us only made us stronger. You are uniquely gifted and have an assignment to fulfill in the body of Christ. As stated by the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:1(KJV) "...that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service," and then you will be on a journey destined for greatness.

Evelyn Christenson's book "Gaining Through Losing" can help you understand how God can turn your most traumatic setbacks into gains. Discover how such setbacks as death, separation, divorce, sickness, suffering, and financial loss can be used by God to make you spiritually richer. This book has touched countless readers with the comfort, encouragement, and hope that only the truth of God's word can bring. It is 12 chapters making it perfect for a bible study or Sunday school class.

“If there were a Guinness Book of World Records entry for ‘amount of times having prayed the sinner’s prayer,’ I’m pretty sure I’d be a top contender,” says pastor and author J. D. Greear. He struggled for many years to gain an assurance of salvation and eventually learned he was not alone. “Lack of assurance” is epidemic among evangelical Christians. In Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart, J. D. shows that faulty ways of present- ing the gospel are a leading source of the confusion. Our presentations may not be heretical, but they are sometimes misleading. The idea of “asking Jesus into your heart” or “giving your life to Jesus” often gives false assurance to those who are not saved—and keeps those who genuinely are saved from fully embracing that reality. Greear unpacks the doctrine of assurance, showing that salvation is a posture we take to the promise of God in Christ, a posture that begins at a certain point and is maintained for the rest of our lives. He also answers the tough questions about assurance: What exactly is faith? What is repentance? Why are there so many warnings that seem to imply we can lose our salvation? Such issues are handled with respect to the theological rigors they require, but Greear never loses his pastoral sensitivity or a communication technique that makes this message teachable to a wide audience from teens to adults.

What benefit could possibly be derived from a book titled, Losing to Gain? The answer to this question will depend upon the reader. Losing to Gain is for the person who desires to live life and see many good days. In our pursuit of life we sometimes experience difficulties, some which can produce effects that make all forward motion come to a complete stop. If you have ever encountered a hard situation, uncertainty, affliction or loss of some kind, then you need to know that hope can be found and that a good life is still attainable. Losing to Gain is a book about overcoming defeat, gaining strength, experiencing victory and stability after difficult and sometimes devastating events. In the book Losing to Gain, the author shares some of her own personal experiences and how she discovered the secret of living a meaningful and satisfying life in the midst of difficult situations.

A choice lies before you: Either waste your life or live with risk. Either sit on the sidelines or get in the game. After all, life was no cakewalk for Jesus, and he didn't promise it would be any easier for his followers. We shouldn't be surprised by resistance and persecution. Yet most of us play it safe. We pursue comfort. We spend ourselves to get more stuff. And we prefer to be entertained. We are all tempted by the idea of security, the possibility of a cozy Christianity with no hell at the end. But what kind of life is that really? It's a far cry from adventurous and abundant, from truly rich and really full, and it's certainly not the heights and the depths Jesus calls us to. Discover in these pages a foundation for fearlessness. Hear God's promise to go with you into the unknown. And let Risk Is Right help you see the joys of a faith-filled and seriously rewarding life of Jesus-dependent abandon! Risk Is Right is a significantly expanded version of a chapter previously published in the book Don't Waste Your Life (chapter 5).

In Matthew 16:2426 (KJV) says Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Our life is more fulfilled and meaningful when we surrender our will to God. Life definitely will hand you surprises, unexpected losses or disappointments but follow Jesus. Allow God to take control, to lead and guide you in everything concerning your life. Only God can take less and do more; take nothing and make something out of it. And God receives the glory. What we consider to be a loss will be a great gain when we are in a relationship with Jesus Christ. It is all about accepting his love, walking in it, living a life that displays it. In a relationship with him, we learn true humility; we develop a prayer life and learn what should have destroyed us only made us stronger. You are uniquely gifted and have an assignment to fulfill in the body of Christ. As stated by the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:1(KJV) that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service, and then you will be on a journey destined for greatness.

God has a plan to make your life count for eternity. Stop wasting it. You want your life to matter. To mean something. But if you’re like most people, you probably don’t have a compelling answer to the question, “What are you going to do with your life?” In this book, J.D. Greear considers Jesus’ radical call to give your life away to the greatest cause of all. To view your life from the perspective of eternity. To start making decisions now that you’ll be glad you made then. It’s time to put your “yes” on the table and let God put it on the map.

In Gain to Lose, Dr Sheela Nambiar, a practising obstetrician, gynaecologist and a fitness and lifestyle consultant, explains how losing 'weight' does not necessarily mean that one is losing fat and being 'slim' is not necessarily the same as being 'fit'. Instead, building muscle is the key, not only to losing fat and keeping it off, but for better functionality, a youthful body and greater strength. Quick-fix diets and fads are not the answer; it is important to maintain a disciplined lifestyle.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1874.