Plan B by Pete Wilson addresses the question in its subtitle, “What do you do when God doesn’t show up the way you thought he would?” Pete Wilson is pastor of Cross Point Church, a large Christian Church in Nashville, TN. If you’ve ever had a “Plan A” come crashing down – perhaps a loved one died, you dealt with a series illness, your spouse left you, you got fired – perhaps you’ve wondered, “How could God let this happen?” Pete Wilson addresses this question from a biblical and personal perspective.
To be completely up front with you, I’ve only read 75% of the book at this time. The publisher’s (Thomas Nelson’s) deal was in exchange for a free copy of the book, a review had to be published today. Knee surgery and 2 weeks of Percocet and physical therapy have forced me to go to plan b with Plan B. So, unfortunately, I’m not able to do as thorough a review as I would like.
From what I’ve read of Plan B, I think it’s a great book for several reasons…
- The question about God most asked by people who are not Christians is “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? and this book addresses that.
- The book is not only spiritual but also immensely practical. Every single one of us has faced disappointment in our lives. Every one of us has been forced to move to plan b in at least one area of our lives. This book can help bring insight and perspective to those circumstances.
- A lot of Christians have the misconception that if they follow Jesus, God will make all their dreams come true. This simply is not true. When plans fall apart, this can cause a crisis of faith and a lot of unbiblical explanations from “God must be mad at me” to “God doesn’t exist.”
For those reasons, I not only think Plan B is a good book to read individually, but I think it would make a great small group study. When I’m done reading it I may even suggest to the senior pastor and programming director at my own church that we do a sermon series based on this book. The issues addressed are just that important and relevant to people’s lives.
Discussion
When in your own life have you had a “Plan A” come crashing down and been forced to move to “Plan B?”
How did you initially react? Did you blame God? Question His existence? Wonder if He had abandoned you?
If some time has passed since then, has your perspective on the crisis changed at all? If so, how?
Edit 5/3 7:45 AM: Plan B for Nashville
Pete Wilson lives in Nashville. His publisher, Thomas Nelson, is also based in Nashville. Oddly enough, on the day the book is released, many in their hometown have been forced to Plan B due to flooding. Pete’s church, Cross Point, is stepping up to help them.
Hey Paul,
Great recommendation re: Pete’s book. We may just use it in our small group as a follow-up to our series on God’s will we’ve had at LifePoint Church (Reisterstown, MD) this past four weeks. Don’t you just love the ministry Pete has!?!
Hope you have a GREAT day.
Blessings,
Dave
PS: enjoy reading your tweets!
Dave, that would be cool. There are discussion questions in the back of the book for each chapter. If you do, I hope you’ll post another comment and let us know how it went.
BTW, I lived in Ellicott City, MD and then Columbia for several years. Really enjoyed my time in Maryland.
A year and a half ago, I lost my job – a job for which I had left everything and moved to a new state. It was definitely not what I wanted, but God prepared me in the weeks leading up to it by having little stupid things go wrong so I got all of my temper tantrums out of the way by the time the big thing came along. I can’t even get into all of the ways my perspectives have changed since then, but I will say this: I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. I have learned and grown so much and I know none of that would have been possible if I was still working where I was. I have learned to trust completely in God’s provision, His timing, and the fact that before I even come to Him with my problem, He’s already got a solution worked out. I just need to wait until He knows I’m ready to accept His plan and run with it.
Wow! What an awesome Plan B story Amy! Thanks for sharing it with us here. That you’ve learned to trust in completely in God’s provision is so much better than had your Plan A worked out. As another Paul once wrote that is the secret to being content in all circumstances.
I think my Plan B was at least partly caused by my attitudes and behaviors while I was enjoying my Plan A. Another valuable lesson learned 🙂
Sounds like a great book to read after Donald Miller’s One Million Miles in 1000 years.
Maybe I will get a copy soon 🙂
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Great review, man. I also really appreciated how the book takes on the age-old question of “why do bad things happen to good people”, but in a far-less authoritative and definitive manner. There’s something about the open-ended approach to faith that Pete presents that was good for my heart, because in both life and faith, there are always be more questions that answers.
Also really dig your blog, man. Subscribing. 🙂
ummm… it is very early in the morning, but the last line was supposed to be “there will always be more questions than answers.” haha. 🙂