Gradually Then Suddenly: How to Dream Bigger, Decide Better, and Leave a Lasting Legacy

Pastor Batterson (Please, Sorry, Thanks) contends in this shopworn guide that readers of faith can change their lives and the world by thinking long-term. He advises believers to cultivate a “long vision” that looks beyond one’s own life and strives to better the world, and outlines a plan for doing so by auditing one’s regrets and learning from them, considering one’s deepest convictions, and aligning one’s goals with Jesus’s values. Readers should also practice “long obedience” by putting those goals into action in small, everyday ways. Together, long obedience and long vision shape a “long legacy” that trickles down into the lives of future generations, and which God works “behind the scenes” to help enact. Unfortunately, the author hammers home his thesis, reiterating in slightly varying ways that “our actions and reactions have second, third, and fourth generation impact,” but remains vague about practical details, giving this the feel of a well-meaning but flimsy sermon. Christian do-gooders won’t find much they don’t already know. (Nov.)