Table of Contents
Foreword Vicki Hitzges xiii
Preface xix
Life Lessons
1 "Decide now what you want people to carve on your tombstone, and then live your life backwards from there." 1
2 "In the multitude of counselors there is much wisdom, but there can also be much confusion." 3
3 "Your children will bring you the highest of highs and the lowest of lows." 5
4 "Life is often a choice not between the good and the bad but the good and the good." 6
5 "I'll tell you one thing: That book is alive." 8
6 "Aging is not for sissies." 11
7 "Never make decisions in the midst of a mood." 13
8 "Make it a point to speak a word of praise to someone once each day." 15
9 "Time is your enemy. You must work to make it your friend." 17
10 "There are two kinds of people: Those who pass through experiences and experienced people." 19
11 "Temperament is not holy. Don't be afraid to make impulsive decisions when you need to." 21
12 "This Parkinson's is rough. But the people here are great and the food is good." 23
Work Counsel
13 "I want to be on your team, not on your back." 25
14 "If something is worth doing, it is worth doing poorly. However, pity the person who does not know when he has to do it well 27
15 "I have learned to put everything that happens in my life in a minor or major column. What has surprised me is how few major items there are." 30
16 "There are times I have had too much to do and times I have had too little to do. Too much is definitely better." 32
17 "Remember: When I recommend you, I am putting my reputation on the line" 34
Spiritual Advice
18 "When you go through hard times, God does not promise answers. He promises himself". 37
19 "Every day you have a decision to make: You can either respond the way you had to in your old nature, or the way you've been freed up to in your new nature." 40
20 "Sometimes people feel like they have to give God an out." 43
21 "We remember what God forgets, and we forget what God remembers." 45
22 "If a man fails to walk with God, he walks on the edge of an abyss." 47
23 "If you say, 'I would never fall into immorality; that is not my problem,' you will probably be the first to fall." 49
24 "No human mind has the ability to fathom what heaven is going to be like." 51
Public Speaking and Preaching
25 "Learning how to speak is like learning how to think. If you think clearly, you will speak clearly." 53
26 "God has not promised to bless your words; he has only promised to bless his." 54
27 "The biggest problem I have had while training preachers has been, strangely enough, getting them to preach the word." 56
28 "The stance of a preacher is the stance of a persuader. You are not there to simply teach; you are there to persuade." 58
29 "When people come to church on Sunday, they want to know what you can tell them that will help them get through the following week." 60
30 "The art of preaching isn't hinged upon knowing what to put into your message, but rather what to take out." 62
31 "The passage has to hit you before it hits the audience." 64
32 "When you say, 'Thus saith the Lord,' you better be right. That is an awesome claim." 67
33 "The problem is that too many preachers tear the passage apart in their studies and then don't put it back together before they step into the pulpit." 69
Leadership
34 "We have led you. Now it's time for you to lead us." 72
35 "As a minister, you will have your ministry either blasted or blessed by your spouse." 74
36 "If I were a pastor of a church, I would ordain people to the workplace." 76
37 "The good thing is you don't know what you don't know." 79
38 "We have enough books on how to be a good leader. I think we need more on how to be a good follower." 81
39 "I know that is what I suggested; that was a bad decision." 84
Evangelism
40 "The way you feel about the worst sin in your mind is the way God feels about sin in general." 87
41 "If you start with the presupposition that the ways of God have to be understood by men, limited atonement makes more sense than unlimited atonement. The problem is that you started with a faulty presupposition." 89
42 "The message behind the gospel is this: Be satisfied with the thing that satisfied God." 90
43 "Everyone you meet is going to live forever; the only question is where. What are you doing to make the difference?" 93
44 "It is more likely for me to be bored out of Christianity than it is for me to be reasoned out of it." 96
45 "The opposite of faith is not doubt; it is disobedience." 98
Photos of Dr. Robinson 101