Chazown

Book Review

Groeschel, Craig. CHAZOWN. A different way to see your life. Multnomah Publishers. 2006.
C.G.- senior pastor of LifeChurch.tv. Edmond, Oklahoma.

Comment. Henry
The one word title comes from a Hebrew word that means a dream, revelation, or vision and is used to address what it is you were created for, what your mission in life is all about. This book is a helpful tool for practical Christian living.

Contemplating and reflecting on how your life will end is a good starting point for evaluating our life in the present. We need to know and understand what our mission in life is, what we were created for, what our CHAZOWN is. “When you get a vision for what God has in mind for your life, things change.” (23)

How we discover a vision for our life will become a very personal thing. This vision will be determined by the place of intersection of three areas of our life, “core values, spiritual gifts, and past experiences”. (35) Core values can be identified by honestly answering two questions; What really makes me angry? and What brings me bliss? It is our responsibility to discover and use the gifts God has given us. Both bad and good experiences can be mined to extract valuable lessons in forming our present vision.



The task of determining where core values, spiritual gifts and past experiences intersect is explained. “God’s vision for you is bigger than you can imagine and impossible for you to do on your own.” (83) Begin with writing a personal mission statement. It needs to be open to change and growth. This will happen when we set goals for our mission. These goals should be actual written statements.

The pursuit of our CHAZOWN will revolve around five fundamental life priorities. They are; “Your relationship with God. Your relationship with people. Your financial life. Your physical life. Your life’s work.” (114) Each of these priorities requires an action plan. Such plans are explained. They involve vision, commitment, discipline, etc.

Following your CHAZOWN will not happen without accountability where correction and support will be provided. Readers are encouraged to make a signed and dated commitment to find someone(s) to be accountable to.