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Uncommon Challenge

Tony Dungy, former head coach of the Indianapolis Colts has written a devotional that is sure to be read by many in their quest for a deeper faith. I wasn't exactly sure what I was receiving when I sent off for this book through the Tyndale Bloggers program. However, I really thought this book was a practical, no nonsense approach to following Christ.




Dungy divides the book up into core, family, friends, potential, missions, influence and faith. Each section gives you a snapshot into the life of Dungy from the football field but also from the view of his faith. Sometimes he more or less describes the passage that is used for the devotional. We even get a reference from Tim Tebow's book about not praising oneself and one's acoomplishments on the entry for Febrary 2nd. He even points out in one entry that, "The problem comes when we don't allow the Holy Spirit to ...into every area of our lives to help us with the journey and to help us live up the absolute ideas of God's word (April 2nd). This theological glance into quenching the Spirit's is true, we need the Spirit to guide us into the wisdom of making good decisions, of warding off sin and fleeing to Christ.



At the end of each devotion is an Uncommon key which puts into a few words the message to takeaway from the devotion. This kind of thing is needed in a devotional because often they become a bunch of stories or examples and provide no action step. I think Dungy has wisely found these time in his book to call people to account, to realize their need of grace and their need to follow after God. With plenty of football stories, the sports fan will be happy to have the perspective of someone who has been in the trenches of the game. Yet, I also found that Dungy was a man of vibrant faith, even calling people at one entry to get a copy of The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer to learn about costly grace over against cheap grace (August 24th). This kind of diversity in drawing from the resources of the great thinkers and practicioners of the faith is uncommon in many devotions and adds to the lasting value of this daily challenge.



Lastly, I think the book was designed to get people into God's Word and I felt that tug as well. I think this Daily Challenge book will be used by many in shaping their faith for Christ.

Thanks to Tyndale House Publishers for the complimentary review copy. Don' forget to visit www.coachdungy.com and www.tyndale.com

A video with Tony Dungy can be found at http://www.coachdungy.com/index.php/the-one-year-uncommon-life-daily-challenge/

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