Skin in the Game

Explores the revolutionary idea that risk is a foundational requirement, not an optional step, of the true faith walk

“Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” —Matthew 10:39

Christians are longing for more life in their lives, a sense that they’re more present to Jesus and to their own story in the everyday. They’re looking for the answer to the deepest question of human experience: “How do I find the freedom I crave, and become the person I long to be?” Too often, though, they’re scared to risk too much to find the answer—so they simply continue to lead lives of “quiet desperation.”

Rick Lawrence says that’s exactly the problem. We’ve seen too much. We know too much. And so we manage our risk so well that we choke off the very fuel that our soul needs to stay alive. In fact, risk should be a primary aspect of our relationship with Jesus, not the thing we avoid.

In this book, Lawrence argues that if we pay attention to the way Jesus related to people, we discover that he asked every person he ever met to put their “skin in the game”—invest part of themselves. Only then did they find the life they always longed for.

Lawrence asks eight key questions, including:
• Will you embrace your shame?
• Will you receive grace?
• Will you confront your fears?
• Will you wait, even when all hope is lost?

With a vigorous, fast-paced, and conversational style, he uses these questions plus stories straight from Scripture and pop-culture corollaries to explore the kinds of risks we find in our lives today and how to stop waiting and start going all in for Jesus.