Craig T. Owens

I’m a huge Craig Groeschel fan, and Chazown didn’t do anything to diminish my respect and admiration for what Craig has to say. Chazown may be a funny-looking word (it’s pronounced khaw-zone, by the way), but it is vitally important to a successful life.

Right at the beginning of the book, Craig defines the importance of Chazown this way:

Where there is no Chazown—no dream, no revelation, no vision, no sense of our created purpose—we perish.

Where there is no vision that you were created to have a growing, lifelong, and personal relationship with your Creator, your inner being withers and dies.

Where there is no vision that you have been placed on earth to matter deeply to people, and reveal God’s love and power to them, you live in loneliness and your relationships perish.

Where there is no vision for a godly family, you have a 50 percent chance of ending up divorced.

Where there is no vision that your body is the temple of God’s Spirit—property on loan from Him—your physical health slips away. Your exuberance fades.

Where there is no vision for a financially wise lifestyle, you can live in the richest country on earth and still be drowning in debt.

Where there is no vision for meaningful work, people live for five o’clock. They really just exist. Their goal is to survive—to pay bills, stay married, keep the kids out of jail….

But you and I were made for so much more.

Chazown is easy to read (most of the chapters are very short), and the “You Are The Author” exercises throughout the book make the message of chazown applicable to your life. And Craig’s transparency about his own struggles and successes makes the message of chazown real to your life.

A key component in making your chazown work for you is accountability. The back of this book contains study guides for small groups, and there are plenty of team resources available on the chazown website.

This book is especially timely at the beginning of a New Year when so many are making resolutions. Chazown can help you make meaningful life changes that make a real difference.

I am a Multnomah book reviewer.