The Real Win by Colt McCoy and Matt Carter

                 I must confess, I am not a big sports fan. I must also confess, I am not a big fan of men's ministry books. So, my expectations were not extremely high when I chose to read The Real Win, written by an NFL quarterback, Colt McCoy, and the Pastor of Austin Stone Church, Matt Carter. But I was pleasantly surprised and not at all disappointed by what I found in the contents of this great new book. It is a valuable resource for those who want to grow in their relationship with God.
                 One of the reasons I am not a big fan of men's ministry books is that I find they tend to emphasize stereo typical models of macho manhood and leave Biblical principles behind. But, in The Real Win, the authors do quite the opposite, and instead focus on Biblical manhood, what Biblical success is and how to apply this to the practical areas of our lives. And the Biblical definition of true success, as the authors define it, is made up of two primary components: who you trust and who you serve.
                 After defining success from the scriptures in the opening chapters, the book is then divided into four focus areas of winning. They explore winning at home, winning at work, winning in your character and winning over a lifetime. Colt and Matt both relate very personal areas of struggle, the challenges they often face and the Biblical principles to overcome these adversities. And though the book is targeting men, I do believe that women will gain great insights on men, as well as Biblical truths that they can apply to their own lives as well.
                  I received this book for free from "Water Brook/Multnomah Publishing Group" for this review. It even comes including a study guide at the end for small group discussion. If you want a book about macho manhood, this ain't the one. But if you're looking for solid, scriptural truth to help you in the everyday areas of life, you will find many concepts in The Real Win will assist you in living a life of winning over the challenges we all face each day. You may download chapter one of The Real Win at http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/files/2013/02/SneakPeek_The-Real-Win.pdf