Kingdom Minded

Book excerpt: Mary Gautreaux and husband Eli have been instrumental in Chi Alpha campus ministries, serving 27 years at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. Together, they have led thousands of students to Christ, and have established a ministry based on personal relationships that has raised up scores of young men and woman for service as missionaries, pastors, campus ministers and lay leaders in locations around the world.Her experience as soulwinner, mentor and confidant to new converts makes Mary Gautreaux an ideal candidate to write about needed disciplines in the life of every believer. "Discipline is restoring order to disorder in the mind, body and spirit of a follower of Jesus," she writes. "Discipline is the means to bringing and maintaining godly order in our lives. We must realize that true freedom is not the lack of boundaries. Real freedom comes from consistently living within safe and healthy boundaries."It is these disciplines which help Christians grow and mature in their relationship with Jesus, the author affirms. Learning to control sinful tendencies, put aside wasteful and destructive habits and make God-centered decisions makes any Christian a more effective steward of time, talents and resources-and able to live a more fruitful life for the glory of God.Kingdom Minded by Mary Gautreaux is an excellent tool for self-examination, but is also intended for group study and discussion. It is published in the hope it will be useful to the Body of Christ on college campuses, churches, prisons and jails, military bases-anywhere disciples of Christ feel the stirring to grow deeper and more fruitful in their relationship with God.