I Am A Tool

by Shelby Abbott

(From the back cover): ...an insightful, humorous, and useful book to help both men and women who love Jesus to drop-kick the common "business as usual" practices of relationship and dating. It is a biblical call to something greater and healthier in our dating lives, while simultaneously a challenge for us to seek connections with others in the context of service, communication, friendship, and patience. Whether your questions or struggles have to do with sex, singleness, breakups, or what social media has to do with any of it, I Am a Tool will meet you where you're at and help you move forward in a direction that honors Jesus.

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian, Christian Living

179 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Shelby Abbott is an author, campus minister, and conference speaker on staff with the ministry of Cru. His passion for university students has led him to speak at college campuses all over the United States and author the books Jacked, I Am A Tool (To Help With Your Dating Life), and Pressure Points: A Guide to Navigating Student Stress (New Growth Press). He and his wife Rachael have two daughters and reside in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[David Bedolla G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tiene un par de buenas ideas; nada nuevo. Muy particular para la cultura gringa. Los ejemplos que usa para ejemploficar sus ideas no son muy buenos.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

So if you know a teenager or young adult with a worn path of a walk in faith, this is an excellent read for them! The author contemplates dating, breaking up, relationships, singleness and self growth in faith. I’m 48 and married for 24 years. Why would I read this?

Easy answer—perspective as you grow older chances, the younger crowd doesn’t see it. But the reverse happens, older people may not see perspective of the younger crowd because we grew that age span in a different time with different circumstances. I was curious to see the perspective of dating and relationships many years out. I’ve had plenty of conversations with young people on the topic of relationships and now have a bit more perspective (not from the 90s). Good read!

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! So much of the advice I wish I had in college. And, worded more concisely than I tend to scrape together when I'm sitting with a freshman over coffee, or whatever other situation I end up chatting about dating in. (I also work in ministry with college students.) Great resource for mentors, and to hand out to a mentee alike!

[Kevin Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid book with helpful advice and truth. It is not super in-depth, but it is enjoyable and winsome. He provides a lot of practical helps and personal stories. I’d recommend it, whether to learn these concepts for the first time or just remember these principles. The best part is that Abbot revisits the gospel in (almost) every chapter.

[Madison Bookheimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute incredible book!! Couldn’t put it down. Really opened my eyes and allowed me to look at relationships in a new light. I also think the was he describes relationships really should be the standard. Very very grateful for this book and his podcast. Highly recommended checking out Real Life Loading…!!!

[Polly · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's very helpful for me to understand why there's some ideal dating cultures frustrate me so much.

[Ricardo Silkworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed that Shelby addressed a wide range of topics one might run into, in the world of Christian dating. He takes the time to discuss topics such as how social media can affect a one's dating relationship, the importance of being a friend to someone you're dating, having a heart to serve them and highlighting singleness, among other things. I value his honesty in sharing not only the successes he saw in dating relationships before getting married but also the short comings. Through this all, it's evident he wants to point all of us who are believers to be different in how we treat the opposite sex and seek to glorify God compared to a culture tells us it's okay to be selfish, lazy or even manipulative. The book is about 179 pages and a very quick, but insightful read.