Leading Causes of Life

by Gary Gunderson, Larry Pray

You know what the leading causes of death are. But have you ever thought about the Leading Causes of Life? The Leading Causes of Life helps guide us through that question. The five leading causes apply to individuals, churches, and even hospitals that care about life. If you have ever cared for others; looked for meaning; stepped out in faith; found hope when life looked hopeless; or been changed by a blessing, you will appreciate this book.

Genres: Nonfiction

218 pages, Paperback

First published February 26, 2004

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for more but it was a decent book.

[Annah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book turned out to be a central piece of a thought puzzle I’ve been working on for years, so it resonated with me in its entirety. Gunderson and Pray reflect on the impact that changing the focus of health from death to life can have. It will feel too soft for some and too practical for others, I'm sure, but I think its genius lies in its paradigm-shifting ability to translate across disciplines. Could use some editing and updating (of images, etc.).

[Alan Marr · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main point i derived from this book is that we could serve ourselves and our congregations, workplaces community organisations better by looking for "causes of life" rather than "causes of death". The causes of life listed by them are - connection, coherence, agency, blessing and hope. i found this extremely helpful and have done some creative thinking about my own life and my own congregation and would like us to work together on them. However I did not find much of the explanatory material very helpful. More of a good starting point than a good read.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book isn't all that well-written, but it had a profound impact on me. The main premise is that we should focus on fostering life, instead of focusing on fighting death. By fostering life, we keep striving for more thriving. By fighting death, we stop working once there are no negative symptoms, because we've succeeded in beating back death. It's a subtle switch, but it makes a huge difference when thinking about what to do to change one's small corner of the world.

[Karen Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book could have been summed up in one 10 page chapter. I enjoyed the part by Pray more than the other author. If I hadn't had to read it for book club I wouldn't have finished it. Borrrrrrring. Too redundant!

[Caroline Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

This book makes you think about life and what it is about and how to live day by day because we don't know when are last day on earth.