Running with the Giants: What Old Testament Heroes Want You to Know About Life and Leadership

by John C. Maxwell

The bestselling author and motivational speaker speculates on the leadership advice Old Testament figures would give if they had the chance.

Genres: Leadership, Christian, Nonfiction, Business, Personal Development, Spirituality, Religion

Audio Cassette

Published October 1, 2002

About the author

John Calvin Maxwell is an American author, speaker, and pastor who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership. Titles include The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. Some of his books have been on the New York Times Best Seller List.

Reviews

[Brendon Whelan]

Such a great book, a must read!!

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maxwell parallels your life as your “race” and has giants from the Bible run along side of you and teach you what God used their story to teach. Quick read. Lasting impact

[Karla Ticona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro cortito con algunas enseñanzas sobre los personajes del Antiguo Testamento que tienen cosas que enseñarnos sobre liderazgo:
Moisés, Noé, Abraham, David, Salomón, Nehemías, Daniel, Ester.

[Owen Lockette · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Pretty short read. It was little more surface level than I expected but also was good and gave some real cool insight from a lot Old Testament people I wouldn’t have previously looked to. Overall pretty solid book

[Michael Vidrine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I knew that this was an imaginative work of eisegesis before I read it, but I thought the idea was neat: what could the Old Testament giants say to us if we were running a marathon alongside them? Maxwell, however, managed to completely fail in the execution. He depends heavily on clichés that make me cringe, and takes some of the most epic stories in the Bible, and completely trivialize them and their wisdom. E.g., Joseph’s whole story in Genesis amounts to the advise “follow your dreams” in Maxwell’s book, and Moses’ to “don’t be afraid to take chances.”
Do yourself a favor and don’t read.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is based on Hebrews 12:1 which tells us that “we are surrounded by a great crowd of witnesses” and encourages us to “run with endurance the race that is set before us.” These witnesses include great men and women of faith from the Old Testament. This book explores the lessons we can learn from their lives as well what personal messages each would have for us today as we run our own race in this life.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy read with a great way to think about your life how to start and finish strong!

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not met a John Maxwell book I didn't like!

[Samuel Adeosun · Rating 4 out of 5]

John C. Maxwell invites readers to imagine life as a great race, one not run in isolation, but in the company of those who have gone before (Hebrews 6 vs 12). Drawing from the imagery of a stadium filled with witnesses, he portrays the heroes of the Old Testament as spiritual “giants” cheering us on, offering guidance forged through trial, faith, failure, and redemption.

Through vivid retellings of figures such as Abraham, Moses, David, and Rebekah, Maxwell distills timeless lessons on courage, obedience, perseverance, and leadership. Each story becomes a mirror for modern struggles, showing how ancient lives still illuminate contemporary challenges in work, relationships, and personal growth.

Rather than presenting these biblical figures as distant icons, Maxwell brings them close to us, they were human after all, flawed, and deeply instructive. Their victories inspire hope; their mistakes offer caution; their faith points toward endurance when the race grows difficult.

Encouraging readers to listen for these voices from the past, Running with the Giants becomes both a devotional journey and a leadership guide, reminding us that there is nothing new under the sun. The race of life may be long and demanding, but we run it surrounded by a cloud of witnesses whose stories can transform obstacles into triumphs (Hebrews 12 vs 1).

It is a quick and easy read!

[Finntastic Explanations · Rating 3 out of 5]

A for intent, B for creativity, C for Bibilical Criticism. Surrounding otherwise solid leadership advice is a lot of biblical information that seems well intended and lacks good argumentation. Really good writer, I'm pretty sure the book could have been better. His conclusions make sense, but do not follow from his premises. Most chapters are faith based lessons with lots of claims, which isn't bad, I just prefer more evidence or better attention to detail regarding biblical characters (Isaiah is a great example in which modern scholarship indicates around three different time frames and possible writers, maxwell attributes the entire book to one person- which is odd as this isn't really a fiction book so my suspension of disbelief was kicking in for some reason) and context.

That being said, maxwell's aims were different than my reading objectives.

[Hayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, wow, wow...if you need encouragement to run this race, you need to read this book. Being reminded of the giants of the Bible and having pictured that they’re cheering me on is so incredible. I love how deep it goes into the lives of the giants and provides us advice and encouragement from things they went through. It clearly ties Biblical times to today and accurately showcases the relevancy of God’s Word.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy-to-read. Imaginative. Encouraging. Worthwhile. Not a waste of time.

However, please note: This is not very spiritually deep (nor is it intended to be). So, if you are looking to dig deeply into Scripture, you will need to go beyond this book. Perhaps those who seek to go deeper might start with a good Bible and read there about the biblical leaders Maxwell highlights in this book.

[Charles Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve had this book on myself for a number of years now, and this is the first time I really read it. It has some insightful nuggets, worth remembering. We are all leaders in someway. Taking lessons from some of the Bible’s greatest leaders can help you in your own leadership and in your own development.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine running a race, and every lap or so, another person comes from the stands to inspire you: Noah, David, Esther and others. Each takes a lap with you, relating his or her life lessons in an easy to understand message. Powerful messages from some of the greats of the Bible, in easy to read and understand format.

[Sabil Almendares · Rating 5 out of 5]

En la carrera de la v ida, donde se requiere energía, constancia, fe y comprensión, nunca estamos solos. Otros ya la han corrido antes que nosotros. Según John C. Maxwell, estos ganadores están de pie, animándonos y ofreciéndonos la sabiduría de su experiencia. Solo necesitamos escuchar sus historias paa convertir los retos de la actualidad en victorias.

[Louela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brief, simple, insightful

Maxwell has a fresh take on narrating the stories of some of the greatest men and women in the Bible. He narrated it in such a thoughtful and imaginative manner like how we could picture and hear them speaking the lessons we could learn from the lives that they lived and the roles that they played in history and in becoming instruments of God's plans.

[Candy Shepard · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy read that summarizes qualities of biblical leaders, some you may never have considered, and the lessons we can learn today from those long ago. This book shows us how the Bible is never outdated. It doesn't dive deep into the Bible, but just enough to prove his points.

[Deb Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books provides encouraging examples from people in the Bible. The experiences are from people in various social/economic strandings, from rulers and kings to humble servants. This book is a reminder that we all can make a difference for God in our own lives and in the lives of others.

[Juanita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book with my daughters in the mornings. Loved that it had questions so you thought about what you had just read. Was a good read and got you thinking about the people in the Bible a different way.

[Aylin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es un libro con gran mensaje, los capítulos son breves y engloban a grandes rasgos la vida de cada lider del antiguo testamento. Al finalizar cada capítulo nos invita a reflexionar por medio de preguntas.

[Rudy Gunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is interesting in the sense that a guy is running laps around a track and each lap a new biblical person comes forward to teach them a lesson. Interesting concept but none of the stuff in it is really anything new. Just a different way of presenting it.

[Jsteedly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a decent book. Different perspective on ones journey in life. It’s so easy to feel that you are by yourself, but you are not, and there are others that have gone before us that we can learn from.

[Mason I. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very refreshing John Maxwell book :) It’s not often I get to read a more Bible-focused book by Dr. Maxwell, but his interpretation of Old Testament characters is very wise and encouraging. I hope I can find more Bible-centric works by him!

[Ngọc Phạm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hơi khó hiểu vì không biết các nhân vật trong sách, và cũng vì không theo Đạo Thiên Chúa :))
Chắc sẽ phải đọc Kinh Thánh và đọc lại cuốn sách này.

[Daniel Fevrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a very inspiring book. I love how Maxwell features some of the lesser known characters of the Bible to show great leadership qualities. A very uplifting book.

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very easy read. Nothing really new about leadership here. However, its linking of leadership lessons to biblical figures provides a great connection between faith and leadership.

[Kaleb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was very short but a lot of great reminders. I was definitely encouraged reading through it.

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspired. John picks important people and their accomplishments and then draws a motivation quote from their experience.

[John Browning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great quick read written from a unique perspective.

[Jun · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the biblical root of Maxwell's leadership philosophy and my favorite of his titles. His portraits of the OT giants of faith are surprisingly deep and thus richly encouraging.