Bigger Than Me: Just When I thought I Had all the Answers, God Changed the Questions

by Ward Brehm, Rick Warren (Foreword by)

Overview

Have you wondered, Is this all there is?
 
Somehow we’ve bought into the lie that the good life is a showy one. But the greatest adventures come when we stop living for self and what the world says is important—and start living for things that really matter. Nothing is duller, in the long run, than one more bag of money, one more business conquest, or one more round of earthly pleasure. The returns are depressingly diminishing.
 
Bigger Than Me is a collection of candid reflections from a successful businessman about money, ego, truth, busyness, solitude, legacy, dying, faith, gratitude, and much more. His early worldly accomplishments taught him first hand that there are deeper, more satisfying goals in life than those our culture celebrates.
 
If you’ve found yourself looking for deeper purpose and meaning, this book will inspire you to make a course correction that doesn’t involve sweeping the past aside. Rather, you can use all of life’s lessons to build something new and bigger than yourself.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781424555017
Publisher:	BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
Publication date:	10/01/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Ward Brehm is a Twin Cities businessman, a leader in African humanitarian efforts, and a nationally-known public speaker and commentator on relief and development in Africa.
 
In 2004 President Bush appointed Brehm to be chairman of the United States African Development Foundation (USADF), following confirmation by the US Senate, where he served until 2009. In 2010 President Obama reappointed Brehm to the board of the USADF, where he continues to serve.
 
He also is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations, and he currently serves on the board of directors of the American Refugee Committee (ARC) based in Minneapolis. At ARC, he helped found the Asili initiative, which brings a network of proven social businesses together into an enterprise platform that delivers essential services—clean water, quality health care, and agricultural livelihoods—at affordable prices to Eastern Congo, using a locally owned for profit business platform.
 
In 2008, Brehm brought his message as an advocate for the poor in Africa to the National Prayer Breakfast, where he gave the keynote address before an audience including the US President, First Lady, foreign heads of state, most members of Congress, and the Washington diplomatic community. Brehm was the first person from the US business community to be asked by Congress to address this annual gathering in Washington, DC.
 
Brehm was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal—the country’s second-highest civilian honor—for his work in Africa at an Oval Office ceremony with President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush in December of 2008.
 
In addition to Bigger Than Me, Brehm is also the author of two books on his experiences in Africa, Life Through a Different Lens and White Man Walking.
 
Brehm recently sold the insurance consulting companies he founded, and now engages in full-time humanitarian work in Africa as an unofficial ambassador for Jesus. He and his wife, Kris, live and work in Minneapolis, MN.

WARD BREHM is a Twin Cities entrepreneur, leader in African humanitarian efforts, and nationally-known public speaker and commentator on relief and development in Africa. He was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal for his work in Africa by President George W. Bush in 2008. Recently retired, Ward is now a full-time philanthropist. He and his wife, Kris, live in Wayzata, Minnesota. 

Table of Contents

Foreword Rick Warren xiii

Introduction 1

1 My Father's Gift: The Legacy of My Dad 7

2 Metamorphosis: Can God Change a Jerk? 15

3 Losing My Religion: And Finding a Person Named Jesus 25

4 Prove It: Some Thoughts for Skeptics 33

5 Alone but Not Alone: Mr. Busy Pants Becomes a Hermit 41

6 Two-Minute Warning: The Mystery of Prayer 52

7 Airplane Mode: Shedding Light on Going Dark 62

8 Losing Self: Wherever I Go … There I Am 75

9 What Is Truth?: And Does God Speak… Really? 87

10 Coin of Another Realm: Defining True Riches 94

11 The One Thing Money Can Do: A Different Paradigm on Wealth 104

12 Who Are You Calling Greedy?: Me? You've Got to Be Kidding 107

13 Alienation: The World's Greatest Problem 113

14 On This Rock: Thoughts on the Church and Hypocrisy 123

15 Calling Each Other's Cards: The Thing Everyone Needs but No One Wants 132

16 Something about That Name: The Power of the Name Above All Names 140

17 How Can I Love God?: Let Alone with All My Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength 147

18 Go and Do Likewise: Finding My Purpose and the Ride of My Life 155

19 Far from Boring: Not Just Potluck Casseroles in Church Basements ... and My Fifteen Minutes of Fame 160

20 Two Presidents and a Few More Minutes of Fame Humbled by Moments of Privilege 168

21 Speak of the Devil: Coming to Grips with the Reality of Evil 175

22 The Gospel According to a Knucklehead Bad Things, Good People, Tough Questions 181

23 Kris' Story, Part 1: In the Eye of the Storm: You Don't Know What You've Got till It's Gone 188

24 Kris' Story, Part 2: Overtime: When Each New Day Is a Gift 202

25 Nobody's Getting Out of Here Alive: The Only Thing Certain about Life Is Death 212

26 Growing Old: Reflecting as the Waterfall Grows Near 220

27 Gratitude: Where Was the Thank-You Note? 229

Acknowledgments 235

Notes 237

About the Author 239

Editorial Reviews

Reading this book, I was reminded that our most healthy posture in life is receiving mentorship from those who have traveled ahead of us, while mentoring those who come along behind. In Bigger Than Me, I find Ward Brehm there—a recipient of tremendous experience and knowledge (the book is rightly dedicated to his mentors) and also a generous conduit of wisdom and hard-won insight. This book is more mentorship than memoir, beautifully so, and has the candor of a friend showing the way.
—Sarah Groves, internationally known contemporary Christian singer, record producer, and author
 
The most important things in life are not what we acquire or achieve but the fingerprints we leave behind on other people’s lives. Ward Brehm leaves some great fingerprints in Bigger Than Me.
—Cris Carter, member of the NFL Hall of Fame and sports analyst for Fox Sports


Rather than just talking about a purpose-driven life, Ward Brehm has actually lived one. From his more than fifty trips to Sub-Saharan Africa working on creative solutions to extreme poverty to acting as an unofficial ambassador for Jesus in Washington, DC, Ward’s life is a rarity in today’s world: a life of faith based on relationships verses transactions. He can be trusted. In Bigger Than Me, Ward lays out much wisdom for every age.
—Gov. David Beasley, executive director of World Food Program and former governor of South Carolina
 
Ward Brehm has had a remarkable and inspiring journey. In Bigger Than Me, he graciously shares what he has learned along the way. Just as his faith and his work in Africa have transformed his life, reading his words can transform ours.
—US Senator Amy Klobuchar


Much like Ward before his transformative first trip to Africa, a trip he didn’t even want to take, I didn’t really want to read this book. I thought I already knew his story inside and out. However, after I began reading about his journey of faith, I was captivated, inspired, and motivated to continue reaffirming my faith on a daily basis.
—US Senator John Boozman
 
Ward opens his heart in this inspiring book and talks vulnerably about how he found his core significance by following Jesus. What great joy there is in realizing that life isn’t about how much we can accomplish or how busy we can be but about loving God and our neighbors with everything He’s given us. This book is a must read. You’ll be encouraged and challenged by it.
—US Senator Jim Inhofe


I never get tired of stories about God taking someone on a 180-degree turn toward His purposes. That’s Ward Brehm’s tale in Bigger Than Me. A reformed “jerk” who learned to stop living for self and success, Ward found deep significance in following Jesus to care for the “least of these.” There’s nothing boring about where that path led him. As a believer who has been on a similar journey, I can confirm that living out God’s will is the adventure of a lifetime!
—Rich Stearns, president of World Vision U.S. and author of The Hole in Our Gospel
 
“Seek and ye shall find.” Ward Brehm’s inspiring book, Bigger Than Me, tells us not to listen for God’s booming voice but to examine our life’s journey and find His hand. Ward never preaches, but his examples of joy from giving of self certainly qualify him as a spiritual guide. He is a seeker who has found a great deal from which we can learn.
—Marilyn Nelson-Carlson, chair of The Carlson Companies


When the “shoes” that Ward’s book sews fit you, wear them. You will be better for having done so, even the uncomfortable ones.
—Greg Page, former CEO and chairman of Cargill Inc.
 
Bigger Than Me is really a travel book. In moving terms, it documents one man’s faith journey—the twists and turns, the ups and downs, the unexpected adventures. With every step and with every adventure, Ward becomes a better man, and I found myself challenged to reflect on these most important lessons.
—Mark Green, administrator of USAID and former US congressman


If you are blessed, truly blessed, someone will show up and completely change your perspective on life. Ward Brehm was that someone for me. One night, during a trip to Rwanda, Ward looked at me and said something simple yet transformative: “We spend the first half of our lives seeking prosperity, and if we’re lucky, we spend the second half seeking purpose.” Reading Bigger Than Me, you can’t help but be inspired by the story of an everyman who broke loose from his comfortable surroundings and found his purpose in a continent far away.
—Jack Leslie, chairman and CEO of Weber Shandwick
 
Ward Brehm is the pastor to his pastor! If I put into one place all his words of comfort, wisdom, and challenge to me over the years, it would become this book, Bigger Than Me!
—Rev. Dr. John F. Ross, senior minister, Wayzata Community Church


Bigger Than Me is a fascinating personal story based on authentic real-world experience and candor. It offers wisdom and inspiration for those seeking to live a purposeful life in a complex and perplexing world.
—Ed Meese, US attorney general under President Ronald Reagan
 
Ward’s sharing of his faith journey in Bigger Than Me challenges us to quit following dime-store maps and instead reorient our lives so we can discover and fulfill our God-given purpose.
—Hon. Kathleen Blatz, former chief justice, Minnesota Supreme Court


Bigger Than Me is a refreshing book about faith that looks at the perplexing whys in life but doesn’t preach. It’s an easy read, yet I often stopped to ponder key answers. This book will help you remember and see purpose in the big and small, happy or tough events in your own life.
—US Senator Mike Enzi
 
Ward’s life is a remarkable example of personal growth and transformation, and through it he has touched many lives. Bigger Than Me is a wonderful story about finding God and walking with Him.
—Tony Hall, former US congressman and US ambassador to the United Nations agencies on hunger and three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee
 

From the Publisher