Nelson Searcy - Tongue Pierced: How the Words You Speak Transform the Life You Live

Notes

Chapter 1The Power of Words

Chapter 2What Your Words Say About You

. Paul D. Tripp, War of Words, The Power of Words and the Wonder of God , ed. John Piper and Justin Taylor (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2009), 37.

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Chapter 3The Most Important Conversations Youll Ever Have

.

.

. Colson, Can Prayer Heal?

.

.

Chapter 4Go AheadTalk to Yourself

. James Allen, As a Man Thinketh (West Valley City, UT: Waking Lion, 2007), 10.

. Shad Helmstetter, What to Say When You Talk to Yourself (New York: Pocket Books, 1987), 6271.

. Allen, As a Man Thinketh , 13.

. Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Provo, UT: Franklin Covey, 1998), 99103.

. Covey, The 7 Habits , 100.

. Norman Vincent Peale, The Power of Positive Thinking (New York: Prentice-Hall, 1952), 46.

. Helmstetter, What to Say , 8587.

Chapter 5The Language of Love

.

. Paul Tournier, To Understand Each Other (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1967), 13.

. Paul Popenoe, Marriage Is What You Make It (New York: Macmillan, 1950), 4.

. Robert Morris, Power of Your Words: How God Can Bless Your Life through the Words You Speak (Ventura: Regal, 2009), 29.

.

. John Trent and Gary Smalley, The Blessing: Giving the Gift of Unconditional Love and Acceptance (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2011), 46, 47.

Chapter 6Developing an Attitude of Gratitude

. Will Bowen, A Complaint Free World: How to Stop Complaining and Start Enjoying the Life You Always Wanted (New York: Doubleday, 2007), 2829.

Chapter 7The Art of Cursing

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Chapter 9Words That Last

. C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (London: The MacMillan Company, 1952), 4041.

We hope this book will be the beginning of an ongoing conversation. Please stay in touch with us at the website below.

Nelson Searcy and Jennifer Dykes Henson

Be sure to visit TonguePierced.com for your free online resources, including:

Scripture References Access a complete list of verses in the Bible that deal with the power of words.

Theological Studies Find in-depth examinations of issues addressed in the book, such as common grace and active versus passive curses.

Historical Material Check out video clips and transcripts of some of the most influential words spoken throughout our nations history.

And much more

TONGUE PIERCED

Published by David C Cook

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David C Cook U.K., Kingsway Communications

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The graphic circle C logo is a registered trademark of David C Cook.

All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes,

no part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form

without written permission from the publisher.

The website addresses recommended throughout this book are offered as a resource to you. These websites are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement on the part of David C Cook, nor do we vouch for their content.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved; MSG are taken from The Message , copyright 1993, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group; NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV, copyright 1973, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide; NKJV are taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The author has added italics to Scripture quotations for emphasis.

LCCN 2014948632

ISBN 978-1-4347-0874-8

eISBN 978-0-7814-1285-8

2015 Nelson Searcy

The Team: Alex Field, Tim Peterson, Amy Konyndyk, Nick Lee, Helen Macdonald, Karen Athen

Cover Design: FaceOut Studio, Emily Weigel

First Edition 2015

Nelson Searcy is the founding and lead pastor of The Journey Church, with locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, San Francisco, and Boca Raton, where Nelson and his family reside. Previously, Nelson was director of the Purpose Driven Community at Saddleback Church. He is the author of ten bestselling books and founder of ChurchLeaderInsights.com.

Jennifer Dykes Henson is a freelance writer based in New York City. Previously, Jennifer worked with Dr. Charles Stanley as the marketing communications manager for In Touch Ministries in Atlanta.

Visit DCCeBooks.com for more great reads.

To my family, who modeled for me the power of words.

Nelson Searcy

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Nelson Searcy: My ongoing journey toward a tongue-pierced lifestyle has been a rocky one. It all started in 1989 when I become a follower of Jesus. My life and my tongue were both transformed by the power of the gospel. Since that time, many godly men and women have taught me about the power of words and have held me accountable to a higher standard for my language. These folks include, but are not limited to, my parents (Alton and Patsy Searcy); pastors I worked with early on (Bobby Gantt, Ralph Carpenter, Boyce Gregory, and Rick Warren); and some dear friends, mentors, and accountability partners in my life (Milton Hollifield, Jimmy Britt, Michael Jordan, Scott Whitaker, and Kerrick Thomas).

For major contributions to this book, especially for chapters 6 and 9, I must thank my fellow Journey pastor and previous coauthor, Kerrick Thomas. Kerrick and I have written and preached hundreds of sermons together. He consistently makes what I do stronger. I just wish I had more stories from fifth grade (inside joke!).

I must also express a huge thanks to the members of The Journey Church, in all of its locations, for their ongoing support and prayers. The teachings in this book were first written in community with, and presented live before them. I love doing church with each and every one!

I also want to offer my sincere appreciation to the team at Church Leader Insights. They have helped make this bookand especially all of its accompanying resourceshappen. They have no idea of the impact their faithfulness is having on people around the world. Thank you to Scott Whitaker, Sandra Olivieri, Kimberly Pankey, and the entire kingdom-minded team!

Jennifer Dykes Henson has been a partner and cocreator on my last twelve books. To my ongoing amazement, she continues to reach new levels with each book. More so than even our previous books, this one has her life and fingerprints all over it. Quite frankly, this book would not have happened without her. Her skills as a writer, editor, and interpreter are hard to overstate. During this project, she not only served as my coauthor and helped birth the book you hold, but she also birthed her first babya beautiful little girl. The book turned out pretty good, but the little girl is amazing. Brian and Jennifer are great parents and great members at The Journey Church.