James W. Goll - What Love Looks Like: 12 Leaders Tell When Love Broke Through Their Darkest Moments

2015 by James W. Goll

Published by Chosen Books

11400 Hampshire Avenue South

Bloomington, Minnesota 55438

www.chosenbooks.com

Chosen Books is a division of

Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan

www.bakerpublishinggroup.com

Ebook edition created 2015

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-4412-6937-9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Scripture quotations identified NASB are from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations identified NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Scripture quotations identified NKJV are from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations identified NLT are from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations identified KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Cover design by LOOK Design Studio

With a heart of gratitude, I want to dedicate this book to the memory, lineage and legacy of my late wife, Michal Ann Goll, who proceeded to heaven in the fall of 2008. She lived this message. She embodied these truths. She exuded a life of unconditional love. It is my great honor to dedicate this transparent book in honor of Michal Ann Goll and her work with Compassion Acts, a ministry that continues worldwide to this day.

Contents

Stacey Campbell

James Maloney

Heidi Baker

Mahesh Chavda

Barbara J. Yoder

Doug Stringer

Joan Hunter

Harry R. Jackson Jr.

Patricia King

Mickey Robinson

Jackie Pullinger

James W. Goll

Foreword

By Bill Johnson

I love books about radical faith, great achievements and unusual conquests. I absolutely love being provoked by the kind of messages that launch me beyond the boundaries of what has become common. I also love the behind-the-scenes stories of people who live on the constant edge of what is thought to be impossible. It feels as though they are summoning me into pursuing things in God I had never even dreamed of. These messages awaken something in me that truly makes me feel alive at a whole new level.

And while What Love Looks Like is a summons from God to all that I just mentioned, it will hit the reader at a much deeper place than one might imagine at first glance. Instead of problems, assignments and mission being our conquest, somehow we as the readers become the conquest. And as we become the conquest of God, we learn firsthand the expression of this priceless commodity called love . This kind of love is the rarest of all, as it is given away, needing nothing in return to keep it alive.

Lets face it. It is fairly easy to love the lovely, the heroic and those who loved us first. When people celebrate and compliment you, it is always easier to celebrate and compliment them in return. These kinds of relationships are good and are truly gifts from God. But success on that level is not really that noble. Even those who do not know Christ can succeed there. This book brings a much deeper challenge, as it will provoke, inspire and educate the reader on what Gods love really looks like. This kind of love is the greatest threat to the powers of darkness, as it is potentially the greatest force in shaping world history. And in the measure we truly receive this love, we are equipped to give it away.

The following pages are filled with the journeys of some of our greatest present-day heroes of the faith. Most of these authors are deep personal friends whom I have been able to watch as their stories first became etched in stone by the love and grace of God. I can testify: They know. They really, really know what love looks like. Each chapter is a true love story. But not in the way you might think. The writers bare their souls as they talk about the parts of their personal journey that are seldom broadcast or written about. In fact, it is much too personal to randomly discuss what is talked about here, lest these priceless experiences become abused through familiarity. Yet here it isthis book is one of those rare treasures. It is as though the Holy Spirit mined the gold from the deep places of these writers hearts so that each of us might become richer simply by reading. And richer you will be.

Be ready for a new high-water mark in this most precious of all subjects. It remains true the greatest of these is love . Get ready for a summons from God. Be ready for great personal change, as He empowers everyone He summons.

Bill Johnson
Bethel Church, Redding, California
Author, When Heaven Invades Earth and Experience the Impossible

Foreword

By Randy Clark

J ames Goll has been used by God to bring forth an amazing book, one that touches our emotions and builds our faith. Along with authoring a chapter, James compiled this book, What Love Looks Like , in which twelve key leaders of the Church today give us an honest perspective on lifes toughest battles. Most of these leaders I consider personal friends. Others I have met, and a couple of them are new to me. I feel privileged to look inside their stories of the darkest times in their lives and see how God brought them through these seasons.

These amazing, interesting, touching and inspiring stories are the experiences of pastors and co-pastors, itinerant ministers, prophets and missionaries. But they are the kind of experiences all of us could facethe kind common to our humanity. If you want to know how to face lifes hardest issues and come out victorious, or if you are going through a hard time yourself right now, you will find hope and a basis for sustained faith in these pages.

Your dark night of the soul may be caused by the accusations and misunderstanding of friends who have turned against you; the loss of your health and your experience of great physical and emotional pain; an accusation of heresy or of being deceived; the grief of losing your spouse; the surprise of the secret immoral life of your mate, who leaves you for a gay lifestyle; your own mortality and what looks like impending death from an incurable disease; or the emotional roller coaster of having hope deferred, which makes your heart sick with disappointment and emotional loss. Whatever the cause, this book will speak hope to you, raise your faith and remind you of how God works good out of all things. Jamess work will inspire you to remain faithful and finish the race.

This book is not a how-to book. It is neither simplistic, nor an invitation to accept Jesus so you can move forward without any problems. Rather, it is a book that addresses the deepest questions of life, suggesting a way through the valley to the mountain, through the darkness to the light, through hopelessness to hope, through doubt to faith, through bitterness to forgiveness and joy.

I highly recommend What Love Looks Like , its compiler and its contributors to you. May you be as blessed as I was in gaining wisdom from those who have faced the vicious situations we sometimes have to face in life and who have come out victorious.