Ben Cooley - Relentless Pursuit: Fuel Your Passion and Fulfill Your Mission

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What people are saying about

RELENTLESS PURSUIT

Ive read many books about how to start a business, a ministry, or an idea. But in Relentless Pursuit, Ben provides the tools, experiences, and wisdom to help break through the difficult times on your journey. As you learn from the stories of several incredible leaders, this book will give you the spark of inspiration you need to pursue your dream and never give up.

Craig Groeschel, founding and senior pastor of Life.Church; host of the Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast

One thing I love to ask leaders is, What advice would you give to the younger generation? I find hindsight from experienced men and women to be one of the most valuable forms of teaching I can receive. This book is filled with the answer to that question from incredible leaders who have walked the road, made the mistakes, and now can offer their advice to those who come after them. You would be wise to absorb the wisdom contained in these pages and apply it to your leadership and life journey.

Banning Liebscher, founder and pastor of Jesus Culture

Bens skill is not just teaching others how to lead, but also bringing leaders alongside him that we can teach from a variety of experiences. Relentless Pursuit is required reading for anyone who is thinking of starting a venture, anyone who is struggling to maintain momentum, and anyone who wants to see the vision they have become a reality. I cant recommend this book highly enough.

Dr. Robi Sonderegger, clinical psychologist; founder of Psychology Cafe

In order to bring change, courageous leadership is required. Ben Cooley is such a leader and the pages of this book will ignite passion and awaken purpose. We can all make a difference but must first decide what we will relentlessly pursue.

Charlotte Gambill, author; speaker; lead pastor of LIFE Church, UK

For many years I have admired the passion, drive, and excellence that Hope for Justice has applied in the fight against human trafficking. Ben Cooley is a visionary leader who has an incredible gifting to not only start an organization but build a movement.

Sir Brian Souter, founder and chairman of Stagecoach Group

I have known Ben Cooley a long time. He models a different kind of leadership, one that is innovative, humble, and mostly importantly effective. In this book, he manages to communicate how we could all lead differently and make a real difference in the world. We at Rend Collective love Ben Cooley!

Gareth Gilkeson, Rend Collective

RELENTLESS PURSUIT

Published by David C Cook

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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 INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. (Public Domain.); NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org).

Library of Congress Control Number 2019940997

ISBN 978-0-8307-7850-8

eISBN 978-0-8307-7857-7

2019 Ben Cooley

The Team: Wendi Lord, Alice Crider, Jeff Gerke, Rachael Stevenson, Jon Middel, Susan Murdock

Cover Design: Nick Lee

Cover Photo: Getty Images

First Edition 2019

Dedicated to Deb, Isabel, and Lilly. This journey would not have been possible without you.

To all at Team Hope for Justice, you all inspire me.

Gareth and Josh, you have been outstanding in your support.

And to all the wonderful, brilliant team at David C Cook, I am humbled by your belief.

Leadership is not about a performance or a platform; it is about people. As lead pastor at !Audacious Church in England, I interact with people from all types of backgrounds. The trajectory of life can be so different for so many people, but the one thing that unites us all is that we each have a purpose.

The question is whether we pursue that purpose or reject it.

What you do with your life matters! Not just to you but also to those around you.

The name of our church means to be bold, daring, dangerous, fearless, unrestrained by convention, and to challenge assumptions. If there is anyone who embodies the name Audacious, it is Ben and Deb Cooley.

Anyone who starts an organization at the age of twenty-six, books an arena, attracts almost six thousand people, and then over ten years builds a global network rescuing and restoring victims of human trafficking is someone unrestrained by convention.

Vision is vital. It is a clear image of a preferable future, and if you can see it, you are halfway to getting it. Our vision at !Audacious Church is that we build a church that stops traffic. When the main football (soccer) teams of our city play in Manchester, they cause traffic jams. We want this to be the case with the church.

One wise man wrote, Where there is no vision, the people perish (Prov. 29:18 KJV ). Ben has a vision to see the end of modern slavery, and without such a vision, people will continue to be enslaved in the evil trade of human trafficking.

The key to vision is staying focused on why we do what we do. Businesses and churches alike fail when they forget their purpose. Im not talking about a grand vision statement. Im talking about something clear enough for people to visualize and put their energies behind.

Once you have that visionand a tribe around you crazy enough to believe itthen with shared values, principles, and culture, anything is possible.

This book comes at a significant time for me, and I am sure it will for you too. It will encourage you to take your vision and thrive, even in the face of insurmountable obstacles.

Ive known Ben for nearly ten years. Weve spent a lot of time together through those years, and there are several things you need to know about him. He is authentic, passionate, crazy, disciplined, unrelenting, hilarious, humble, has no idea about football, and did I say audacious?

In Relentless Pursuit he has brought together leaders from business, music, charity, and church, and they have all been transparent about how they have relentlessly pursued their vision. If you read this book, you will not only be motivated to keep going but also gain a sense of relief that you are not the only one experiencing what you are going through right now. Others have experienced it tooand survived!