Dr. Chris Thurman - The Lies We Believe Workbook: A Comprehensive Program for Renewing Your Mind and Transforming Your Life

W hen I was a kid, my friends and I would dare one another to do things we were afraid to do. I remember being dared once to slip under a chain-link fence into a restricted area on an Air Force base where we lived. My friends and I were certain nuclear bombs were being kept there, and if we could get into the area unnoticed, we might get a peek at them. As young boys, it never occurred to us that given there were no military police posted in the area, the presence of nuclear weapons was unlikely. Nevertheless, with great fear and trembling, I crawled under the fence, sprinted up to the building, saw nothing of importance, and shot like a bullet back under the fence, certain the military police were going to arrest me and kick my dad out of the Air Force because he couldnt keep his wayward son under control.

I tell you this story because Im going to dare you to do something that might be just as scary for you. I dare you to complete The Lies We Believe Workbook. Im daring you because one of the scariest things we adults face in life is the truth. It takes courage to tackle the truth instead of run from it. So, Im daring you to do this workbook because facing the truth is scarysomething you probably wouldnt do unless someone like me dared you.

The Lies We Believe Workbook is designed to be used with The Lies We Believe. For every chapter in the book, there is a corresponding lesson in this workbook to help you put what youve learned into action. As human beings, we are prone to acquire knowledge but not put that knowledge into practical use so we can actually grow from what we learn. Consequently, we fall short of the biblical challenge, Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says (James 1:22, emphasis added). I encourage you to avoid playing into the enemys hands by merely reading or listening to the words of The Lies We Believe. Instead, lesson by lesson, I want you to take what you learn and put it into action.

In The Lies We Believe, I discuss thirty-one ways we falsely view reality across six categories (the lies we believe about ourselves, about others, about life, about God, and about ourselves as men and women). In this workbook, I am going to suggest some additional lies we believe across those categories for you to considersome of which you may not agree are wrong ways of thinking. You and I dont have to see eye-to-eye on what beliefs qualify as a lie, but I want to offer you more to think about when assessing your beliefs so you can be more self-aware of the faulty tapes that are playing inside your mind every day.

In the book, I also discuss twelve of the most important truths we can have for living an emotionally and relationally healthy life. While there are many more truths available, I wont offer any additional possibilities in this workbook (maybe that will be left to another book). Since the Bible says to think on whatever is true... noble... right... pure... lovely... admirable (Philippians 4:8), this workbook is designed to help you do just that. I want you to spend time meditatively thinking about the truth throughout this workbookand make sure you put as much of that truth into action as possible in how you conduct yourself. Remember, be a doer of the truth, and not just a hearer.

There are two ways to work through this material. You can read through The Lies We Believe and then do the workbook afterward, or you can read a chapter in the book and do the corresponding lesson in the workbook at the same time. Whichever way you decide, be prepared to put on your work gloves. You are going to be working diligently over an extended period of time on thinking more deeply and acting more decisively on the things that are true so you can have a more accurate view of reality and be transformed in the process. Or, to put it a different way, you are going to be thinking more like Christ so you can be more like Christ.

One of the most important issues in becoming a healthy Christian is to learn to see reality the way Christ saw itfree from falsehood or distortion. The emphasis on What would Jesus do? is all well and good, but the emphasis in The Lies We Believe and this workbook is on What would Jesus think? His view of reality was completely true, right, and admirable, and He never felt or acted in a way that was the least bit off the mark of emotional, relational, moral, or spiritual perfection. Christ was the greatest thinker of all time, and no one else comes close in terms of seeing reality exactly as it is and living life in a healthy and loving manner. No one. His view of reality will never lead you down the wrong path.

The renewal of your mind is a lifelong process, and we all have to be patient in working out our mental salvation over time. So dont get discouraged as you do the work of renewing your mind. The lies you believe didnt get there overnight, and they arent going away overnight. Also, while you can read the book and complete this workbook by yourself, I urge you to find others to join you in this effort so that when you grow wearyand you will grow wearyyou can pick each other up and challenge each other to complete the journey.

In this workbook, I emphasize self-assessment, self-examination, and self-expression, which requires a lot of personal interaction. Youll quickly discover that you enjoy certain types of assignments better than others, but try to give equal importance to all of them. The workbook will only be as helpful as you make it. Give yourself permission to open up freelyperhaps interacting with aspects of your life youve previously kept hidden. Remember, no one is looking over your shoulder, no one is critiquing you, and no one is giving you a grade.