Roger Ross - Come Back: Returning to the Life You Were Made For

Come Back is a captivating, motivating read for anyone longing for inspiration to hope forward anew. Through relevant biblical stories, real-life examples, and practical, user-friendly handholds, the pages seem to turn themselves. Give yourself the gift of this engaging book, and gain a game plan for your own comeback!

Sue Nilson Kibbey, director of the Office of Missional Church Development, West Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church

Roger Ross has a heart for people. He has devoted his life and vocation to walking with people on the journey to being who they were intended to be. Come Back is fruit of his lifes work. Ross creatively intertwines the stories of real people with biblical narratives and time-tested literature. This is a field guide to assist anyone to live an abundant life.

Gregory V. Palmer, resident bishop, Ohio West Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church

You CAN come backfrom wherever it is you find yourself and from whatever set of circumstances have come your way. With one of Jesuss most beloved stories serving as the backdrop, Roger Ross describes for us the anatomy of a comeback. If youre looking for hope, youll love this book, because the next comeback can be your own!

Ron Watts, senior pastor, La Croix Church, Cape Girardeau, MO

A very fine book full of engaging stories, terrific quotations, and biblical illustrations. What I hadnt considered is how my own life could be viewed as a series of setbacks and comebacksand how much I could benefit from just such a book. I know you will too.

Craig Hill, professor of New Testament and dean of Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX

The Christian journey is about comebacks. Addictions, divorce, bankruptcies, or moral failures need not define us. Our failures can become the arid desert journeys that lead us to Gods ultimate place of promise. In Come Back: Returning to the Life You Were Made For, Roger Ross inspires us through a descriptive, practical path for living the life we were made for.

Mike Slaughter, pastor emeritus of Ginghamsburg Church; founder and chief strategist of Passionate Churches, LLC

Come Back makes me think. It makes me want to cheer. And it makes me want to change. Then it gives me tools to change that have been used successfully for thousands of years. Test it yourself. It may help you start your own turnaround story.

Martha Grace Reese, author of the Unbinding the Gospel Series; Principal, MG Reese Associates, LLC

Roger Ross is a church strategist and a thinking persons evangelist. Compellingly and clearly, he points to real-time hope for anyone and everyone in need of a comeback. And lets face it, who doesnt need a comeback?

Shane L. Bishop, senior pastor, Christ Church, Fairview Heights, IL

A carefully crafted masterpiece of amazing comeback stories. Come Back weaves together a series of remarkable snatched-from-the-jaws-of-defeat stories. Anchored by favorite biblical narratives, its intertwined with makeover experiences most of us can easily relate to and identify with. Roger writes with a wealth of wisdom, passion, knowledge, and personal insight. He shares his own story of trust and surrender and gives helpful tips and tools geared to enable others to experience grace and ultimately inward transformation and personal comeback.

Frank J. Beard, bishop, Illinois Great Rivers Conference of The United Methodist Church

Like a motivating coach, Roger challenges us to rise after any setback in life. Every turn of the page comes with new insights from this timely book, all the while equipping us with the necessary spiritual tools to come back strong.

Ken Nash, lead pastor, Watermark Wesleyan Church, Buffalo, NY

Whether you are disinterested or delighting in God, Come Back is for you. You see, everyone in every place and in every time falters, fractures and fails at something in life. How does one rebound? Roger masterfully helps ordinary people with practical and timeless truth for honest and genuine recovery.

Jorge Acevedo, lead pastor, Grace Church, southwest Florida

ROGER ROSS

Returning to the Life You
Were Made For

COME BACK:
RETURNING TO THE LIFE YOU WERE MADE FOR

Copyright2020 by Abingdon Press

All rights reserved.

No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed in writing to Permissions, Abingdon Press, 2222 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., Nashville, TN 37228-1306, or permissions@abingdonpress.com.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020935803

ISBN: 978-1-791-00818-5

Scripture quotations unless noted otherwise are from the Common English Bible. Copyright 2011 by the Common English Bible. All rights reserved. Used by permission. www.CommonEnglishBible.com.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken 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. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations noted NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (KJV) are from The Authorized (King James) Version. Rights in the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crowns patentee, Cambridge University Press.

Scripture quotations marked (GNT) are from the Good News Translation in Todays English VersionSecond Edition 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.

The Cynicism Spiral on comes from the video course, 5 Days to Your Best Year Ever, 2018 by Michael Hyatt & Company. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Excerpt(s) and Why/How/What from START WITH WHY: HOW GREAT LEADERS INSPIRE EVERYONE TO TAKE ACTION by Simon Sinek, copyright 2009 by Simon Sinek. Used by permission of Portfolio, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2910 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

To my mom, Jeanette Ross

No matter the fall, around you
I always knew I could come back.

It caught me off guard. On a prayer retreat for other reasons, God whispered something. There was no audible voice. Just an impression. Write about comebacks. I knew instantly the invitation was not because I was an expert, but because I needed one. After outlining some ideas, I shared them with Connie Stella at Abingdon. To my total surprise, she liked them. Before I knew it, I was writing a book.