Kevin Johnson - Do Good. Evan Almighty

INVERT YOUTH SPECIAITIES

DO GOOD: Evan ALMIGHTY
Copyright 2007 by Universal

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

ePub Edition June 2009 ISBN: 0-310-86172-1

Youth Specialties resources, 300 S. Pierce St., El Cajon, CA 92020 are published by Zondervan, 5300 Patterson Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49530.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Johnson, Kevin (Kevin Walter)
Do good : Evan Almighty / Kevin Johnson and Universal Studios.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-310-28414-7
1. TeenagersReligious life. 2. TeenagersConduct of life. 3. CaringReligious aspectsChristianity. 4. GlobalizationReligious aspectsChristianity. 5. Evan Almighty (Motion picture) I. Universal City Studios. II. Title.
BV4531.3.J643 2007
248.83dc22

2007032194

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Cover design by David Conn

07 08 09 10 11 12 13 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

TO NATE, KARIN, AND ELISE

Go forth. Do good. Every chance you get.

TABLE OF
CONTENTS

READ THIS
FIRST

You might be stunned that a Hollywood blockbuster starring Steve Carell could alter your life, but EvanAlmighty could do exactly that. The movie inspired this practical tool to help you change the world every chance you getthrough simple, small, kind acts done right where you are, right now.

This journal is a companion to the Evan AlmightyDevotional. You can work through this journal chapter by chapter as you go deep with that book or do this journal all by itself to grab ideas, energize your thoughts, and record your efforts to do good in the world. This journal will work well however you want to use it.

In this journal youll find several key features:

Each chapter contains Quotes, Thoughts, and Questions to jolt you to think and move you to act. (By the way, feel free to use a pen or pencil throughout this journal to scribble notes, thoughts, and answers to questions!)

Youll see Random Acts at the bottom of each page. Theyre actions you can do almost anywhere, anytime, so flip through the journal to grab these instant ideas for making your world a better place.

Truth and Dare invites you to get honest with how you might have acted in the past and choose to try something radically different. Scan for a truth that hits home with you, then do the dare.

Youll also see pages titled Random Act Note . Just like Evan becomes part of an epic tale as God prompts him to do good, youll construct your own amazing story as you act for good. Whenever you notice a need and do something about it, write about it on one of these pages. For more on how to uncover needs, you can bounce ahead to chapter 19 and learn about Watch/Listen/Ask/Do/Repeat.

God made you to do good, and you have the power to change the world one kind deed at a time. Read onand never stop acting on what you discover.

Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955), physicist

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others.
And if you cant help them, at least dont hurt them.
Tenzin Gyatso (1935-), Tibetan Dalai Lama

Imagine standing on the white dotted line of a long desert highway that stretches like a ribbon to the horizonan entirely traffic-free, silent scene. Your choice: Climb in your vehicle and drive forward or backward, on-road or off, down on the flats or up to the mountains. If you could just decide where you want to wind up at the end of the day, youd know which route to take.

Jesus wants to nudge you toward what might be a new direction, a different destination. Doing so will get you traveling the same path he does, doing good with him wherever you can. The Bible says where hes headed, summed up in the words of one of his best friends: You know what has happened all through the province of Judeahow God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good (Acts 10:37). The Bible maps out your path when it says, As Gods chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Colossians 3:12).

This road trip with Jesus is pointless if it exists only in your imagination. Its all about your real, everyday actionssimple, small, kind acts, changing the world every chance you get, right where you are, right now.

What would you say is your largest purpose or goal in life?

How can you make a positive impacteither major or smallon your world?

Jesus said, You didnt choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that wont spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you. But remember the root command: Love one another (John 15:16-17 MSG).

How do you feel about the fact that God chose you to do good as one of your key tasks in life?

Where does loving others rank on your list of important things to dohigh or low? What concrete proof do you have based on how you think, feel, and act?

TRUTH: Think about a time you and a friend ditched someone else.

DARE: Start a conversation with a person you usually avoid. Talk with that person for at least three minutes.

RANDOM ACT NOTE

Wherever there is a human being, being
there is an opportunity for kindness.
Seneca (4 BCAD 65), Roman philosopher

WATCH/LISTEN/ASK

A need I noticed

DO

How I acted to meet the need

REPEAT

How my deed turned outand how I might do it differently next time

No one can sum up all God is able to accomplish
through one solitary life, wholly yielded, adjusted,
and obedient to him.
D.L. Moody (1837-1899), evangelist

Today, even amongst Christians, there can be found much
of that spirit that wants to give as little as possible to the
Lord, and yet to get as much as possible from himWhat
he is after is that we pour all we have, ourselves, to him,
and if that be all, that is enough.
Watchman Nee (1903-1972), Chinese Christian martyr

From the first scene of Evan Almighty you cant help feeling a twinge of sympathy for Evan Baxter. Heres a guy striving to do good by serving his country as a congressman, but he never could have guessed that God Almighty would pop into his life and tell him to construct an ark (a la Noah from the Bible). Just as Evan is settling into a power-filled and predictable existence, God spins him off on an extraordinary adventure. If you havent yet seen