Do Hard Things is one of my favorite nonfiction books. It was written for teenagers by teenagers and challenges them to break the cultural norm and rise above low expectations for God's glory.
Rebelution
Brothers Alex and Brett Harris created the term rebelution and defined it as “a teenage rebellion against low expectations” (Harris, 11). In this book, they tell the stories of teens who have lived this out as “rebelutionaries”, including famous figures from the past as well as modern teens, and how to become a rebelutionary yourself.
5 Kinds of Hard Things
Alex and Brett present a list of five kinds of hard things (57-59):
1. Things that are outside your comfort zone.
2. Things that go beyond what is expected or required.
3. Things that are too big to accomplish alone.
4. Things that don’t earn immediate payoff.
5. Things that challenge the cultural norm.
These include simple tasks — like doing your schoolwork well — to big ones — like starting a ministry. The point is to follow God’s leading and change the world around you one hard thing at a time.
A New Generation
Here’s how the authors put it:
Our vision for the Rebelution is to see these three qualities coming together in a new generation—young people who are passionate about growing in Christlikeness and sharing the gospel (character), who care deeply about skill, strategy, and creativity (competence), and who are committed to finding and working with a community of like-minded rebelutionaries (collaboration) to bring hope and healing to a lost and hurting world. (177)
If you are a teenager or work with teenagers, then I highly suggest this book. It will challenge you and give you a new perspective on how teenagers can live “for the gospel’s sake” by doing hard things. Learn where you can get your copy here. Also, you can check out the Rebelution website here.
In Christ alone,
Mission
Source quoted:
Harris, Alex and Brett. Do Hard Things (Multnomah Books, 2008), 11, 57-59, 177.
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