Most of us want to change, but we just don’t know what to do next. Growing in the gospel is a process of working out what God is working in us (Phil 2:12-13). In other words, change requires dependence and humility, but it also requires effort on our part.

This book explores some of these fundamental principles of Christian growth in the format of a twelve-step program. The twelve steps laid out in this book are a simple yet comprehensive way to rigorously apply Jesus’s core teachings about powerlessness, humility, dependence on God, confession, prayer, reconciliation, and service to others. These steps are a way of saying, “I can’t fix myself, but God can. Seek him first and these other things will be added.”

Put differently, the steps don’t replace or add to the gospel of Jesus Christ (as if such a thing were possible). Instead, the steps help us apply it to all areas of our lives. And by doing so, we are building on his sure foundation, that will help us withstand the storms of life.