THINGS WE’VE

HANDED

DOWN

Chris Maxwell offers a heartfelt and insightful collection of wisdom, distilled from a lifetime of experiences and encounters. Each “letter” is a gem, filled with poignant anecdotes, practical advice, thought-provoking reflections, and life-changing insights that will inspire you to live with greater purpose, compassion, and joy. Whether you’re navigating the challenges of youth, the complexities of adulthood, or the uncertainties of old age, Things We’ve Handed Down is a luminous guide that will help you find your way through the thorniest thicket of life. This book is a legacy of love and wisdom that will be cherished for generations to come.

Leonard Sweet

Author of Jesus Human and Designer Jesus

Books are a dialogue between writer and reader. That is the case with this book but with a significant addition: this book is a dialogue between Chris Maxwell, the reader, and a dozen or so other writers who have influenced Chris and many of us. This makes Things We’ve Handed Down like a living three-way conversation with Chris, we, the readers, and people like C.S. Lewis, Walter Wangerin, Jr., Henri Nouwen, Frederick Buechner. Picture yourself in a quiet place where you listen in to the conversations in this book. You will sit enthralled and leave inspired after each chapter.

Dr. Doug Beacham

General Superintendent, International Pentecostal Holiness Church

In Things We’ve Handed Down, Chris Maxwell helps us to acknowledge and face the inner struggles, the loss and disappointment, which seem to be erased and banned from the pages of our social media or even our ordinary conversation. In a society where everyone is supposed to be happy and successful, sorrow and disappointment are taboo. Chris boldly breaks the taboo, and in these twelve intimate letters, he offers real wisdom and insight, not privately, or subjectively on his own part, but passing on the wisdom of ages, the wisdom of others acquired in his deep reading and deep living. This is a book that fearlessly searches our wounds but also offers us hope and healing.

Malcolm Guite

Author, The Word in the Wilderness

Videos

 
What’s Really Important

What’s Really Important

Don’t we all value what’s important?  We should. But maybe we don’t.  Or maybe our definitions of what’s important differ.  I place quality in many things. Like most people, I probably put too much importance on things that really have little...

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Handing Good Things Down

Handing Good Things Down

My friend asked, “So, your new book is about books?” “Yes,” I said. “Each chapter title is the title of a book which impacted my life.” “I’ve looked at your bookshelves,” he said. “You have a lot of books.” My friend was correct. Many books. So many books. And those...

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“Most pastors need a reason to slow down—in Chris Maxwell’s word, Pause—and take time to not only smell the roses but listen to the heart of God. Maxwell’s Pause is one of the better reasons to simply STOP everything else, open the book, read, reflect, reminisce, pray, and listen. I wish someone had written a book like this when I was a younger spiritual leader.” (Click here for more endorsements)
Dr. Doug Beacham

General Superintendent, International Pentecostal Holiness Church

It is my pleasure to recommend to you my dear friend and colleague, Chris Maxwell. I have known Chris for about a decade as a respected colleague in ministry, but have truly gotten to know Chris as one of my dearest friends over the past eight years as he has served together with us at Emmanuel College. (Click here for more endorsements)
Tracy Reynolds

Dean, School of Christian Ministries, Emmanuel College