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| Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations |  | Authors: Alex Harris, Brett Harris
Publisher: Multnomah Books
Category: Book
This item is no longer available
Avg. Customer Rating:  64 reviews
Media: Paperback
Pages: 256
ISBN: 0307444708
EAN: 9780307444707
ASIN: 0307444708
Publication Date: April 15, 2008
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Product Description
A generation stands on the brink of a "rebelution."
A growing movement of young people is rebelling against the low expectations of today's culture by choosing to "do hard things" for the glory of God. And Alex and Brett Harris are leading the charge.
Do Hard Things is the Harris twins' revolutionary message in its purest and most compelling form, giving readers a tangible glimpse of what is possible for teens who actively resist cultural lies that limit their potential.
Combating the idea of adolescence as a vacation from responsibility, the authors weave together biblical insights, history, and modern examples to redefine the teen years as the launching pad of life. Then they map out five powerful ways teens can respond for personal and social change.
Written by teens for teens, Do Hard Things is packed with humorous personal anecdotes, practical examples, and stories of real-life rebelutionaries in action. This rallying cry from the heart of an already-happening teen revolution challenges a generation to lay claim to a brighter future, starting today.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 59 more reviews...
Expect to be challenged and encouraged. Teens and adults alike. August 20, 2008
Do Hard Things is a book geared towards teenagers written by a set of teenage twins, Alex and Brett Harris, who believe that our culture has low expectations for the youth of today. They are on a mission to motivate teens across the nation and even the world to step up an do hard things for Christ.
The Harris twins begin the book by arguing that the term teenager is a relatively new concept where a teenager is physically grown but is not expected to have the responsibilities of an adult. However they argue that this was not the case 100 and more years ago. In most societies during most times, boys became men at an early age generally at some point shortly after puberty when they begin to gain adult strength. If they could do the work of an adult, then they were considered an adult. However, once a law was made that mandated that children be educated through high school, the expectations for teens to contribute to society diminished and thus we have the consumeristic teen culture of today.
But if Alex and Brett Harris have their way, teens all across the globe will no longer see themselves as adolescents that have no responsibility or expectations to benefit their society. Teens will become "rebolutionaries" or those who rebel against a culture of low expectations and begin to revolutionize what the world believes teens can accomplish.
The Harris twins break the book up into three parts, the first dealing with misconceptions of what the teen years are supposed to be about, the second listing the types of hard things that teens should do and strive for, and third the vision and stories of what it looks like to live a life doing hard things.
Overall, I found this to be an easy read with a convicting and hard message. I'm only 26 years old, but I already feel the gravity of the sense of urgency of the call to so something meaningful and impactful with my life. Reading this book has made me feel that I've already wasted 10+ years of usefulness to my community for the sake of the gospel. I was encouraged by the many examples of teens sometimes 11 or 12 years younger than myself accomplishing things that many 40 and 50 year olds are too afraid to do. The twins inspire hope. Hope that I, despite my failings and apathy, can awake from my slumber and serve God and my community with a new and infectious zeal that would carry forth with accomplishments and fruit that I would never have thought possible.
My only critique of the book would be that it is very heavily dominated by examples of hard things and words that would encourage the possibility of doing hard things. While these are necessary and good, I would have like to have seen a bit more substance behind why we choose to do the hard things. We obviously shouldn't choose to do hard things just because they are difficult. But rather, there is something intrinsic about certain "hard things" that is rewarding, valuable, and worth doing. The Harris twins did a little bit of this, but could have added more depth by going into additional detail behind the nature of the intrinsic value of certain hard things.
That critique aside, I still believe that this is a very good book, not only for teens, but also for those post-teenagers that want more from there life than the current rut they feel their in. I know that I was definitely encouraged by the Harris twins and motivated to step out of my comfort zone in order to participate in the gospel more boldly.
Great book for every teen August 5, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Like several reviewers wrote, I picked up this book for my 13 year old and first read it myself. It not only inspired me to do some "hard things", it helped me realize how I can challenge my kids to stretch beyond what they think their limitations may be . My daughter is reading it now and loves it and I want my husband to read it next. I will recommend it to everyone I know who has a teen or preteen. We sell our children short in this society by expecting so little of them. How refreshing to get a glimpse of how things can change when we expect more of them and they expect more of themselves.
L-L-Love this for my daughters--4 teens August 4, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
We listen to this audio in the car, and relisten to chapters. We've accessed the blog to get the Harris twins favorite books to read and order. Not only has the book motivated my teen daughters, 15, 16, 17, and 18; it has greatly motivated my 10 year old daughter.
I urge Christian teens and young adults to move into this movement. Do not fall to the low expectations of the world. Rise up and be the people of God. David was young when he slew Goliath. Mary was a teen when she gave birth to Christ. The book has examples, both Biblical and current. It talks about how to move through the low expectations placed by a selfish society.
Parents, please, have your kids read this. Help them become what God calls them to be.
 A Serious Challenge for Teens July 31, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Today, a teenager is considered a "good kid" if he gets good grades, gets into a good college, and stays out of trouble. In a culture where the perceived norm for high school students is drugs and detentions, making the honor roll is an accomplishment worthy of a bumper sticker. But the sad reality is that at many schools even the honors classes are so dumbed down that merely showing up and turning in all the work gets you an A. So if a student gets straight A's, plays a sport and joins a club he is considered top-notch. And if he regularly attends church, well...that is even better.
Alex and Brett Harris (yes, the younger brothers of Joshua Harris, and yes, that Joshua Harris) have noticed this trend. They have noticed that teenagers are consumed by low expectations, and by and large have bought the myth that reaching a bar knee-high is something to be proud of.
The Harris brothers point out that this expectation of worthlessness has produced years of wasted potential. In their book, Do Hard Things, they expose this culture of mediocrity as the teenager's enemy. They make it clear that the victims in this are teens who squander their first opportunities in life to excel--to do things that count for eternity.
Where did this culture come from? They blame the myth of adolescence (a term Al Mohler and Rick Holland have been using for years). They assault the idea that there should a be a time period between being a kid and being an adult, and that in that fictional time period it is acceptable to squander your years staying out of trouble, instead of seizing them to serve God. The first way the myth gets teens to waste their life is by convincing them that being above average is actually something to be proud of. Excellence is defined by getting good grades in easy classes, and if the grades are to hard, at least trying to get good grades should be sufficient. The second way, the Harris brothers say, is by getting teens to be known for what they don't do, rather than what they do. "Tim doesn't do drugs or get in trouble at school--what a good boy he is!"
This book is refreshing because it is unlike most other books written for teens; it challenges them with real challenges. It challenges the both the myth and the culture of mediocrity the myth creates. And it encourages teens to try things at which they might very well fail. In this vei it reminds me of John Piper's Don't Waste Your Life.
The Harris brothers are 19, and they write for a teenage audience. I heard someone say that this book would be suitable for adults to read, but I'm not sure how the Harris brothers would take that. After all, the point of the book is that teenagers need to grow up and act like adults. If culture has set the bar too low for adults too, well that almost misses the point of what the Harris brothers are trying to say. They are not calling teens to rise to the level of the average adult--they are calling teens to excellence.
The most helpful part of the book for me was the examples of hard things the authors give. There are five categories of hard things given, and while I won't give you the list here, I will tell you that they range from making your bed and working out consistently to ending childhood poverty in Africa. The most common example the book gives, and some might find this the book's most obvious weakness, is political activism. The Harris brothers themselves worked on a campaign for a state supreme court candidate, and the longest example in the book is about a girl who ran a county-wide election in Colorado.
The appendix of the book is an explanation of how the Gospel fits into this call to do hard things, and it is very evangelistic. I would have liked to see the Gospel at the front end, and I would have liked to see them show in each section how the call to follow Christ fits in with the overall message to teens. But this is a minor concern, and the book is replete with Scripture passages and allusions, so it is not as if they were trying to obscure the Christian message. I just wish it would have been more integrated to the theme.
I would recommend this book be given high school students, and the younger the better. It could be a good graduation gift, but at that point the thrust of the book would already be in a person's rear-view mirror. It is more suited for freshman. Those who read it will be challenged to escape the trappings of modern-American adolescent-mediocrity.
Finally, the Harris brothers have a website, www.therebelution.com, which is an excellent source of information and forums for Christian teens. It is worth exploring, and youth pastors especially will mind much that is helpful there.
You really can do hard things... July 26, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is a much needed look at the state of adolescence in our society. There is this odd idea out there that adolescents are basically useless, and should bide their time until they get a certain level of education and experience under their belts. This book prompts the teens in our society to flush that idea, and embrace a new one: Teens can take on responsibility, do hard things, and impact their own lives and others in meaningful ways.
The twins are, of course, Christian; therefore, this book is written from that perspective and so it contains references to Christian themes and scriptural teachings (as I plan to talk about more in depth on TheChristianScribbler.com) . However, this book is actually a great resource for people from all different religious backgrounds because the message is quite capable of carrying through. Also, I'd recommend this book to older children, teens, tweens, and anyone who is going to be working with kids; pastors, parents, teachers, counselors, etc...
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