Who You're Becoming: The Slow and Courageous Work of Cultivating Character in a Narcissistic Age

In a time that rewards personality and platform over integrity and character, author Chuck DeGroat invites us to return to the humble work of deep, lasting transformation.

We have more insights and resources for emotional and spiritual health than ever before, yet it takes one look at the headlines--and even our own lives--to see that true depth of character is still lacking. From the broken trust in the highest political, corporate, and ecclesial offices in the land to the broken places in our own hearts, we're facing a profound unveiling. How can we ever really know who to count on? How do we make sense of it all? And in a day of quick comebacks and empty apologies, how does slow and lasting change take place?

It won't be easy, but it will be sacred. Combining rich cultural analysis with pastoral and psychological wisdom, therapist and professor Chuck DeGroat invites us beyond techniques and tactics to offer a revolutionary, hopeful new guide for building the internal and external architecture for deep and sustaining character change.

In Who You're Becoming, we'll:

• gently confront the ways we've traded character for charisma, formation for information, communion for control, discipleship for display
• think clearly and carefully about how Christlike character grows and matures--in our personal lives, parenting, church and spiritual formation processes, even educational spaces
• explore new discoveries in psychology and neurobiology that reveal how character breaks down--and how it can be rebuilt
• engage ancient and contemporary processes and practices that cultivate strong friendships, grounded leaders, connected marriages, healthy systems, anchored identity, and creative work

The temptation to posture is strong, but the invitation of Christ is deeper still. It's an invitation not to perform, but to become ourselves: rooted, ripened, and resilient in a fractured and fragmented world.

Chuck DeGroat is a professor of pastoral care and Christian spirituality at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan, where he also serves as executive director of the clinical mental health counseling program. He is an author, licensed therapist, church consultant, and spiritual director. He and his wife, Sara, have two daughters.