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Follow the Cloud

Hearing God's Voice One Next Step at a Time

John Stickl

About Follow the Cloud

"Stickl explains how hearing the still small voice of God and obeying his call will lead us into a deeper, more passionate relationship with him.”
—Robert Morris, founding senior pastor, Gateway Church, Dallas/Fort Worth

There is a big difference between being set free and living free.

 
How do I know what to do with my life? How do I hear God’s voice? Maybe the answer is easier than we think. When God led the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land, He gave them a cloud to follow. He led them in an intimately personal, ever-present way one next step at a time. He led them without revealing the whole picture because he wanted them to follow by faith.
 
In Follow the Cloud, Pastor John Stickl uses this image to ask, “What if we stopped letting obligation drive us and instead let grace lead us? What if instead of focusing on our faithfulness toward God, we focus on God’s faithfulness toward us?” 
 
The cloud of God’s presence is moving in your life right now. Maybe God is inviting you to follow him to a new career or relationship. Maybe he is inviting you to extend forgiveness, share your story, or give up your addiction. Whatever your next step is, God is leading you to discover who you are, who he is, and what you were created to do. He is inviting you to a life of freedom. Inviting you home - one step at a time.

Praise

ECPA bestseller

“In a time where ‘how to’ manuals abound, it is a refreshing manuscript you hold in your hands. John Stickl, as a young and successful megachurch pastor, chooses to engage us not with selling a model but rather inviting us to a timeless principle of hearing God’s voice and taking next steps with boldness. I’ve been privileged to see him and the Valley Creek Church family practice what they preach. Framed within the conviction of God’s acceptance, godly community, and God’s purpose for your life, you will be deeply inspired! Read it and live it!”
—Alan Platt, leader, Doxa Deo and City Changers Movement, global

“If you are a follower of Jesus, your journey with him is an adventure about taking next steps. John hits the mark in Follow the Cloud with encouraging God’s sons and daughters to continue to advance his kingdom by feeling secure in their identity, relationship, and purpose in his son, Jesus. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants the confidence that they can hear God’s voice so they have the faith to take their next step.”
—Chad Hennings, three-time Super Bowl champion, author of Forces of Character and Rules of Engagement

“Pastor John is one of the brightest young leaders in the American church, and I am grateful he has written this book! His voice is much needed right now, and I believe your faith will be strengthened and increased as you turn each page.”
—Brady Boyd, senior pastor, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, and author of Addicted to Busy

“I love John Stickl’s heart and mind for leadership. His approach is fresh, nuanced, and challenging. Regardless of the size of church you lead, John is a thought-leader for next generation ministry.”
—Carey Nieuwhof, author and founding pastor, Connexus Church

“God desires to have an intimate relationship with us, and it’s his voice that draws us closer to the very heart of God. In Follow the Cloud, my friend John Stickl explains how hearing the still small voice of God and obeying his call will lead us into a deeper, more passionate relationship with him.”
—Robert Morris, founding senior pastor, Gateway Church, Dallas/Fort Worth, and best-selling author of The Blessed Life, The God I Never Knew, Truly Free, and Frequency

“A playbook to life’s greatest lessons filled my mind while reading Follow the Cloud. If we want to experience all that God has to offer, then we must be still and trust that ‘The Good Shepherd leads you through the valley you don’t want to go through to get you to green pastures you need.’ This book is a must-read for all mighty men and women of God. I thank God for the power, courage, faith, strength, love, and guidance of the life that is John Stickl. He literally breathes life into others through his words.”
—Donald Driver, Super Bowl champion and New York Times bestselling author

“John Stickl reminds us that so much of being a leader, and so much of following Jesus, is taking the next step. One foot in front of the other. Pushing forward. Discovering and stepping into the new and unknown. And true influence is as much about following as leading. Follow the Cloud will encourage and inspire you on the journey!”
—Brad Lomenick, founder of BLINC, author of H3 Leadership and The Catalyst Leader

“If you feel overdriven, overworked, and fatigued, yet it seems as though the impact of your life is underwhelming, you need to read this book. If you think the best you have to give still isn’t quite enough, you need to read this book. John Stickl’s writing in Follow the Cloud is clean and clear, kindhearted and thought-provoking. Follow the Cloud is valuable for everyone who places too much weight on what they do over who they are, which means most everybody needs to read this book.”
—Rick Bezet, lead pastor, New Life Church of Arkansas, and author of Real Love in an Angry World

About John Stickl

John Stickl is the lead pastor of Valley Creek Church, a multi-site church in Texas named one of Outreach Magazine’s top 100 fastest-growing churches three years in a row. Stickl has a master’s degree in Christian leadership from Denver Seminary. He lives in Highland Village, Texas, with his wife, Colleen, and their two kids, Trey and Emma.

Product Details

240 pages | Published by Multnomah

On Sale Date: Aug 1, 2017

Trim Size: 5-3/16 x 8

Carton Quantity: 24

Sneak Peek

Click Here to download the first chapter of Follow the Cloud by John Stickl 

About Follow the Cloud

There is a big difference between being set free and living free. How do I know what to do with my life? How do I hear God’s voice? Maybe the answer is easier than we think. When God led the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land he gave them a cloud to follow. He led them in an intimately personal, ever-present way one next step at a time. He led them without revealing the whole picture, because he longed for them to follow by faith. In Follow the Cloud, Pastor John Stickl uses this image to ask, “What if we stopped letting obligation drive us and instead let grace lead us? What if instead of focusing on our faithfulness toward God, we focus on God’s faithfulness toward us?” The cloud of God’s presence is moving in your life right now. Maybe God is inviting you to follow Him to a new career or relationship. Maybe He is inviting you to extend forgiveness, share your story, or give up your addiction. Whatever your next step is, God is leading you to discover who you are, who He is, and what you were created to do. He is inviting you to a life of freedom. Inviting you home. One step at a time.

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Beverly Rykerd
VP, Publicity Director
brykerd@penguinrandomhouse.com
(719) 268-1935
 
Freedom Found in Following the Cloud

Contrary to the popular mantra “It’s not about you,” Pastor John Stickl in his book Follow the Cloud: Hearing God’s Voice One Next Step at a Time (August 1, 2017, Multnomah) says, “It is about you.”
 
Stickl, lead pastor of Valley Creek Church near Dallas, Texas, asks: ‘What if our lives are more about what God wants to do in us than what he wants to do through us? What if the journey that God invites us on is really about discovering who we are, who he is and what we were created to do?”
 
Using the Old Testament story of the Israelites following the cloud from Egypt to the Promised Land, Stickl illustrates how the cloud is a physical picture of a spiritual truth.  God is personal, ever present and leading us into the next step towards freedom.
 
“Following the cloud is how I learned to live my life and how our leadership team leads our church: listening to God’s voice and following his presence by faith wherever I go,” writes Stickl. “I have learned that every time I have the courage to follow, I learn more about who I am, who he is and what I was created to do.”
 
In Follow the Cloud, Stickl teaches that if you want to live a life that is not about you, then first you have to embrace that following Him is about you. Stickl helps readers understand:
·       It’s about awakening to life.
·       It’s about discovering who God says you are.
·       It’s about getting rid of your shame and finding freedom from your past.
·       It’s about resting in His love.
·       It’s about receiving the fullness of the finished work of Jesus.

Stickl uses personal illustrations, the example of the Israelites and other biblical stories to create engaging “aha moments” on such topics as fear, change, identity, listening, freedom and grace. He continually encourages readers towards obedience to God’s calling.
 
 “It’s important to remember that we never get stuck in life because God isn’t moving; we get stuck because we stop following,” writes Stickl.
 
For more information, visit www.ifollowthecloud.com or www.waterbrookmultnomah.com
 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  John Stickl is the lead pastor of Valley Creek Church, a multi-site church in Texas named one of Outreach Magazine’s top 100 fastest-growing churches three years in a row. Stickl has a master’s degree in Christian leadership from Denver Seminary. He lives in Highland Village, Texas, with his wife, Colleen, and their two kids, Trey and Emma.
www.valleycreek.org
 

Contact Publicist

Beverly Rykerd