“The time has come to change the way people approach the needs of others in order to be successful.” This is the premise of The Eyes on Growing Needs, a series of biblically based appeals on applying personal gifting and the spirit of entrepreneurship to a needy world: “God has commissioned all of us to go out there, using our imaginations to explore, target needs, and meet them to bring growth to people, things, and places,” the author writes.
These 47 chapters read like exhortative sermons, spurring readers to make a difference through the social mediums of workplace, community, and family. Many illustrations from the lives of bible characters are skillfully interwoven, and author Love Otuechere’s passion to see mature Christian people making an impact is felt on every page.
But unfortunately, these strengths do not result in a well-focused, accessible book. Readability is a major issue, due to a somewhat stream-of-consciousness narrative style and numerous syntactic convolutions. For example, chapter titles are impossibly confusing (“An Exemplary Eye on Targeted-Need Model Somewhere to Jump-Start Your Impact Journey”), and the narrative is replete with jargon that is never defined for the context, such as “looking into the cloud” and “patch management strategy.”
Additionally, themes are frequently repeated from chapter to chapter. Readers may also feel patronized by the recurring phrase, “It is your responsibility to…”
The author’s preacher-like style is, no doubt, well suited to the podium. But readers looking for a coach-like tone or a user-friendly tool will be disappointed. A more encouraging flavor might have been achieved had the author shared her own struggles and victories in the areas she instructs others on. As it is, we have the feeling of being talked at, not with, and, compounded with the readability issue, the book is less effective than it otherwise might have been.
Also available as an ebook.
