53 pages • 1 hour read
Bob GoffLove Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2012A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 6, Chapter 29 Summary: “Memorizing Jesus”
The difference between knowing about Jesus and truly knowing him is discussed. Goff compares his previous religious study to stalking, collecting facts and memorizing scripture without it impacting his life meaningfully. Goff admits that even though he learned a lot about Jesus, it felt like knowledge without a relationship. This realization led him to change his approach from a “Bible study” to a “Bible doing,” emphasizing action over agreement.
Goff suggests that engagement with faith should be like a personal love story, not merely the memorization of someone else’s narrative. He argues that faith becomes memorable and impactful when it involves personal stories and experiences, not when it’s reduced to abstract knowledge or passive agreement. He argues that living out one’s faith through action is the true way to engage with Jesus, moving beyond the role of an observer to that of an active participant in the Christian journey. Goff challenges traditional methods of religious education, proposing a more dynamic, involved, and relational approach to spirituality. Goff encourages believers to make their faith a part of their personal story, to “do” faith rather than just study it, making it as vivid and unforgettable as one's own love story.
Part 6, Chapter 30 Summary: “Palms up”
Goff reflects on the posture of openness and vulnerability, using the physical gesture of palms facing upward as a metaphor for life. He describes how, as a lawyer, he instructs his clients to keep their palms up during depositions to remain calm and truthful. This posture prevents defensiveness and anger and leads to honest and clear communication. Goff connects this gesture to the teachings of Jesus, who modeled a life of openness and vulnerability, even in the face of adversity. He shares that having one’s palms up symbolizes having nothing to hide and nothing to lose, seeing it as a stance of strength and vulnerability that allows for genuine interaction with others and with God. Goff posits that, just as Jesus taught a new way of understanding and interacting with the world, Goff suggests that living with our “palms up” is a continual paradigm shift, moving away from defensiveness and fear towards openness, peace, and authenticity in our daily walk with Christ.
Part 6, Chapter 31 Summary: “Two Bunk John”
John, as student in Goff’s Business Law class, is described as someone who loved people in a “full contact way” (207). John was instrumental in developing the Restore Leadership Academy in war-torn Northern Uganda. Despite Goff's initial hesitancy, John's insistence led to the establishment of boarding facilities at the school, starting with just “two bunks” for two kids in need. This modest beginning spiraled into a full-fledged boarding academy for over 250 children.
John's dedication to the school and the children resulted in high pass rates on national exams and victories in sports competitions. Goff argues that this story exemplifies the power of taking risks out of love, which can lead to exponential growth and impact far beyond initial expectations. Goff closes by revealing that the proceeds from the book contribute to these kinds of life-changing projects, involving the reader in the ongoing narrative of love in action.
Part 6, Epilogue Summary
Goff encourages his reader to take the next step, whatever it may be, to move their dreams forward. He suggests that “for most of us, that next step is as easy as picking up the phone, sending an e-mail, writing a letter, buying a plane ticket, or just showing up” (216). Goff asserts that God has created each person uniquely, to dream and to do things that align with their passions, “Pick something you aren’t just able to do; instead, pick something you feel like you were made to do and then do lots of that” (216). He shares updates on individuals from his book, highlighting how their next steps have unfolded, from Randy's ongoing work in evangelism to Ryan’s family life and worship leading. He concludes with his own continued advocacy in Uganda and a humorous note that Doug, a person mentioned in the book, will only find out about his inclusion through the readers.
Part 6 Analysis
In the final part of his book, Goff champions a Christianity that is interactive and experiential, rejecting the passive consumption of religious knowledge in favor of active participation in faith-driven endeavors. The overarching message within these chapters is the culmination of Goff’s major theme of Faith In Action encouraging a break from conventional religious practice, urging believers to engage actively with their faith in a tangible, transformative manner. Instead of acquiring knowledge about Jesus as an historical figure, Goff argues for a relational approach, where one “knows” Jesus through lived experiences and actions taken in faith. Again, this active engagement with faith is presented through Goff’s recurrent metaphor of the love story, where memorizing facts about a loved one is less important than sharing experiences with them.
Goff's narratives consistently reflect his ideology that Christianity should be universal in its expression of love and service, not confined inside the walls of a church or the pages of scripture. He professes a faith that is outwardly expressed, accessible, and lived through the community and societal engagement. This thinking is grounded in the Evangelical doctrine that faith is not just personal belief but a call to action that should have tangible effects on the world. Despite his earlier promotion of secrecy or discretion in good works, Goff increasingly draws on good works in his own life, especially his legal work and founding of the Restore Leadership Academy in Uganda, to exemplify the effect of faith in action. Goff's thinking is informed by a belief in the God of modern Evangelism, who is active and present in the world, and the view that every person is called to co-create with God through acts of love, justice, and mercy. His work also reveals the influence of entrepreneurial thinking that pervades contemporary Christian methods of evangelizing. His initiatives in education and justice reflect a start-up mentality that values innovation, creativity, and risk-taking, which he seeks to deliberately distance from the previous approaches of conservative traditionalism. His encouragement for individual initiative taps into a cultural zeitgeist that celebrates the power and potential of the individual to instigate change; this may be a conscious effort to distance himself and his foundation from the controversial history of Christian mission schools, especially in post-colonial countries, by downplaying the institutional nature of these programs in favor of personality-focused stories.
Goff’s actively argues for inclusivity and grassroots activism, rather than a top-down hierarchical church structure. He advocates a faith that operates within communities as a friend and partner, not as a distant authority. This aligns with a modern societal trend—increasingly reflected by Christian churches—towards flattening hierarchies and empowering local action. His concluding call to simple, tangible steps like “picking up the phone” or “sending an email” (216) reflects a democratized view of activism where every individual contribution is valued and every small step can lead to larger change. In this final exhortation, Goff returns full-circle to his opening assertion that true faith is shown in action.
