BEFORE YOU DO

The leader of a large Texas church offers a thoughtful guide to making the decision of who will be one’s partner in marriage. Known as a savvy entrepreneur as well, Jakes offers a five-step formula that one can apply to all important decisions: do the research, work through barriers, clarify expected rewards, narrow existing options, and make adjustments to stay on course. Goals and desires, he says, should reflect what's in our hearts, and our methods should move beyond formulations that sell ourselves short, diminish the work required, or blame others for the results we get. Though an abridgment of this work might give this production more impact, the clarity and authority of Jakes's reading style carry it through sections that are less tightly written. T.W. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2009]