WoF: This book seems to be a little bit of a departure for you. What prompted you to tackle this subject?

Max: Seeing so many people struggling to find their place in life.

WoF: You said in Chapter 3 that “God is too gracious to assign you to a life of misery.” Why is it so easy to believe that God does sometimes want us to be miserable – that misery somehow equals holiness?

Max: We don’t understand God’s delightfully creative heart—His desire is that we heed our desires.

WoF: Your book is subtitled Living in Your Sweet Spot. For our readers who are not sports fans or otherwise familiar with the term “sweet spot”, could you give us your definition?

Max: The cross-section where your desires and strengths intersect.

WoF: Chapter 12 talks about ‘pausing on purpose’, saying no to good things in order to say yes to the right thing. How can we know which is which – and the difference between pausing and just being lazy?

Max: Laziness can be great. When rest equips us for service, a good pause is a holy one.

WoF: A third of the book is the two-part study guide, which includes a “Sweet Spot Discovery Guide” by People Management International, Inc. and Steve Halliday.
Tell us about these people and how they came to be involved in the book.

Max: Over the last 50 years, PMI has tested 60,000 people, helping them identify their unique abilities. Founder, Art Miller, Jr. has championed the uniqueness of the individual his entire life.

WoF: What do you hope readers will get out of Cure for the Common Life?

Max: Permission and prescription. Permission to be who God made you to be and a prescription to figure yourself out.

WoF: How do you go about writing a new book? Do you outline the whole thing first or just jump in and start?

Max: Computer, legal pad, Dictaphone – what’s your method? My books are born out of sermons I prepare for the church where I serve. First legal pad…then computer…then pulpit… then three million re-writes and a book.

WoF: What do you enjoy reading? Do you have a favorite reading spot?

Max: Most of my reading is for lesson preparation. My favorite spot to read is on an airplane.

WoF: Of all the books you’ve written, which one is your favorite? Why?

Max: Cure for the Common Life is near, if not at, the top of the list. It is so practical…it can be one of those books that places a person on the right road for life—and eternity.

WoF: You’re going to be with Women of Faith at our 2006 National Conference – for the 3rd year in a row! – and you’ll be joining us at several Contagious Joy events during the year. Tell us what being part of Women of Faith is like for you.

Max: Odd, being one of the few with unshaven legs. It’s a great, great honor. Mary Graham and team are simply the best in the nation at what they do. What an anointed organization!