Brett Glover's book Grace v 'Self-Esteem' contains many profound and thought provoking insights that will challenge the reader to carefully re-evaluate and respond to the awesome grace of God as it impacts us and all of our relationships.

Rev Norman Nix

Immediate past president Baptist churches of NSW & ACT (Australia)

Brett Glover has touched on a subject that challenges conventional wisdom and popular thinking, written in an easy to follow style... with parables that reminds the reader of John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress.

Rev George Capsis OAM

Community Outreach Ministries INC

The message of Grace v Self-Esteem is as urgent as climate change and gives us insight into the radical and maybe painful changes needed to arrest and reverse our cultural and social slide into Armageddon. Congratulations on an awesome and truly God inspired book.

Dr Vernon Vivian

Brett challenges us all to walk the ‘road less travelled’ and for those seeking goodness of the soul there is only one spiritual path and that is of grace, servant hood, true humility and integrity rather than some shallow outward sign of (self) righteousness. You will find in this book many wise ‘nuggets’ to encourage and inspire you to persevere with the good fight of faith. I highly recommend this book.

Mark Parker

National Chairman and National Training Director Youth With A Mission (YWAM) New Zealand

Each parable reminded me of Jesus the storyteller! The parables touch my heart and prophetically challenge me as the reader to choose between a lifestyle of grace or a lifestyle of self-worship in self-esteem. If you only read one book this year make it Grace v Self-Esteem, this book is that good!

Rev Ed Zodin

Brett Glover has hit the mark with this well written book on the malaise of western society. He builds a solid case for a re-think of the “Me” syndrome which has not only affected every aspect of our culture, but the church as well. His call to return to the basic teachings of Jesus is a timely reminder of a lifestyle lost and a Kingdom to be gained. Well done!

John Spellman

Pastor and Church Planter

Grace V Self-Esteem

Understand the true nature of Self-Esteem

Brett uses the timeless art of teaching spiritual truths through parables. In the style of C.S. Lewis, the parables humbly invite you to encounter spiritual truths about our time. They show you how grace (God-esteem) and self-esteem are in conflict. As you read, you will discover the true nature of self-esteem and your definition of success will change from a focus on one's self to a kingdom-of-God worldview.

Discover how Grace and Self-Esteem are in conflict.

You will see how striving to be a hero will make you into villain, why hunting treasure will cause you to lose true riches, and why dressing up as eye candy will make you into a sexy devil! This book explains why violence and abuse is on the increase, why depression has skyrocketed into an epidemic, and what causes our global suffering.

Brett Glover

Brett Glover is a theologian who writes with one eye on the kingdom of God and the other on social and
world affairs. He is the founder and CEO of In2grace Ministries, which advocates for issues of social justice through grace. Brett has served as a Pastor, Manager of a residential Youth and Family
Therapy Program as well as spending time in the business world.

Book Chapters

Self-esteem or God-esteem

The parable of Lucinda

Lucinda seduces a town with self-love and brand idolatry, leading them to trade their relationships for success and self-esteem. The story reflects our obsession with personal freedom that started in the 1950s as the new concept of self-esteem infiltrated the schools. New heroes then emerged in that decade (actors and musicians), and the result was a perceived need for personal significance expressed through hero worship and the buying of the brand-name items those celebrities endorsed.

The parable of the two portraits

The parable of the two portraits teaches us that our obsession with self-love will make us physically beautiful but spiritually ugly. I then critique the parables ugly side of self-love; It shows how self-worship started in the classroom post 1950’S, and how it has caused abuse and violence.

The parable of the fishing lures

The parable, takes the reader into a surreal world of the lake. Where the fish become characters chase fishing lures, hunting lures of fame, sophistication, sexual attraction and anger. After the parable I present evidences of an increase in violence since the 1950’s. I focused on statistical facts in the US, Canada, England, Australia and New Zealand. The increase is shocking!

The parable of dating the gods

The parable, is about a girl in search of love. She dates the gods of Greed, Vanity, Envy, Lust, Partying, Self-indulgence, Sloth and Anger. She becomes disillusioned with her false search for love and the God of Jesus Christ offers her true love. After the parable I use three stories, Wheelbarrows, Moms the word and the cross of Jesus Christ, each story shows us how the grace of God esteems us. The stories illustrate how grace is the answer to our need for personal value. How it builds value, humility and loving relationships.

Self-esteem a counterfeit of grace

Is a collection of stories showing that self-esteem is a counterfeit of grace? The stories include; the Champion Batsman’s Father, The Teacher with the Gracious Accent, Beaconsfield Mine Miracle. The stories show the spiritual conflict between Self-Esteem and grace “God esteem”

Self-Confidence or God- Confidence

The parable of the three horses

The parable, tells the story of three horses’ wild search for freedom. The horse, Star, finds his confidence in his esteem position in the herd. The horse, Bell, finds her confidence in avoiding non-praiseworthy opinions of the herd. The final horse, Petra, finds his confidence in the Horse Whisper, who represents God. The parable then follows a critique of the three types of confidence. The star searches for praise and fame. Bell avoids criticism and non-praiseworthy situations and Petra finds his confidence in grace.

The parable of the greatest animal in the kingdom of God

The parable, tells us about several animals lining up to enter heaven. The Lion, Horse, Eagle, Dog, Lamb and Donkey. The parable mirrors human concern for status, power, beauty, and social networks and it’s negative view of service and sacrifice. The animals discover God values service and sacrifice. After the parable, I provide gospel evidence of Jesus attitude to Praise hunting, with Jesus’ criticism of the Pharisees.

The parable of the photo album

Parable: Two women experience after-life judgment. Goldie, a rich, self-assured lady, relies on photographs of her “good works” in order to obtain entrance to heaven. Candy, a poor woman without a photo album, despairs until she understands that she doesn’t need anything but grace. Application: In the Bible, Jesus teaches that everything is about the grace of God.

Self-made or God-made

The parable of the heroes

Parable: At a little boy’s birthday party, the children dress up as their favorite superheroes: Superman, Spiderman, and Batman. Tempers flare when one child dresses as Jesus and carries a cross. Application: Seeking praise in the hero image causes toxic and hazardous relationship patterns.

The parable of the free love shop

Parable: A mother and daughter shop for clothes in the Free Love Shop. The girl tries on a wide selection of outfits: the Party Outfit, the Flirt and Tease, the Strip Tease and the Porn Star. She discovers the cost of free love. Application: Hunting for praise has distorted our sexuality and warped our attitudes.

The parable of Dar-win-opy

Parable: A girl joins the game of Dar-win-opoly and learns cutthroat dealings designed to win. Fixing their eyes on the prize money and willing do anything to win, the children justify their behavior. Application: Our hunger and hunt for praise is at the heart of unjust trade. Mammon wages war on the poor and our planet.

The parable of the beekeeper and his son

Parable: A father teaches his son the business of bee keeping. It shows how the leech, the ant, and the blowfly are like some people who continually annoy the beekeeper (God). The bee is the believer, collecting and making honey for the beehives. The purpose to life is to collect as much honey (love) for the kingdom as possible. Application: The Holy Spirit makes us gracious, humble, thankful, worship-ready, truthful, merciful, compassionate, and generous.

The parable of paradise cove

Parable: Big John creates a lavish resort and buys a small, old train to transport his clients to Paradise. His cunning employee, Charlie, plans to swindle paradise. So he buys both the fanciest modern train he can find and the local garbage dump. He creates theme cars: Vanity Fair, La-Covet, Plenty-A-Fair, etc. Charlie sells the journey to paradise, but it’s one big swindle. Application: God is in charge of the game and has a purpose for the small, humble train that travels to paradise. The Bibles teaches that hell is a garbage dump.

The Parable of the Archer and His Arrows

Parable: This is the bookend parable of the Parable of Lucinda. It describes the same world, full of icons, brands, and the success lie. But in this parable, the Archer shapes arrows for war. The arrows are God-made people. The Archer, who represents Jesus, projects his arrows at the town’s oppressor, Clever Man. The least of the arrows, No-Frills, is the one that destroys Clever Man’s iconic rule. Application: The reader is challenged to seek value in God-esteem, to embrace humility, and to reject praise hunger and hunting.

What People Are Saying