I Kiss Dating Goodbye - Introduction

THANKS FOR PICKING up this book. Some people never get past the title.
"My friends won't touch it," one girl told me. "They hear the title and say, 'There's no way i would ever do that.'"
One guy urged me to change this title. "More people would read it," he said. Maybe he's right. I heard story of a confused bookstore customer who asked the owner for a copy of I Kissed My Date Goodbye. Now there's a book with a message people would read!
I decided to call this book I Kissed Dating Goodbye because i want to be up front with you - there are some radical ideas on these pages. Most other books on dating tell you how to make your pleasing to God - even if that means taking a break from dating.
So let me make a simple request. Just read the first chapter. If nothing in it grabs you, that's fine. But I think you'll discover that something in this book could help you.
You see, i don't want to argue with you about whether or not you should date. Yes, I'll be honest about the problems i see in the way most people date today. But ultimately my goal isn't to convince you to stop dating. I want to help you examine the aspect of your life that dating touches - the way you treat others, the way you prepare for your future mate, your personal purity - and look at what it means to bring these areas in ine with God's word.
So even though in one sense this book is about dating, in another sense dating isn't really the point. The point is what God wants. Discussing if or how to date isn't an end in itself. Talking about it serves a purpose only when we view it in terms of its relation to God's overall plan for our lives.
You may not agree with some of the things i write. That's okay. My hope is hat you'll stick around to see what i have to say. If you at least walk away from this book with a little more wisdom, my mission will have been accomplished - and your life could be enhanced. I pray that the ideas shared here will bring you a little closer to God's desire for your life.
So thanks again for picking up the book. Thanks for reading more than the title.


Joshua Harris