The Next Level

**Praise for
*Dinner with a Perfect Stranger
***“Here’s a wonderful feast for the mind and soul! Pull up a chair and eavesdrop on this provocative conversation. If you’re like me, you’ll hear questions that match your own–and answers that can change your life.”
–Lee Strobel, author of The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, and *The Case for a Creator
*“The choice is yours: Enjoy a delicious meal of, say, veal fantarella with grilled vegetables. Or spend a quiet hour reading Gregory’s book. You may find an altogether different sort of hunger has been sated by the final page. Brilliant in its simplicity, fearless in its presentation of the truth, Dinner with a Perfect Stranger is one invitation you’ll want to RSVP.”
–Liz Curtis Higgs, author, Thorn in My Heart

**Praise for
A Day with a Perfect Stranger
**“Brilliant. Masterful. Filled with liberating truth.”
–Stephen Arterburn, best-selling author of Every Man’s Battle, founder and chairman of New Life Ministries
“Fasten your seat belt for another marvelously divine encounter with the Perfect Stranger! Once again, Gregory masterfully demonstrates just how passionately and intimately our God loves each one of us. If you are looking for an encouraging faith encounter, the Perfect Stranger books are the most palatable and powerful tools of our day.”
–Shannon Ethridge, best-selling author of Completely His, Every Woman’s Battle, and Every Woman’s Marriage
“While I like Dinner with a Perfect Stranger very much, I loved A Day with a Perfect Stranger. This book has the potential to make people think about what drives them, what keeps them from God, and what will ultimately fulfill them. In a feelings-based and satisfaction-driven society, this is an invaluable tool. People are hungering for the answers to questions Mattie gets to ask. I can’t wait to hand it out to friends who do not yet know the Stranger in their midst.”
–Lisa T. Bergren, best-selling author of The Begotten
“Deftly using narrative to touch on common objections to belief in God, [Gregory] contracts religiosity with relationship with God. As a light, brief introduction to the faith, A Day with a Perfect Stranger is a good pick for women seekers.
**–Aspiring Retail
**

Autorentext
**David Gregory ****is the author of the best-selling books Dinner with a Perfect Stranger and A Day with a Perfect Stranger, and coauthor of two nonfiction books. After a ten-year business career, he returned to school to study religion and communications, earning graduate degrees from The University of North Texas and Dallas Theological Seminary. A native Texan, David now devotes himself to writing full time.

Klappentext

Business degree in hand, Logan enters the immense Universal Systems building and is hired as an organizational analyst — a trouble-shooter. His job: evaluate the company's five divisions, each on a separate level and each operating on startlingly unique principles. Which set of principles is successful? Why is most of the company's profit generated by one tiny division? What is real profit, anyway? And who is the enigmatic executive that Logan ends up reporting to?

Logan engages in a life-changing pursuit for The Next Level-a fascinating parable that will help you answer some of life's most perplexing and vital questions. Joining Logan in evaluating each level's approach, you'll be inspired to consider the big picture of your own life from an entirely different perspective — one that holds the key to life's ultimate purpose. No matter where you are now, get ready to embark on your own passionate pursuit of The Next Level.

Leseprobe
Chapter 1

Looking for a job was the last thing Logan Bell wanted to be doing that morning. Playing video games, hiking, body-surfing, sleeping in–he could think of a hundred preferable alternatives.

But none paid the bills, and none provided an answer the next time his dad called and said, “So, Son, found another job yet?” That, perhaps, was his greatest motivation: having an answer. Any answer.

His dad, he had to admit, was right. Walking out on his first job after college, even if the boss was a complete jerk, didn’t look good on Logan’s résumé. Better to get another job immediately than take a much-needed break–especially a job at a leading software company. Logan’s undergraduate business degree might never land him where his dad was, near the top of a major high-tech company. But working for one would count for something.

Or so Logan thought as he pulled into the massive parking lot of Universal Systems Inc. “I’m here to apply for a job,” Logan told the first-floor receptionist. She smiled and pointed to a bank of elevators on her left.

“You need to see the Director. Fifth floor.”

“Is it true that you have to apply here in person?”

“Yes. You need to see the Director. Fifth floor.”

“The Director? Director of what–human resources?”

“No, the Director of the company.”

“You mean the CEO? The CEO sees people who just walk in off the street?”

“Yes.”

“Is there someone a little lower down I could talk to? I’m not looking for an upper-level job.”

“No. The Director personally interviews all job candidates.”

Logan couldn’t imagine how the CEO of an organization so large could interview all applicants. Universal Systems occupied the entirety of an immense circular building with five unusually tall stories. Behind the receptionist, in all directions, stretched the first floor as far as the eye could see. It was filled with employees sitting at desks and in cubicles.

There seemed to be no point, however, in further discussing whom he should talk to. He stepped toward the elevators, then turned back to the receptionist.

“Where do I go once I get to the fifth floor?”

“You go to the Director’s desk.”

“And where would that be?” Based on what he saw on the first floor, he could imagine wandering for hours trying to find the Director’s desk.

“You won’t have any trouble finding it,” she assured him.

He turned and walked toward the elevators, unsure how her answer could possibly be true.

A few moments later the elevator doors opened to another expanse. Like the first floor, the fifth extended as far as the eye could see. There were no walls to impede one’s view of its massive length and breadth, just desks stretching forever. In fact, unlike the first floor, this one was almost bereft of people. In the distance, a group sat around a conference table.

Beyond them, Logan noticed a man sitting at a desk. He walked in that direction. The man behind the leather-topped oval desk looked to be about forty. He was dressed in a brown business suit with a blue tie. The nameplate on the desk read simply “Director.” He rose from his chair and extended his hand.

“Welcome to the fifth floor. What can I do for you?”

“My name is Logan Bell. I came to apply for a job.”

“Wonderful. Have a seat.”

Logan sat in a leather captain’s chair in front of the desk. “I’m…I’m a bit surprised to be directed to you. Do you really interview all applicants?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Do you have any openings? I’ve heard that this is the place to work.”

“We always have openings.”

“I’d like to see if I’m a match for any of them.&#…