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Tag: book review

  • BOOK REVIEW: THE MAKING OF A LEADER

    The Making of a Leader by Dr. J. Robert Clinton was a book I had recently picked up at the recommendation of a friend of mine in the midst of a conversation regarding leadership.

    Stylistically, this book reminded me a lot of how it felt to read through books by the Barna Group (with the exception of The Power of Vision)or from Ed Stetzer – lots of facts and observations. In a conversation with a friend over Facebook, I had mentioned that it didn’t remind me of books on leadership by authors like Maxwell or Lencioni, or Covey.

    I was wrong.

    This book does remind me a lot of Covey’s style of writing.  What I mean by that is that – like Covey – this book is best understood in the context of hindsight and is most difficultly understood if you are early in your leadership journey.  I am experiencing this with an intern I am walking 7 Habits through.  It isn’t impossible to gain insight, but it seems to me that a lack of “real world” experience (and it doesn’t take much) that it’s difficult to grasp some of the illustrations.

    To sum it up, this book was less of a book on HOW to be a good leader, but more of a scholastic observation of WHAT leaders go through to become the leaders they are.

    The thing that I appreciate the most about this book is that it is overtly from a Christian worldview and is filled with scriptural examples of principles observed of leaders in real life.  While someone who does not find their vocation in ministry may not feel this book speaks to them about how a person becomes a leader in their “ministry in the marketplace” there are plenty of great nuggets of truth that not only makes you a leader – but they are great nuggets of truth that tells you how to be an effective Christ-follower.

    Anyways, enough about that…here are some things that I found interesting from The Making of a Leader:

    • Integrity and faithfulness are preludes to success and giftedness
    • Effective leaders recognize leadership selection and development as a priority function
    • Effective leaders increasingly percieve their ministries in terms of a lifetime perspective
    • Apart from character, ministry is only religious activity or even worse, religious business
    • A leader must learn obedience in order to influence others toward obedience
    • The right to influence comes form the ability to clarify God’s truth to others.
    • It is self-initiation in the entry patterns that indicates strong potential for upper-level leadership
    • Those who self-initiate often disrupt the status quoand threaten those in authority over them…Leaders need to recognize the value of this quality and be on the alert for those emerging leaders who demonstrate it
    • A spiritual gift is a unique capacity for channeling the Holy Spirit’s power into a ministry
    • Sometimes being right on certain issues is less important that maintaining a positive relationship
    • What we truly are is revealed in crisis
    • …high-level leaders are known for reading widely and for their capacity to apply lessons to their own lives from what they read.  The ability to do this often short-circuits the years it would have taken to learn the same lessons by personal experience
    •  Spiritual authority comes out of an experience with God. A leader does not seek spiritual authority; a leader seeks to know God.
    • People in power usually win whether right on a given issue or not 

    That last point is the hardest lesson I had to learn on my own.  As one mentor of mine puts it, “It’s the Golden Rule of power.  He who makes the gold makes the rules!”

    If you have just started in vocational ministry, this would be a good book to read every couple of years to assess where you are at in your leadership journey and to keep you from having unrealistic expectations on how you are supposed to be developing as a leader.  If you have been in leadership for a while, this is a great book for you to look back at your experiences and evaluate with clarity how well or how poorly you navigated the stages of leadership – and to make adjustments regarding the future of your leadership journey.

  • BOOK REVIEW: The Power of Vision

    I have written many posts on the subject of leadership and vision.  It seems at this particular point in my life that I am finding myself with more books on the subject of vision more than any time before.

    I have enjoyed other books on vision like Church Unique and Visioneering – and The Power of Vision: Discover and Apply God’s Vision for Your Life & Ministry by George Barna does not disappoint.

    As I usually do in my “book reviews” – which are more like book teasers than an actual review – here are just a few things that stuck out to me in reading this book.

    • Vision is NEVER about maintaining the status quo
    • The future belongs to visionary pastors because they will define the future.  It is the power of God working through churches led by visionaries that causes that image of the future to become reality
    • All leaders are visionaries, but all pastors are not leaders
    • A visionary leader is a change agent
    • Myth 1: Vision should be the result of a consensus among the church’s key leaders regarding future activity by the church.  Reality: Vision is not the result of consensus; it should result in consensus.
    • The visionary leader is one who is a change anent.  In the process of pushing the church forward, the leader insists on aggressive effort; remaining stationary is tantamount to losing ground.  Without risk, no progress can be made
    • A crisis is simply a turning point at which your ability to lead is tested.
    • “One of the chief lessons for me was discovering the difference between doing what people expect a pastor to do and doing what God has called me to do”
    • A ministry that aims for something other than change invites euthanasia
    • A vision from God goes beyond the simple recognition that change is healthy; it celebrates the ability and opportunity to change
    • In the end, you are the only person who can limit your ability to dream big with God

    There is soooooo much more than this book entails that I just can’t write here with good conscience because it would be on the verge of breaking copywriter licenses 😉
    If you are a pastor you MUST have this book as part of your library.

  • Book Review: The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

    Like a worship song that was written in 2000, this book was good, but there were times where it felt as though it’s irrelevancy with today caused doubt to be casted upon it’s relevancy for today.

    What do I mean?

    First off, let me just admit that this is a well written book with probably a wealth of information that was groundbreaking at the time it was released.  It didn’t become a “#1 Best Seller” because it told a story of love that attracted “teeny-boppers” and their mothers alike.

    This was a book with great insights to what things can make the biggest difference.

    Because there is so much out there in the blogosphere about this book, I won’t waste your time to tell you what every knows is great about this book.  What I will tell you is what I’ve taken away from this book – and that’s this:

    You don’t have to have a comprehensive plan to make a comprehensive difference.

    Have you read “The Tipping Point?”

    What were your reactions?

  • Book Review: Organic Church by Neil Cole

    Have you ever been so ticked off at something, but felt like you didn’t have a platform to express it? I admit that I do.

    This book by Neil Cole initially came across to me as this type of book.

    I will admit that the journey that God has brought him through as a church planter is more than I will be able to adequately touch on in this short review. So please don’t think I don’t like this book.

    In fact, this is probably one of the first books I have read that I completely agree with and disagree with at the same time. With that said here are my thoughts about Neil Cole’s book about effective church planting for a new generation.

    As I alluded to, this beginning of this book came across as a Neil Cole who was ticked at what he saw as the “Church” in most of the western world and has not been able to have a platform until now to talk about it. In fact, he kind of admits to this in his book – not that he was ticked – but that he has been waiting to be successful enough to be able to put into some type of communicative form that he has been wanting to say.

    Cue John Mayer’s “Say What You Need To Say.”

    With that, he says some things that I understand, but maybe would say differently. For instance, in the beginning of the book he makes some strong statements about the church, but later quotes himself talking to a young church planter as saying, “Don’t bash the bride” referring to the Church as the bride of Christ.

    While Neil’s writing is witty at times and has plenty of wonderful stories to tell, but he kind of gets caught up with overusing the Lord of the Rings movies as a way to illustrate his points…in my personal opinion. There are also some stories that he tells as a way to speak of the positive impact “Organic Churches” that honestly leave me wondering.

    For instance, he writes of one church that met at a coffee shop that had some an influence that non-believers were either saved who came or they never came back. The result was that business at that coffee shop went down and eventually the business shut down. I get that salvations are positive, but I wonder what type of view the person who owned the coffee shop now has on believers. For those who are followers of UnChristian or Ed Setzers Lost and Found, you would probably see this not as a truly positive story.

    So what are the good things?

    Glad you asked! In my opinion, the best part of the book is found in the last few chapters. He speaks of how it’s not just good enough to have leadership to plant churches, but to have the right leadership. I really liked his comments about the negatives of “leadership that is too strong” or churches that are what he calls “leadership-dependent.” He also touches on the negatives of the “Event-Driven” church.

    Another great thing he comments on is how having many leaders is not just good enough, but that you must have leaders who also share same values. When starting a church, having many leaders who don’t share the same values will often lead to failure because of differing intentions and desires.

    If there was a “nugget” of insight that I really was inspired by, it was found in the last pages of his book where he writes:

    “If you want to do anything of significance in God’s Kingdom, follow these suggestions: listen to the Lord’s voice and follow that lead. Create an environment that allows failure and restores people easily. Do not invest in potential, but in provenness. You can learn from our mistakes, but I think it also wise to learn from your own. So do not e afraid to take chances and make mistakes.” -pg.204

    SUMMARY

    In the end, I do recommend this book for people trying to understand what it means to reach people in this next generation. While I do find it funny that a book about starting organic churches finds within it slick acronyms and strategies, it doesn’t mean that what is contained in it is totally irrelevant. I would chose Missional Renaissance over this book, but in no way would I not include it in good literature to build an informed perspective for reaching a new generation.

    p.s. This review is found on 53in52.wordpress.com – a website dedicated to regular reviewing of various books. Selfless plug over 😉

  • Book Review: Faces in the Fire by T.L. Hines

    _140_245_Book.69.coverThe quote on the back of the book by Publishers Weekly in describing the author T.L. Hines states “Hines dialogue is darkly funny as he explores the depths o the humans desire for authenticity….Fans of breathless suspense that’s a little off center will enjoy” is very similar to my thoughts of this book.  Personally, it is a lot darker book than that of what I usually read.  However, the suspense did keep me desiring to read it as I quickly finished it in 2-3 days.

    The story is about 4 intertwined characters who each have a major setback in life ranging from amnesia, cancer, drug use, and assassin.  The book is set up in 4 distinct “stanzas” in which each character’s story unfolds.   As you read through each stanza you begin to see how the unknowingly intertwined characters are involved with each other.

    As the plot (or lack thereof) unfolds I have to honestly admit that it was a struggle to get through the last few chapters.  The falling action and resolution are not very strong and as a matter of fact took me the longest to get through.
    I would recommend it to someone else (as long as they were over 16) but would not go out of my way to recommend it to others.
    (This book review was done by my wife)

  • Book Review: Fearless by Max Lucado

    _140_245_Book.72.coverWhen I received Fearless by Max Lucado in the mail, I was both excited about what this book would communicate, and hesitant to find what this book would confront – the fears of my own life. Max communicates beautifully that fear is a reality that confronts our lives, but it isn’t a reality that needs to control our lives.

    We all know the scriptures about fear.  I can even quote most of the “popular ones.”  But what I love about this book is how Max takes a common topic such as fear, and uncommonly speaks from a biblical perspective in a way that is both fresh and familiar.

    Simply put, this will be another one of those books that is on my shelf that will find it’s cover worn, and its stories shared more than once.

  • Book Review: The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player by John Maxwell

    The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team PlayerI picked up John Maxwell’s The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player in the bargain bin at the bookstore a couple of weeks ago.

    Being that I am a firm believer that effective leadership is best done in a horizontal environment (where each person is a vital player) and not in a verticle environment (where one person at the top dictates what those below are to do) – I was excited to find some insights.  After all, even though not all readers are leaders, all leaders are readers!

    So here’s some things that really stood out to me.

    • Teamwork and personal rigidity just don’t mix.
    • A person’s age can be determined by the degree of pain he experiences when he comes in contact with a new idea.
    • Commitment and talent are UNCONNECTED – unless you connect them.
    • …you cannot make a commitment to uncommitted people and expect to receive a commitment from them.
    • You cannot have teamwork unless you have communicative players.  Without communication, you don’t have a team; you have a collection of individuals.
    • If you have any kind of difficulty or conflict with a teammate, don’t let more than twenty-four hours go by without addressing it.
    • Having hidden agendas, communicating to people via third party, and sugarcoating bad news hurts team relationships.
    • Open communication increases trust, trust increases ownership, and ownership increases participation.
    • The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.
    • Fear not those who argue but those who dodge.
    • It is not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what’s required.
    • What we do on some great occasion will probably depend on what we already are, and what we are will be the result of previous years of self-discipline.
    • People have just two choices when it comes to their emotions: they can master their emotions or be mastered by them.
    • Discipline means doing the right things at the right time for the right reason.
    • If you try to push people to work in areas where they have no talent, you will only frustrate them.
    • Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
    • Being intentional is…about focusing on doing the right things, moment to moment, day to day, and then following through with them in a consistent way.
    • A team really isn’t a team if it isn’t going anywhere!
    • Anyone who loves his opinions more that his teammates will advance his opinions but set back his team.
    • You can’t make the other fellow feel important in your presence if you secretly feel that he is a nobody.

    There’s so much more to this book.  I receommend this to anyone who feels God has called them into leadership because leadership is more like football and less like tennis – it takes a team to win big!

  • Book Review: The Noticer by Andy Andrews

    _140_245_Book.50.coverThe Noticer is what I would most accurately describe as a modern day fable.  But unlike a typical fable that helps children learn the lesson of what happnes if you cry “Wolf” too many times, The Noticer leaves you with wisdom that could possibly change your life.

    Don’t be mistaken – this book is a wonderful read of fiction…or non-fiction…I don’t really know – but I couldn’t put the book down.  The book is centered around a central figure who we first meet in the beginning of the book with the nam of Jones.  By the end of the book we find that Jones is a whole more than what we expected.  And if you let him, Jones will teach you about a perspective on life that will show you life is more than we expected.

    Totally recommend this.

  • Book Review: Missional Renaissance

    Missional Renaissance

    “Missional” is just another spin at Christian-ese.

    A new generation of ultra-hip, establishment-abortionists with their mac computers and iPhones has come up with a new “catch-phrase” to label their definition of what they think church should be. Why “missional?” Can’t we just say we are biblical?

    This is what I used to think when I heard of the word “Missional” being tossed around a few years ago.  Fortunately, my own personal journey of following Christ has allowed me the opportunity to see beyond my own stubborn paradigms.  So when I received this book in the mail, I was open and excited to explore a movement that defines many Christ-followers, who I have judged before even taking the time to understand.

    The first thing I realized when I started reading this book was that what I thought the term “MISSIONAL” meant – was wrong.  Being Missional isn’t some trite or redesigned way to describe a people who are evangelistic or believers who like to drink at bars (though being at a bar may be an intentional strategy to fulfilling God’s desire for biblical living).

    I will be honest and say that I am still processing a lot of this information.  Right off the bat, I found some things I was saying, “YEAH!!  RIGHT ON!”  Then there were things I was saying, “REALLY?   THAT‘s biblical?”  But overall, I found that nothing heretical in nature was found.  In fact, I am starting to believe that the “Missional Mindset” may, in fact, truly be a renaissance of sorts in the organization of the people of God – the church.  With that said, here are some things that stuck out to me, ranging from things I totally agree about to the things I need to break open my bible and talk with God about.

    • We must change our ideas of what it means to develop a disciple, shifting the emphasis from studying Jesus and all things spiritual in an environment protected from the world to following Jesus into the world to join Him in His redemptive mission.
    • …study after study continues to reveal that active church members do not reflect a different value set than the culture at large.
    • Missional followers of Jesus don’t belong to a church. They are the church.
    • Our job is not to “do church” well but to be the people of God in an unmistakable way in the world.
    • The missional follower of Jesus cannot conceive of their spiritual identity outside of being in accountable and encouraging relationships with other Jesus followers.
    • …substituting religions activity for helping people doesn’t cut it with God.
    • People deserve to be blessed simply because they are people, not just so we can “witness” to them.
    • When the church thinks it’s the destination, it also confuses the scorecard.
    • Substituting church activity as the preferred life expression is as weird as believing that airports are more interesting than the destination they serve.
    • The missional church, as you might guess, has an allergic reaction to the reach-and-assimilate social engineering of people.
    • People will accept help in shaping their spiritual path…especially from people they respect and trust, who seem to have their best interests at heart.
    • …if the [YMCA] operated like the church, it’d bring people in once a week, feed them coffee and donuts, and let them watch Jason [the club personal trainer] work out!
    • Maturation is messy. It takes time.  It doesn’t occur linearly.  Maturation occurs in an atmosphere where accountability is expected and practiced.
    • Giving people information without providing means for application and accountability for their behaviors turn them into knowledgeable but disobedient people.
    • …the New Testament discussion about gifts and ministry occurred in a world where acts of ministry were primarily done in the marketplace, not “at church.” They were being the church in the world.
    • …missional leaders…believe [they] are on a mission in the world and are partnering with God in blessing the people in [their] sphere of influence.

    How “Missional” are you?

  • Book Review: Revolutionary Parenting

    272-largeGoing through my library I have found a couple books that I have reviewed in the past in an older blog, and this is a book that I wanted to share with you again. So here’s a review of a really great book that had the priviledge of reading a couple of years agod.

    June 8, 2007
    I have just finished George Barna’s new book, “Revolutionary Parenting: What the Research Shows Really Works.” As a minister dedicated to helping parents produce what Barna calls “Spiritual Champions”, and a parent myself, this was a book I was very interested in reading.

    First, here’s what Barna defines what a spiritual champion is:

    “…individuals who have embraced Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord; accept the Bible as truth and as the guide for life; and seek to live in obedience to its principles and in search of ways to continually deepen their relationship with God.”

    “Spiritual champions donate unusually generous amounts of time and money to spiritually driven causes. They carefully screen the media they ingest and have a deep and intense commitment to their relationship with God and other Christians. On a daily basis they strive to change the world in small but life-impacting ways…”

    He also alludes that those that are considered “Spiritual Champions” for research purposes are those who are not only active in the community of faith, but are Spiritual leaders with influence.

    While most books come from a psychological and experiential premise, this was written solely from research data. Patterns of commonality were then placed in book form for practical application and information purposes. While to some, the data in this book may seem too rigid, it can also appear to the over controlling, “we like our little Christian bubble” as ammunition for defending their way of parenting. After a thorough read (and re-read) here are some things I gleaned from Revolutionary Parenting.

    1. If you desire to raise spiritual champions, you must be dedicated and committed to having a maturing faith in Christ. This means growing in the knowledge of God through His word and Prayer. This is a non-negotiable
    2. The greatest difference you can make in you child in emerging as a dedicated follower of Christ and advocates of the scripture is spending extensive time studying the bible as a family (outside of church)
    3. ”Achieving positive outcome rarely happens by chance.” If you are going to be a revolutionary parent, you need to be pro-active in your parenting, not reactive. This means you need goals and a plan to reach those goals.
    4. Spending time with your child and disciplining them are the top two deficiencies among most parents. Don’t be like most parents. (“Quality time” can never replace quantity.)
    5. If you can’t prove your parenting with biblical basis, then you won’t raise a spiritual champion…and there is a difference between a morally good and socially productive adult child than a spiritual champion.

    These are just a few things. I totally recommend this read to both parents and those who are committed to ministering to children, youth, and their parents.