Books @ Leadership Network

Justice in the Burbs

I just recently put down Will & Lisa Samson's "Justice in the Burbs". They remind me that

 

The suburbs in many ways are…

 

"...an illusion of the American dream - where no one is needy, where there is a chicken in every pot, and a car in every garage…

 

"… where planned developments control who comes near, and are designed to avoid interruption by anything unpleasant or uncomfortable…"

 

"… designed to keep people busy and buying more stuff".

 

Justice in the Burbs weaves together fictional narrative, personal stories, and reflections from guest authors, to remind us all of the calling in the Scriptures to live justly towards those who are poor, marginalized, and oppressed.  I'm so glad they wrote this book, and I'll be recommending it to many. 

 

I only wish they took it a step further in sharing more of what justice would look like in our own suburban neighborhoods and workplaces, rather than simply partnering with those in 'urban' settings. But maybe that's for another book.  I'm just convinced that plenty of injustice occurs right under our own suburban noses.

 

What really struck a chord with me was how realistically and gently the Samson’s call suburbanites to be a force for social justice in the world. They do so by sharing their struggles and handling objections with grace and recognizing that the journey towards justice is exactly that, a journey.

Lon Wong
http://solarcrash.com

unChristian: What a New Generation Thinks

I have been reading books from the people at Barna Research for years. The statistics and insights have been fodder for many a conversation in my circle of friends and co-workers.  But unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity... and Why It Matters (Baker Books, 2007), the new book by David Kinnaman, President of The Barna Group, and Gabe Lyons, founder of the Fermi Group, is perhaps one of the most significant books I have read in recent years.  The book focuses on the attitudes of 18-30 year olds towards Christianity, and in particular evangelical Christianity.  It is not a pretty picture and will be as disturbing as anything you may have seen or read dealing with this generation.

One of the things I found helpful about this book is the judicious use of statistics.  While Kinnaman is not afraid to use empirical data, he is also very adept at using story, the currency of this generation, to make his point.  He and Lyons introduce us to a wide variety of young people, both in and outside of the church.  We begin to see ourselves and our attitudes from their eyes.  We hear their pain and feel our own as they tell us that they have tried Christianity, at least our version of it, and found it wanting.

unChristian addresses six particular points of irritation for people of this generation.  It is in these areas that those outside of the faith believe that Christians no longer represent what Jesus had in mind. I found myself underlining frantically at points and at others wondering if it will be possible for us to make the needed changes.  At the end of each chapter, we are given the opportunity to hear from other contemporary Christian leaders.  Their voices lend weight and experience to the arguments presented by Kinnaman and Lyons.  All in all, unChristian has a very important and, at times, very disturbing message.

Nick Howard

http://theosyllabic.wordpress.com/

Prayer: A Struggle for Control

Admittedly, through nearly twenty-four years of full-time ministry, I have not often viewed prayer as something I enjoy. Of course, I know I am “supposed” to pray, but I struggle with a temperament compelled to action. Surely, I am not alone.

With a desire to advance in this critical area of my life/ministry, I have recently turned to Philip Yancey and his work, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference (Zondervan, 2006). Written by one who states that his “main qualification for writing about prayer is that I feel unqualified-and genuinely want to learn,” the book offers a refreshingly balanced assessment of the subject: of all that prayer is, is not and still can be for those, like me, who are not yet satisfied.

One section entitled “Guilty” has me thinking. There, Yancey reminds that God asked only two questions of Adam and Eve: Where are you? What is this you have done?

The first question, he notes, addresses our present reality. Are we attempting to hide, feeling exposed, suffering from guilt or shame, the hurt and rejection of others, or perhaps even angry with God due to unmet expectations, etc.?

The second question recalls the past and, if we are honest, provides an opportunity for proper assessment of what exactly has brought us here.

Having answered these questions before God, we are prepared to leave the garden (of prayer) newly clothed and rightly positioned for the journey ahead.

In other words, authentic prayer is that excerise through which I realign myself with God; through which I again admit, “Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.” Prayer compels me, therefore, to cease from striving to control, and to will myself to be controlled by the One who not only knows me best, but who is, truly, about what is best for me.

Perhaps prayer, then, is time to answer once again the question, “Do I really believe that?”

Mark DeYmaz
www.mosaicchurch.net

Extraordinary Leaders in Extraordinary Times

Extraordinary Leaders in Extraordinary Times: Unadorned Clay Pot Messengers by H. Stanley Wood

This is one of the best books on leadership I’ve read in along time.  Although the book is an analysis of the responses of 700 church planters to a given survey, the conclusions can be used by any pastor in any situation. The book compares the responses of founding pastors who efforts resulted in large plants to those who efforts resulted in small plants. Although many of findings will not surprise you, it is the documentation of the findings that is important.

Here are a few of the key findings of the study:

• The amount of funding has no correlction to membership size.
• Demographics and location are critical to church size.
• As the church grows, the pastor begins handling-off most of the pastoral care to the members.
• As the church grows, the quality and style of worship improves dramatically.
• The more personally focused the pastor is  on evangelism the larger the church becomes.

Bill Easum
www.easumbandy.com

taking this blog up another notch

This blog, the Leadership Network books blog, was launched on December 8, 2006. During its first year, we had exclusively focused on books published by Leadership Network in its partnership with Jossey-Bass and Zondervan. This was a good place to find conversations revolving around the handful of Leadership Network books published each year.

This was a good start, but we wanted to do more. So we started brainstorming about what would help our blog readers raise their awareness of insightful and helpful books.

Here's what we came up with: we are expanding the scope of this blog to be the place for practical insights from books that leaders are reading! I remembered that Howard Hendricks used to say that "leaders are readers", and wouldn't it be great to have one blog that focuses on what leaders are reading these days.

So we've invited more than a dozen Christian leaders to be contributors here, and they'll be sharing with us from time to time the books they are reading. We're anticipating that these books will cover a wide range of topics, including (but not limited to): leadership, spirituality, management, society & culture, trends, business, biography, and history.

This week is our "soft-launch", which is similar to the concept of a "preview service" in the church planting world. And next week, we'll pull out all the stops and have our official launch. With the timing of this re-launch being in the midst of the holiday season, perhaps this blog will help you find a great Christmas gift for someone on your shopping list.

Add a comment here -- we invite your feedback. And, make a mention of "what book are you reading now?"

Why Pain?

Some years ago Philip Yancey wrote a book called, Pain, the Gift Nobody Wants.  People avoided the book.  Even some who read most of what Yancey writes did not pick up this book.  Why?  Because we spend much of our lives avoiding pain.  Why spend time reading about it?

So, when a dear brother, Ajith Fernando, recently wrote The Call to Joy and Pain: Embracing Suffering in Your Ministry, I found myself wondering if his book might also be avoided by many. 

I hope it is not.

Ajith is uniquely positioned to write about both joy and pain.  He ministers tirelessly in Sri Lanka, a war-torn country where Christians still face very real persecution.  When I tell people about this passionate and humble man, I refer to him as "A male Mother Theresa."  Ajith serves with passion, pours out his life in faithful ministry, works with drug addicts, leads a ministry to students in Sri Lanka, writes great books, and speaks to leaders all over the world.  His life and words have inspired me on many occasions.

In this small and readable book, Ajith argues (biblically and effectively) that suffering is an essential part of life and ministry.  He builds a clear case that both joy and suffering are part of the journey of all who truly walk with Jesus.  I particularly appreciated how he dug deep into the difference between pleasure and joy.  In a pleasure seeking world, Ajith has helped me see that the enduring joy I know in Jesus is far more valuable than the myriad of fleeting pleasures that are available to me on a daily basis.

This book has made me want to walk closer with the Savior who endured the pain of the cross for the joy of our salvation.

A Beautiful Book

I have been dining on a beautiful book called, The Beautiful Fight, by Gary Thomas.  Some books can be gobbled up and digested quickly, like an In-N-Out burger.  Other books need to be savored and consumed slowly.  This book has been a fine meal of impactful illustrations, thoughtful biblical teaching, and piercing life-challenge. 

The vision of this book is to help believers discover the power and reality of Christ as the ascended one.  So often we fixate on the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus...these are all very important.  But Thomas suggests that we have not given enough attention to the ascension.  The question is, what is Jesus doing NOW.  And, as we discover who Jesus is and what He is doing, we begin to experience new levels of transformation. 

As we walk with the ascended Christ, we see with new clarity, we speak with healed lips, we hear God in new ways (because He is still speaking), we think in categories and ways we never dreamed, we serve and love like never before.

In many circles, discussion of holiness (both God's and ours) have all but ceased.  Gary Thomas opens up a great conversation we could all stand to enter.  If you are looking for a light and fluffy read, look elsewhere.  But, if you want to go deep into the heart of God and be challenged to see the Spirit of God take you to places of authentic growth and God-honoring action...this book will hit the spot.

book review marathon

Andrew Jones over at TallSkinnyKiwi is blogging all day today about books he's recently read. When he announced this feat, he was going to post 15 book reviews. At the time of this writing, I counted 9 book reviews (and due to weather, he may not get them all posted today):

• God On Mute: Engaging the Silence of Unanswered Prayer by Pete Grieg
  
• Inside the Organic Church: Learning from 12 Emerging Congregations by Bob Whitesel
  
• Blog: Understanding the Information Reformation thats Changing Your World by Hugh Hewitt
  
• The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture: How Media shapes faith, the Gospel, and Church by Shane Hipps
  
• Soul Graffiti: Making a Life in the Way of Jesus by Mark Scandrette
  
• Simple Church: Returning to God's Process for Making Disciples by Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger
  
• Organic Community: Creating a Place where People Naturally Connect by Joseph R. Myers
  
• The Blogging Church: Sharing the Story of Your Church Through Blogs by Brian Bailey with Terry Storch
  
• The Reformation: How a Monk and a Mallet Changed the World by Stephen Nichols
  

And, here's a sneak preview of coming attractions here. In a few weeks, we'll be revamping things here, and enlarging the scope of this blog to cover more books, those that innovative leaders are reading, and providing you with the practical insights.

Stay tuned!

factoids about the books and publishing

Warren Bird, my colleague at Leadership Network, has collaboratively authored 19 books, most recently 11 Innovations in the Local Church: How Today's Leaders Can Learn, Discern, and Move into the Future (by Elmer Towns, Ed Stetzer and Warren Bird). Here are some statistics he gives people who ask about Christian books and publishing:

• Christian Publishers receive a combined total of about 250,000 manuscripts per year. All Christian publishers combined (slightly over 300) publish approximately 12,000 new tittles per year. This indicates that about 5% of manuscripts get published. (Christian Market Writers Guide 2007, Sally Stuart, WaterBrook Press)

• Publishers sold 3.1 billion books in 2006, up just 0.5 percent from the 3.09 billion sold the year before, according to Book Industry Trends 2007, an annual report that looks at sales in the United States. The strongest growth segment in publishing last year continued to be religious books, where 263.4 million were sold. Sales of Bibles, testaments, hymnals and prayer books, however, slid 6.2 percent, to 66.2 million. (NY TIMES 6/1/07, "Sales Barely Up" article by Motoko Rich)

• Religious Book Sales continued to grow strongly in '06, according to the Book Industry Trends 2007. With an increase of 5.6% in net revenue, the religion segment was the highest growth category in dollar sales. It also led unit sales in all categories, with a rise of 3.1%. (Christian E-Tailing 5/4/07)

• Book Numbers Way Up: Bowker has implemented a new methodology resulting in a huge increase in their estimate of new book titles published annually. The '07 count is 291,920 vs. 171,920 a year ago. (Publishers Lunch 5/31/07)

• Biggest factor in purchase: over 70% of readers bought [a book] because someone you know said you need to read it. (IPSOS research)