Books @ Leadership Network

Leadership Network books from 2007

Leadership Network has had another banner year in 2008, publishing 5 books:

• Leadership From the Inside Out: Examining the Inner Life of a Healthy Church Leader by Kevin G. Harney
• Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church: Mandate, Commitments and Practices of a Diverse Congregation by Mark DeYmaz
• Beyond Megachurch Myths: What We Can Learn from America's Largest Churches by Scott Thumma and Dave Travis
• The Big Idea: Focus the Message--Multiply the Impact by Dave Ferguson, Jon Ferguson and Eric Bramlett
• The Blogging Church: Sharing the Story of Your Church Through Blogs by Brian Bailey with Terry Storch

And, right here, we re-launched this blog a month ago to expand it for covering all kinds of books that Christian leaders are reading. We are thrilled with the enthusiastic response of our contributors, and their openness and excitement to share about the books they're reading.

In case you're not familiar about the Leadership Network book series, here's the background: Leadership Network books are published through alliances with Zondervan and Jossey-Bass. Why do we do this? Leadership Network’s book publishing initiatives are an important part of its overall strategy to capture and distribute knowledge to church leaders so that they will multiply their Kingdom impact.

Our Zondervan-Leadership Network Innovation Series provides pastors and other church leaders with success stories and practical “how-to” resources for putting truly innovative ideas into practice. The Leadership Network Publications Imprint Series (Jossey-Bass) delivers innovative concepts from preeminent thinkers, practitioners and pioneering churches.

-- DJ Chuang

Refining Your Style: Learning from Respected Communicators

I love great communicators... I love listening to them preach and teach the Word of God. The first preacher that really stirred my soul was Dr. Tony Evans, back in 1989... I had never heard anyone communicate God's Word with such passion, and his illustrations were simply awesome! Then, shortly after that, I heard a young, local preacher named Keith Battle... who's style was completely different, but who was equally as effective... and as powerful... as Dr. Evans. Since then, I've learned from a myriad of preachers/communicators like Erwin McManus, Andy Stanley, Crawford Loritts, and Rob Bell... whose styles are vastly different, but who have equally helped stir my passion for communicating biblical truth.

That's why I loved this book so much by Dave Stone, called Refining Your Style: Learning from Respected Communicators. It's not a new book (published in 2004), but I've never come across anything else like it. It's an easy read (227 pgs), and includes a CD that has preaching excerpts from most of the communicators he highlights in the book. Make no mistake... this is not a "how-to" book; the title is very clear on the book's purpose - helping speakers to identify different styles of communicating, so as to help them refine their own style. Let's face it: those of us who are biblical communicators can always stand to improve in the way we deliver our messages. What Stone does is highlight the strengths - and inherent blindspots - of each style. And he lists 13 different styles (never knew there were so many!), so the reader shouldn't have a problem identifying where he might place him or herself on the style continuum.

I loved the creative names Stone gives the styles: Creative Storyteller, Direct Spokesperson, Scholarly Analytic, Revolutionary Leader, Engaging Humorist, Convincing Apologist, Inspiring Orator, Practical Applicator, Persuasive Motivator, Passionate Teacher, Relevant Illustrator, Cultural Prophet, and Unorthodox Artist (I think I'm a mixture of Creative Storyteller/Passionate Teacher/Engaging Humorist). Some of the communicators he highlights are Erwin McManus, Tim Keller, Lizz Curtis Higgs, Rob Bell, Max Lucado, and others.

In each chapter, Stone gives an intro to each style, an explanation of how Jesus used that style, an interview with the communicator highlighted for that particular style, and then some practical advice for the reader on refining the style to fit him or her. Throughout the book, you'll find yourself gauging whether or not a particular style fits you... as well as labeling your staff and favorite preachers! ;-)

This is a must read for any preacher, teacher, or communicator of biblical truth! It's one of the most practical books on preaching that I've ever read... enjoy!

Darren Plummer
www.DPLUM.org

The Starfish Manifesto

Wolfgang Simson's earlier book, Houses that change the world, has always been a favorite of mine.  I just recently began reading the follow-up/big-brother, of that book, entitled The Starfish Manifesto.

A few interesting thoughts so far…

On the church entering Babylonian Captivity… the Holy Spirit is no longer the driving force of the Church, Mammon is. Part of this captivity is the current obsession with hyper-activist, high adrenalin programs and methods and approaches, celebrated as saviors for a run-down system.

The current average cost for Christian evangelism and missions is $330,000 for every newly baptized person.

We have stolen the church from God, and he wants it back from us thieves.

God wants a veil-less church without pulpits and clergy-laity distinctions. A pastor, no matter how godly he conducts himself, actually
stands more in the way of this than he is of help, because he has become a symbol of that very discrepancy.

You can download and distribute the entire book here for free.

Lon Wong
http://solarcrash.com

Leadership from the Inside Out

Kudos to Kevin Harney, the author of Leadership from the Inside Out and one of our fellow bloggers on this site. His new book is a practical, helpful guide to many of the issues that can hamper a Christian leader’s short-term effectiveness or long-term finish.

The book uses the human body as an organizing framework to talk about our love for God and others (heart), lifelong learning (mind), vision (eyes), speech (mouth), and more. I found the “Symptoms Check” in each chapter to be a helpful diagnostic tool that forced me to be honest with myself. Most readers will probably look at some chapters and think, “I’m doing pretty well in that area” or “That’s a good reminder.” But, they will also, like me, have places where they say “Ouch!” because Kevin hits a nerve – one that needs to be hit. Because of this, it’s a great resource for a pastors’ accountability group or a church staff (which is how I hope to use it).

A number of years ago, the regional Baptist entity for the Houston area concluded that the biggest problem in many of their churches was the lack of effective pastoral leadership. Out of that, they coined the phrase “leading from the inside out.” Kevin’s new book gives meaning and substance to this phrase.

Mike Bonem
www.SecondChairLeaders.com

The Benedictine Rule of Leadership

The Benedictine Rule of Leadership by Craig S. Galbraith and Oliver Galbraith III

This book contains classic management secrets that anyone in leadership will benefit from.  The Rule contained the first complete management system in the Western world. The beauty of The Rule is that it has withstood the test of time and is as valid today as it was fifteen centuries ago.

As a result of reading it, I came up with the following basic guides for effective and faithful leadership.

· Lead and teach more by example than by words.

· You can't give what you don't have so put on your own oxygen mask first.

· Do no harm but never over-look injustice, immorality, or grumbling.

· Be aware that giving life away is far better than taking from it.

· It is more fulfilling to find success through others than through yourself.

· Spend 80% of your time with people who are ready to birth their gifts of leadership.

· The people you put in place around you need to be folks who will fill in your weak gaps.

Of course these guidelines do not exhaust all the guides for leadership. After reading the book what would you add to them? Email me at easum@aol.com 

 

Bill Easum
Co-founder, Easum, Bandy & Associates
www.easumbandy.com 

 

 

3 notable books in 2007

These 3 books listed in the New York Times' 100 Notable Books of 2007 seemed significant for leaders that want to keep a pulse on what is influencing people in today's culture:

• HOW TO READ THE BIBLE: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now by James L. Kugel. In this tour through the Jewish scriptures (i.e., the Old Testament, more or less), a former professor of Hebrew seeks to reclaim the Bible from the literalists and the skeptics.
• HOW TO TALK ABOUT BOOKS YOU HAVEN’T READ by Pierre Bayard. Translated by Jeffrey Mehlman. A French literature professor wants to assuage our guilt over the ways we actually read and discuss books.
• THE INVISIBLE CURE: Africa, the West, and the Fight Against AIDS by Helen Epstein. Rigorous reporting unearths new findings among the old issues.

The above book links go to the corresponding New York Times' book reviews. These reviews give you a good gist of the book's main idea, and they also have a link to preview the first chapter for free.

Taking Postmodernism to Church

Who's Afraid of Postmodernism: Taking Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault to Church by James K. A. Smith

Though I am involved in various ministries, college ministry is most often the lens through which I view many of the paradigm shifts taking place at the intersection of culture and Church.  Our college ministry, hopefully, provides the impetus for many of our student's questioning, struggling, wrestling, and yearning for God and genuine community in the Church.  Because college really is an unique time in life, where many students for the first time find themselves free to ask the questions that they thought they have previously had a firm grasp on.

Much of this searching for God and genuine community in Church is inherent in our postmodern culture, and whether we acknowledge it, like it, or dislike it, postmodernism has allowed students to ask questions and wrestle with issues that they previously felt uncomfortable with before.  That's why this book has been such a great book to read, as it gives one the chance as the author states, to neither "demonize", nor "baptize" postmodernism, but to have a better understanding of its affect in our culture and Church.  Smith believes that postmodernism can help reshape the Church by being an "ally of our ancient heritage."

I'll leave you with this great quote below, as it reminds me of the current struggle of my student's as they wrestle with their faith in a Church that is sometimes too individual and consumeristic:

If I am opposed to the epistemology, or theory of knowledge, that plagues modern Christianity, then I am opposed to the ecclesiology (or lack thereof) that accompanies this modernist version of the faith. Within the matrix of a modern Christianity, the base "ingredient" is the individual; the church, then, is simply a collection of individuals. Conceiving of Christian faith as a private affair between the individual and God--a matter of my asking Jesus to "come into my heart"--modern evangelicalism finds it hard to articulate just how or why the church has any role to play other than providing a place to fellowship with other individuals who have a private relationship with God. With this model in place, what matters is Christianity as a system of truth or ideas, not the church as a living community embodying its head. Modern Christianity tends to think of the church either as a place where individuals come to find answers to their questions or as one more stop where individuals can try to satisfy their consumerist desires. As such, Christianity becomes intellectualized rather than incarnate, commodified rather than the site of genuine community. (pp. 29)

Moneyball - A book about Baseball Loaded with Leadership Insights

I've had this book of my list of books to read for 3 years. I've hesitated posting this review because I haven't stopped thinking about this book since I read it. Moneyball by Michael Lewis is a great book about the Oakland A's and Billy Beane their general manager. It's their story of how they compete and succeed in a market where players make millions of dollars which they cannot pay. So they have to find alternate ways of getting quality players to compete. It's a great book if you're a baseball fan and an interesting read if you're a leader.

In the church, especially younger churches, we face a similar challenge to Beane's. You generally can't go out and hire high priced team members like larger, more established churches. So what do you do? You have to find other means of recruiting, developing, discipling, and training leaders. Honestly, it's a great challenge and it's the way it should be. When I can go out and hire all the "impact players" I need to "do" church, I've failed in my responsibility as a Pastor. If Ephesians 4:11-12 is still true, then my job is to equip people for ministry and get out of the way while they use their God given gifts within the body of Christ. If I go out and hire every position that opens up on our staff with people from outside, I've relegated discipleship to someone else (and turned into the church version of the New York Yankees, which is never good).

Anyway, I doubt this was Lewis' intention when writing the book, but the book really challenged me to take a more active role in developing servant leaders who understand their gifts and are in places where they can use those gifts and make the greatest contribution to the Kingdom.

This book is a great read! I highly recommend it!

What Would Jesus De-Construct?

What Would Jesus De-Construct? I like to read books that connect ideas and contexts in history … usually balancing “airplane” reading and “home” reading. My “home” read was "What Would Jesus Decontruct?” by John D. Caputo (the most recent 2007 addition to “The Church and Postmodern Culture” series from Baker Books). I love Caputo’s style: witty, subtle, and powerful. I like to write across theological and professional sectors too, but dialogue with Caputo is like fencing with d’Artagnan. He disarms you with swift thrusts of reasonableness.

Jesus, he says, would deconstruct the church as a “self-authorizing institution” with the “poetics of the Kingdom”. Christ is the “hauntological” principle that reveals the radical contingency of our present situation. Even the doctrines, polities, and propositions that churchy people have fought over for centuries are shattered by the “event” of incarnation. Jesus’ justice deconstructs law; his forgiveness deconstructs the economy of fair play; his hospitality deconstructs capitalist reciprocity; and his love deconstructs modern possessiveness. Something momentous is going on in history, all right, but it can’t be contained in an ecclesiastical box.

Meanwhile, my “airplane” read was An Introduction to the Desert Fathers by Jason Byassee. This little gem just released in 2007 from Cascade Books (Wipf and Stock) helps Protestant skeptics understand the origins of the monastic movement. These monastics (4th – 6th century men and women of the Egyptian desert) were already doing what Caputo is talking about today. Just a few decades after Constantine, the church’s victory was revealed to be Christ’s defeat. These monastic leaders rejected the self-authorizing official church for soul-searing companionship with Jesus. Many of these monastics were middle class Romans fleeing the emptiness of life for the fullness of Christ. The desert is an admirable place to get away from distractions if you are really serious about faith. Since I am writing this in the midst of another North American Christmas consumer binge, it’s looking pretty good now!

The impressive thing about monastic Christianity is that faith and culture are radically disentangled. This is exactly the terrifying de-construction that the event of Jesus always brings about. While the churchy church has been inextricably caught up in culture since the 4th century, pre-modern and post-modern Christianity sheds property for hair shirts. Faith and lifestyle merge. The chapters of Byassee’s book are not about polities, doctrines, and Christian art … but quietude, compunction, self-control, fortitude, sober living, obedience, humility, charity … oh yes, and visions. Just imagine! One monastic lives in the desert beside a little stream for 30 years and never notices the water! Christ is sufficient to quench his thirst.

These two books led me to dig around in my library (finally stable over the Christmas holidays when nobody needs a consultant) in search of In His Steps by Charles Sheldon. Written in 1898 from small town Kansas, it sold an estimated 30 million copies. We tend to forget his book inspired prohibition and future evangelicals for social action, because the books subtitle (“What would Jesus do?”) also inspired jewelry and bumper sticker sales in a capitalist Christian frenzy of self-congratulation later in the 20th century. Along with Caputo, I remember the book as poignant and simplistic, but Sheldon’s heart was in the right place (namely in the “desert”, deconstructing with Jesus).

Sometimes divine providence mysteriously designs unusual Christmas reading. The pre-modern and the post-modern can make a powerful combination if you want to go beyond Christmas to incarnation.

Tom Bandy

www.easumbandy.com

www.netresults.org

Plagued with the Curse of Knowledge

It was about a year ago that I first picked up the book, Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath, and it stays at the top of the list of books I've read, not only in 2007, but in any recent year.

It is a business book, but has so much to say that is applicable to any organization in the business of communicating.

I  think this might be my favorite quote:

"This is the Curse of Knowledge: Once we know something, we find it hard to imagine what it was like not to know it. Our knowledge has "cursed" us. And it becomes difficult for us to share our knowledge with others, because we can't readily re-create our listeners' state of mind." (page 20)

Wow--this is useful.

• The curse of knowledge makes many Sunday morning sermons irrelevant to the listener.
• The curse of knowledge makes the church bulletin unhelpful to the newcomer. In fact, the curse of knowledge is the reason we call it a "bulletin" instead of a program guide.
• The curse of knowledge keeps churches from hanging signs that will actually get someone to the bathroom.
• The curse of knowledge assumes that people today will love the songs you grew up with.
• The curse of knowledge puts blinders on your eyes when trying to communicate something that seems so simple to you.
• The curse of knowledge causes you to be task driven and look past the people around you.

Tim Stevens
LeadingSmart.com