Books @ Leadership Network

Everybody is Coming, and the Church Needs to Wake Up!

I've been on a reading spree recently, consuming as many books as I can on the interrelated topics of leaderless organizations, self-organization and the power of a bottom's up structure in the Church.  It began with The Starfish and The Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations, then it was Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, and now I'm absolutely glued to Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations by Clay Shirky.

This is a great, great book.  Starfish and Spider just sort of scratch the surface.  Wikinomics is really focused on collaboration.  But this book does a wonderful job of looking at what I would call the science, art, and sociology of self-organizing.  The book weaves together great examples of self-organization, and Shirky really helps the reader understand the issue from various angles.

I have been thinking a lot about the Church recently and what I see as one of its major dilemmas.  It has a desire to pursue its mission, but it is often handcuffed to having to run an organization.  So here are a couple of sections of the book that really stood out to me.

Running an organization is difficult in and of itself, no matter what its goals.  Every transaction it undertakes—every contract, every agreement, every meeting—requires it to expend some limited resource: time, attention, or money.  Because of these transaction costs, some sources of value are too costly to take advantage of.  As a result, no institution can put all its energies into pursuing its mission; it must expend considerable effort on maintaining discipline and structure simply to keep itself viable.  Self-preservation of the institution becomes job number one, while its stated goal is relegated to number two or lower, no matter what the mission statement says.  The problems inherent in managing these transaction costs are on of the basic constraints shaping institutions of all kinds (pp. 29-30).

and then this,

The two basic organizational imperatives--acquire resources, and use them to pursue some goal or agenda--saddle every organization with the institutional dilemma, whether its goal is saving souls or selling soup.  The question that mass amateurization poses to traditional media is 'What happens when the costs of reproduction and distribution go away?  What happens when there's nothing unique about publishing anymore, because users can do it for themselves?'  We are now starting to see that question being answered.

This book will definitely have you thinking a lot about its application to the Church.  As new social technologies explode upon the scene with almost little or no cost, we are going to see those within the church begin to organize and carry out a mission (maybe even different than what the church staff has identified) without having the need or desire to go through traditional church hierarchies.

My Beautiful Idol

Everyone seems to be comparing Pete Gall's book to Blue Like Jazz since it's in the spiritual memoir genre.  No offense to Donald Miller, but I thought 'Idol' was a far better read.

It could just be where I'm at in life right now, but I felt that Pete was just filled with way more self-absorption, more insecurity, more ridiculous stories, and more excuses in life than I've ever read about.  Some reason stuff like that sells with me these days.

I don't know how many times I stopped to say to myself, I can't believe he just wrote that.  And I also don't know how his wife let him get away with writing about all these other women the way he did.  With every girl he wrote about I kept flipping to his bio wondering, so is this his wife?  ...nope. His wife wasn't even mentioned until the final closing paragraphs of the book.  I'm hoping this sets things up for a follow up memoir.

It's hard to bring up quotes from the book because it's almost one giant narrative that rarely stops to explain itself.  Here's a few random tidbits...

Things you don't even know about today are things that I'll make sure you won't be able to live without tomorrow

... and idol is a god you can put in your pocket.  It's something you can control, pull out when you need a dose of insurance or magic, and then put away while things click along well.  Oh, and an idol will always choose your death over it's own.

Seminaries are full of salespeople in training

My mother mentioned that she misses being able to brag about me

... We work so overly hard to make God look good that what we say has no credibility at all; we lie about him all the time.

...I want to earn God's love because I can't just let it happen without taking him for granted, or maybe I'd hate him if he loved me for no reason.

I don't know if I'll ever be quoting anything from the book again, but it's definitely helped me to become a more honest follower of Jesus.

Lon Wong
http://solarcrash.com

CRAZY LOVE: Overwhelmed By a Relentless God

When you're wildly in love with someone, it changes everything.  That is the gist of Francis Chan's book: God's overwhelming, hot-pursuit love for us... if accepted... should radically change the way we live.  No doubt.  I loved the book... Chan's heart for an all-holy God who is madly in love with us is over-the top!  It doesn't take long, once you get into the book, to understand why he's connected so often with Louie Giglio and the Passion crew... he's on fire, with white-hot passion for God.

Here are some things I highlighted in the book:

* When I am consumed by my problems -- stressed out about my life, my family, and my job -- I actually convey the belief that I think the circumstances are more important than God's command to always rejoice... that I have a "right" to disobey God because of the magnitude of my responsibilities. 
* The point of your life is to point to Him.
* Many people look at their lives and weigh their sins against their good deeds.  But Isaiah 64:6 says, 'All our righteous acts are like filthy rags."  Our good deeds can never outweigh our sins.  The literal interpretation of "filthy rags" in this verse is "menstruel garments" (think used tampons... and if you're disgusted by that idea, you get Isaiah's point).
* The very fact that a holy, eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, merciful, fair, and just God loves you and me is nothing short of astonishing.  The wildest part is that Jesus doesn't have to love us... [and] the irony is that while God doesn't need us but still wants us, we desperately need God but don't really want Him most of the time.
* Are we in love with God or just His stuff?  Imagine how awful it would feel to have your child say to you, "I don't really love you or want your love, but I would like my allowance, please."
* People who are obsessed are raw with God; they do not attempt to mask the ugliness of their sins or their failures.  Obsessed people don't put it on for God; He is their safe place, where they can be at peace.
* After the apostle Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, people "were cut to the heart and said... 'Brothers, what shall we do?'" (Acts 2:37).  The first church responded with immediate action: repentance, baptism, selling possessions, sharing the gospel.  We respond with words like Amen, Convicting sermon, Great book... and then are paralyzed as we try to decipher what God wants of our lives.

I didn't know much about Chan before I read the book... still don't.  But I know alot more about the God He loves... and have fallen more deeply in love with Him because of His servant, Francis Chan.  Awesome book... a must read. ;-)

Darren Plummer, Lead Pastor
Mosaic Church, DC
www.DPLUM.org
www.mosaicland.org

I NEED YOUR HELP!

9 PM UPDATE - STILL A FEW LEFT.

THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP.

uPDATED AT 4:10 PM edt (SEE BELOW FOR BOOKS ALREADY TAKEN BUT PLENTY OF GOOD ONES LEFT IN THIS WEEK'S GIVEAWAY. WATCH THIS BLOG FOR MORE NEXT WEEK.

I live a very blessed life and one of the areas where I am blessed is that I surrounded by books. I love to learn by reading.

Unfortunately, they tend to pile up around here. I have scores of books that I have read and some that I will never get to.

Because of my position with Leadership Network I get sent lots and lots of books. Some come from publishers who want me to read and review their book. Some come from author friends who want to pass along a gift. And believe it or not, some come from Amazon where I am sure someone is sneaking in on my account and ordering.:)

Many times I end up with the same book from all three sources. A publisher sends, the author sends and often I have already pre-ordered it.

I do read all the books that friends send along. Some that the publishers send and I at least start the ones I get from Amazon to see if they are worth finishing.

But here is where I need help. These books really don’t do any good just sitting on my shelf. Others need to read them and many actually need a short review posted here on our blog.

So, I am about to commence the great Dave book giveaway in an attempt to give away 80% of my books.

Here’s how it works:

Every so often I will post a list of books available.

Be the first to email me at dave.travis@leadnet.org with the name of ONE of the books in the list and I will mail it to you.

In return, I want you to actually read it and within 6 weeks send me a one-two page review of the book with special notes as to what you think church leaders can learn from the book.

Some of those reviews will be posted here on the Books@ Leadership Network blog.

 A few of the books will be marked – No need to review because they don’t really apply to church leader topics. Those you just get for free.

 If you get a book and don’t send a review, you will become ineligible for future free books.

And to spread the wealth, only request one book from each list, then wait a few weeks for the next list.

Here is the initial list of books, a few with some comments:

 

The Passionate Life by Mike Breen and Walt Kallestad – good book and good friends but I have two.

 

The Age of Speed – Vince Poscente

 

Leaders at all Levels – Ram Charan   TAKEN

 

Lead Like Jesus – Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges

 

Get a Life – by Reggie McNeal – good friend but I have two copies.

 

Leadership on the Line – Ron Heifetz – not a new book but really good. TAKEN

 

Her Heart Can See – a biography of Fanny Crosby TAKEN

 

The Revolutionary Communicator – from Relevant booksTAKEN

 The Tangible Kingdom – Halter and Smay – publisher sent me two!

 The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling – Stephen Denning.TAKEN

 Wikinomics – Don Tapscott

 
Valley Boy – Tom Perkins autobiography of Silicon Valley venture capitalist

 The Blogging Church – Bailey and Storch – probably the first book written on the topic.TAKEN

 

That is a start. As mentioned above, if you want one shipped free to you, send me an email at dave.travis@leadnet.org. I will let you know if you are the first and will get your shipping info and then go to the post office.
 

Thanks for the help.

Dave Travis is Managing Director of Leadership Network. He reads way too much.

WHY WE’RE NOT EMERGENT (by two guys who should be)

I’ve been following the Emergent Movement and “discussion” for years.  A number of the pioneers in the movement are people I call friends.  I have spoken many times at the National Pastor’s Conference and have had a chance to sit in on numerous presentations about the emerging church…by Emergent leaders.

One thing that has struck me on a number of occasions is that the “discussion” usually involves the same people saying the same things and, for the most part, agreeing with each other.  There have not been many dissenting voices invited into the conversation. 

In recent years, this is changing.

More and more people who have concerns with some of the direction, hermeneutics, and conclusions of the Emergent Movement are adding their voices.  I had a chance to read a new book, WHY WE’RE NOT EMERGENT (by two guys who should be). It is written by Kevin DeYoung (a bright thinker and local church pastor) and Ted DeYoung (a committed Christian and sports writer).  These two authors tag-team the book with a delightful mix of insightful theology, biblical reflection, sharp humor, and keen sociological insight. 

I strongly recommend this book to:

• Leaders in the Emergent Movement (read it humbly and with open hearts and ears),
• People who are participants in, or are  feeling drawn to the Emergent Movement (let this book be a counter-balance to some of the excesses you might discover along the way),
• Pastors and leaders who want to know what beliefs guide this movement and where the Emergent leaders might be heading.

I appreciated the book for a number of reasons:

• It is honest, but not mean-spirited.
• It is theologically deep, and also humorous.
• It brings a fresh and dissenting voice to a “conversation” that has been dominated by the same few people who spend a bit too much time praising and affirming each other. 
• It identifies people as part of the Emergent Movement not because they wear the label, but because they have adopted the Emergent approach to scripture, theology and church.  This means there are people and ministries addressed in the book who might even say, “We’re not Emergent” or “we would not use that label” but their methodology and ministry bear many of the marks of the Emergent church.
• It is written by two guys who have done their homework, thought deeply, and communicate well. Each has a very distinct voice and I enjoyed what both of them brought to the discussion.

I have a couple of cautions about the book:

• The authors use a bit of a kitchen sink approach, at times, and lump together people who are part of the movement but might not agree on everything.  In particular, a person like Dan Kimball embraces and employs many of the stylistic aspects of the Emergent Movement, but his theology lines up with historical orthodoxy.  Others in the movement are quick to question, or dismiss, core elements of the historical Christian faith.  To treat all those who embrace a similar style of worship as if they all hold to the same theology is not fair.  I felt this happened a few times in the book.
• The authors also portray people in the Emergent Movement in broad strokes that can create a caricature rather than a real look at real people.  This is also done often in many of the Emergent books I have read.  When we name people in a book, or talk about groups of people, it seems best to be very cautious that we represent them with great care.  A few times I felt the authors got a little sloppy here.

For years I have heard and read the Emergent leaders talk about the “discussion.”  I think these new voices in the “conversation” are needed and helpful.  Let’s keep talking!

Things that we yearn for...

It's funny how some words become commonplace in a community or culture.  As a resident of Los Angeles you hear a lot of talk about "sex" and "sushi."  It seems that these are two things that Angelenos highly esteem.  So when I came across the book, "Sex, Sushi & Salvation: Thoughts on Intimacy, Community, & Eternity" by Christian George, I knew I must pick it up.  Rarely do you see the word "salvation" in the previous word mix, but I knew as a college pastor these are important topics to the community I minister to.  People's worlds often revolve around sex (i.e. intimacy, connection, belonging, love, etc.), sushi (i.e. food, sustenance, community, great conversation, going out) and salvation (i.e. God, Jesus, transcendence, community, eternity, etc.).  George says:

Since humans are made in the image of God, we have three basic passions--intimacy, community, and eternity. We burn for them, save for them, pay for them, and pray for them.  But only the God who fulfills these desires within Himself can perfectly fulfill them in us.  This is a book about sex, sushi, and salvation--a book of snapshots--the ups and downs, the failures and fortunes, the smiles and trials.  In these chapters, I retrace my travels around the world, from pagan temples in Greece to Transylvanian mountains in Romania.  I confess my lust and love, my struggle with truth, and my quest for Christ.

Fasten your seat belt.  It's going to be a wild ride.  And along the way we just might discover that the God who satisfies us with Himself joins us for the journey.

As I was reading the book, and when I reflect back upon it, there are three basic aspects that really stuck out and drew me to it.

• First, George writes from a real narrative perspective.  And what I mean by that is that often you get a book that is fairly dry with a lot of concepts and ideas, but there is no overarching narrative to pull the reader into the content.  Christian weaves a story that makes you want to turn page after page, and because of this, I think the reader is better able to understand the concepts of intimacy, community and eternity in biblical, practical and earthy terms.

• Second, George really writes from his experiences of traveling.  This is not new stylistically for him, as he returns to a successful writing form that he uses in Sacred Travels: Recovering the Ancient Practice of Pilgrimage.  Humans love traveling, and it is often in traveling, away from our comforts of home, that we are stretched, challenged, and find ourself leaning more and more on God, dependent on Him for direction.  So with the narrative storytelling, the reader will find themselves enjoying different places around the world and how they view intimacy, community, and eternity.  And as you read about his travels, I think that you will think back upon your own travels and how these concepts came to life for you.

• Third, George tackles issues that I think are important not only to everyone, but I think ones that are really prevalent to a college, emerging adult stage of life.  He is obviously not the first to use the metaphor of journey in relation to our life with God, but I think that this metaphor is a much needed one right now, especially in a culture that is used to immediacy and instant fulfillment.

All of these elements combine for a powerful read, and with only 183 pages I think many will want to read it again.  George reminds me of some of the writing Donald Miller has put out recently, especially in its narrative approach to story telling, and with an honesty and vulnerability that I think people are dying for.

I highly recommend this book, so let me leave you with a quote about sushi as I close this post.

Sushi also reflects our search for community.  C.S. Lewis once said 'Friendship arises out of mere companionship when two or more of the companions discover that they have in common some insight or interest or even taste.'  In the 1950's, boy met girl at soda fountains.  Today they meet at sushi bars.  According to the National Sushi Society, the number of sushi bars in the United States quintupled from 1988 to 1998 alone, and food trends expert Phil Lembert remarked, 'Sushi may well be the new pizza.'

Why do we want community--whether at a sushi bar or a '50s malt shop?  Because we burn for belonging.  (Just look at a middle school cafeteria when everyone's finding a seat.)  God gave us the desire for community so He alone could satisfy it.

free webinar - Leadership from the Inside Out with Kevin Harney

Dial in and connect with Kevin Harney on this free webinar next Thursday!

FREE WEBINAR -- "Leadership from the Inside Out: Kevin Harney presents The Healthy Leader" -- Thursday, May 22, 2008 3:00PM - 4:00PM CDT

Success in leadership goes far beyond having a set of skills and following best-business practice. Effective leadership emanates from a healthy inner life. Join the Leadership Network team with Kevin Harney, author of Leadership from the Inside Out, for this one hour webinar that will investigate how to strengthen our inner life in ways that will strengthen our outer leadership.

The American Church in Crisis

On my nightstand at the moment is David T. Olson's new book, The American Church in Crisis (Zondervan, 2008). Olson is the director of the American Research Project and director of church planting for the Evangelical Covenant Church. Loaded with charts, graphs and sidebars, his research is based (as are his conclusions) on his study of a national database of some 200,000 churches.

And there is cause for concern.

For instance, despite some optimistic polls that otherwise suggest the American church is thriving, Olson writes, "On any given Sunday, the vast majority of Americans are absent from church and if trends continue, by 2050, the percentage of Americans attending church will be half (of what it was in 1990)."

To avoid this dismal future, "the American church must engage with...three critical transitions...which have altered the relationship between American culture and the church." Namely, Olsen defines these as:

1. The transition from a Christian to a post-Christian society;
2. The transition from a modern to a post-modern society;
3. The transition from a mono-ethnic to a multi-ethnic society.

Of course, transitions 1. and 2. have long been foreseen and understood. It's transition 3. - the new kid on the block - that's getting increased attention from researchers, writers, theologians and practitioners, etc., alike. Indeed, we are making the case for the multi-ethnic church as a Biblical response to address the changing times!

According to Olson, it's not only what's needed; it's the future.

He writes, "In the mono-ethnic world, Christians, pastors and churches only had to understand their own culture. Ministering in a homogeneous culture is easier, but mono-ethnic Christianity can gradually become culture-bound....In the multi-ethnic world, pastors, churches and Christians need to operate under the rules of the early church's mission to the Gentiles."

And I really loved this: "As the power center of (global) Christianity moves south and east, the multi-ethnic church is becoming the normal and natural picture of the new face of Christianity."

It's what we've been saying; it's what increasing numbers of churches are now striving to become.

There are many more insights that make the book well-worth its cover price. But listen, don't read it simply for more stats and info. I recommend you read it with a desire to make personal and corporate changes that will be necessary for the American church - and, ultimately, the Gospel of Jesus Christ - to truly thrive in a changing world.

Mark DeYmaz
www.markdeymaz.com

Face to Face

Three spiritual issues are converging in the emerging pagan world. First, there is the essential mystery surrounding Jesus the Christ. Second, there is the emergence of image in art, cinema, media, and fashion as a primary educational methodology. Third, there is the deep desire to reach out and touch (or be touched by) the Holy. The controversies surrounding this convergence range for the Jesus Seminar, to worship design, to mobile personal spirituality, to the relative truthfulness of cinematic portrayals of the divine. Since the modern world is frequently just a higher tech rerun of ancient times, Robin Margaret Jensen’s book "Face to Face: Portraits of the Divine in Early Christianity" (Fortress Press, 2005) is worth a read by contemporary pastors.

One fascination of the book is Jensen’s ability to trace the portraiture of Jesus through the centuries. The earliest images focused on Jesus’ healing power and portrayed him as a beardless, brawny, beautiful young man reminiscent of Hercules and other mythical heroes. As Christianity spread to the upper classes, a second image emerged of Jesus as an older, bearded, ascetic looking philosopher reminiscent of Socrates. Once the doctrine of the Trinity had been resolved in the 4th century, Jesus began to be pictured as the cosmic Christ, co-eternal Ruler with the Father, in total control of history.

Another fascination of the book is that despite different perspectives on the image of Christ, rooted in different experiences of the power of Christ, his portraits have startling similarities. They all go back to ancient, miraculous images superimposed on cloth and untouched by human artistry. We all know of the Shroud of Turin. One was the “Mandylion”, an imprint made by Jesus himself wiping his faith with a towel, said to have powers of healing in Edessa, later to have rescued the city from invading Persians in the 6th century. Many copies were made, but the original was lost in the sack of Constantinople by Christian crusaders from the west in the 13th century. So how did Jesus look? All the ancient portraits, from various sources, show his eyes looking straight out, under well-defined brows and a high forehead, prematurely bald. He has a long, narrow nose; drooping mustache, and a beard that comes to two points. His hair is parted in the center and hangs to his shoulders.

So who cares? The next fascinating thing about the book is that it is very clear that a lot of people really do care, and have always cared, about the “touchability” of Jesus. Perhaps for sophisticated church people, theologians, Bible students, public school graduates, professionals, and non-profit CEO’s the abstraction, idealization, and obscurity of the “idea” of Jesus is sufficient. Common, ordinary folk are different. Like the woman on the road to Jerusalem, they have to touch him in order for him to be real. As the theological sophistication of the average church person declines, and the spiritual hunger of the pagan public increases, the image of Christ becomes more important.

Jensen’s book about the ancient controversies about image helps us understand contemporary controversies about Christ. Jesus is a “gut issue”. It’s not really a theological issue or an intellectual debate. It’s about the accessibility of God and the experience of the Holy. This is why mere preaching doesn’t work anymore … and mere “Bible Study” does not attract many people under 45. They don’t want a curriculum or even a message from beyond. They want to touch, see, and feel the breath of God. No wonder churches are adding images and projecting videos, and the fastest growing merchandise in Christian bookstores are not books. People want images, pictures, talismans, and anything that will help them have a gut experience of the Holy, at the moment of crisis, wherever they are, when they really need it, without having to read a book or consult a pastor.

So if you happen to be walking down the street and see someone with a drooping mustache and beard that comes to two points, with long hair parted in the middle, prematurely bald but looking remarkably healthy, staring straight out with unblinking, perceptive eyes, be sure to buy him coffee and start a conversation.

Tom Bandy

http://www.easumbandy.com

http://www.netresults.org

Static is not all noise

             

I remember analog devises.  And the static that accompanied them.  All I have to say is thank goodness for digital. 

But static may not be a thing of the past after all.  In his book Static: Tune Out the “Christian Noise” and Experience the Real Message of Jesus, Ron Martoia argues that much of the language we use within the church is not effectively communicating the gospel. 

Ron uses the device of an ongoing conversation with a young couple in his church who are struggling with the question of how to share the gospel with friends at work. Through this ongoing conversation we are introduced to various words which may have lost much of their original meaning.  He goes to great pains to elaborate how faith, repentance, Kingdom and other words which we use so frequently may have been understood by the people with whom Christ spoke in a very different way. We are also asked to re-evaluate whether Jesus really was as concerned about the same things which occupy so much of our thinking.  In particular, the notion is challenged that Jesus’ primary concern was that people go to heaven when they die.  Instead, Martoia claims that Jesus focused on God’s Kingdom and salvation as first and foremost having to do with the reestablishment of God’s rule within our lives.  Martoia is quite willing to ask the question, “Did Jesus really say or do that?”  He is unafraid to push the point that we often read into the scriptures things which simply aren’t there. 

When you reading Static, it is possible to be confused, convicted, upset, enlightened and even feel somewhat helpless, all in a single page.  After all, we want to ask, if all of this is true, why did so few of us encounter this kind of teaching in seminary?  The idea that we might not even be fully aware of the meaning of the Gospel is almost untenable.  Yet it is even more untenable to imagine that we may be communicating through static which makes the hearing, understanding and living out of the Gospel impossible.  The real tragedy is not in not knowing, it is in pride which prevents us from learning. 

By Nick Howard, http://theosyllabic.wordpress.com/