Books @ Leadership Network

A few overlooked in my pile

 

 

As I am cleaning my shelves and sorting through the piles of books, I may have overlooked sharing some readings with you this year.

 

As I have mentioned before, I seem to get attached to several lists from publishers that want me to read their books, so I get a load frequently that piles up. Some I get around to and some I don’t. Additionally, friends send along copies they think I would enjoy.

 

Here are a few reads from the year that I enjoyed but probably haven’t mentioned.

 

The Forger’s Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century by Edward Dolnick.

 Here

I guess I found this through an excerpt and then had to read the rest of the story of how during the 20’s and 30’s a failed artist created “Vermeers” and sold at great profit. A great story of scammers and the gullible and their downfalls.

 How Starbucks Saved my Life - How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else by Michael Gates Gill            

Got this paperback at an airport gift shop because I was out of things to read. A quick, fun read. A former ad/creative executive loses his family, wealth and stability but finds a measure of life satisfaction from working at Starbucks. The testimony of how structure and decency can lead to well-being. Not preachy, brutally honest about his own failings but also how workplaces can be used to redeem people.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Starbucks-Saved-Life-Privilege/dp/1592404049/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230313376&sr=1-1

 Put Your Life on a Diet – Lessons Learned from Living in 140 square feet.

http://www.amazon.com/Put-Your-Life-Diet-Lessons/dp/1423603176/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230313650&sr=1-1

 Fascinating tale of IT consultant that built a small cabin after his divorce and gets along without many of the things you might consider normal. While he cheats a little with some off site storage, some really practical tips for eliminating many of the things that tie us down. For a short book, it really impacted me in how I think about excess stuff.

 Money, Purpose, Joy – by Matt Bell

http://www.amazon.com/Money-Purpose-Joy-Uncommon-Financial/dp/1600062792/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230313863&

I met Matt last summer and he sent along his book when it came out. Great guy and good book that is very practical. In fact, if you have never had a good handle on financial things that include giving and well being, this is a great book for you.

 The Managers Book of Decencies: How Small Gestures Build Great Companies – by Steve Harrison

http://www.amazon.com/Managers-Book-Decencies-Gestures-Companies/dp/007148633X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230314041&sr=1-1

I would have said great organizations but

Harrison’s point is well taken. While we often hear of the rather large strategic moves a company or organization makes, I think it is actually the sum of the “small” moves where team members are treated with decency that make the organization great in the long term. Small things make a big difference.

Dave Travis
Managing Director of Leadership Network

 

Get Houdini on me will you?

The Houdini Solution: Put Creativity and Innovation to Work by Thinking INSIDE THE BOX by Ernie Schenck. Schenck is an ad guy, creative director type.

 

Basic Premise: We all live inside some box and creativity is really driven by thinking within constraints.

 

I buy that. I think we only get creative when we have constraints like cost, space, time and so on. That’s when creativity kicks in to produce novel and innovative solutions.

 

But the book is definitely a skim until you get to chapter 10. Up until that it is mostly stories you have heard before and not much practicality. Chapter 10 is worth the price of this paperback.

 

In that Chapter you have 50 creative exercises to drive creative thinking.

 

I have read a bunch of creativity books over the past 20 years but this was the best capture of 50 ideas in one place. So, I will keep the book (after sharing it with my colleagues) just for that list.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Houdini-Solution-Ernie-Schenck/dp/007146204X

Any other creativity books you would recommend?

 

Dave Travis is Managing Director of Leadership Network.

 

Church on the Couch

Time being a premium these days, I am more likely to scan a title than to read it.  So when I do take time to turn a page, it's got to be worth it. With this in mind, Church on the Couch: Does the Church Need Therapy by Elaine Martens Hamilton (Zondervan, 2008) does not disappoint. In fact, Hamilton's simple, yet significant work is worthy of your time and attention as a straightforward, practical guide for creating spiritual and emotional health within your church.  

From the start, Hamilton does not so much tell us what to do; rather she encourages leaders to authentically consider just who we are while providing many practical tools to help others do the same. The section on creating "a new kind of group" (pp. 45-48) has a concise explanation of Genograms which is - in my opinion - worth the price of the book. In addition, the complexities of handling affairs and sexual addicitions is skillfully summarized in "We've Got Issues" (Chapter 8). Here, too, Hamilton displays a knack for explaining complex issues in terms anyone can understand; and when necessary, apply in evaluating and/or speaking into the lives of others.

Now for hard core counseling theorists, the book may seem shallow. Yet many more will find it a welcomed resource for quick, sound guidance and worthy of their shelf. Indeed, I predict a return to its pages time and time again. 

Mark DeYmaz

Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas

communicating more effectively with visuals

A few weeks ago I got around to reading Presentation Zen by Garr Williams. At first glance this is a book about Powerpoint or Business Presentations, but at a deeper level it is about the whole of communications.

First, the design of the book is top notch. It’s heavy paper and photos make it solid but immensely inviting to the eye. At times these heavy graphic books make it hard to read the text but Presentation Zen uses clear illustrations with consistent text formatting that made the concepts a joy to read.

Secondly, realize that this is essentially a derivative work with almost every chapter borrowed from another great book. The good news here is that the author has selected some excellent nuggets from these books and keeps them distinct by giving each book and its core ideas a separate chapter. Too many times I find authors mash together other works in a confusing manner. Williams makes it clear he is borrowing and simplifies and clarifies these author’s ideas about principles of great slide design.

While it is extensively illustrated with example presentations and ideas, Williams lays out each chapter as one primary idea. Here are some that stood out to me:

1. Realize that a projected powerpoint slide is different from graphics on a page. I drank deeply from Edward Tufte’s work a few years ago which is more about the visual display of complex information in a graphical way. And he hates powerpoint. On paper, one can linger over the depth of information on a page, but a slide is much different especially when accompanied by a live, (or even webinar,) speaker.
2. Simple. Williams is big on photo graphics to emphasize one point per slide. Use as few words a possible and NO BULLET POINTS. My linear mind resisted that at first but my sense kicked in later and now I am agreeing with him.
3. Less is more. Bottom line, fewer words, more photos and simple graphics to emphasize a point.
4. Finally, Williams stresses that good presentations are first developed with low tech tools – Yellow Pads, sticky notes and pens. Form your thoughts, boil them down, dream of photos, then move to the digital tools.

Application:

It is always best to apply a lesson to test the concepts. A few Sunday’s ago I had one of my bi-annual trips to preach. Basic message had a sermon powerpoint outline for a handout.

But for the congregation I had 10 slides. All photos with only three words on the final slide. The impact was huge. The imagery reinforced what I was saying but didn’t clutter the screen with words.

Of course the purpose of the presentation dictates style and format. We have a weekly all staff call that connects people from multiple locations and countries and we use gotowebinar.com to do that. We show slides with bullet points. I only spend one hour to produce the call each week because more time might make it better, but an investment too great for this type of call.

I saw on the Presentation Zen blog this week his examples of some new presentations and the top one was from Advent Conspiracy. Check it out here.

[*] Dave Travis is the Managing Director of Leadership Network. You can reach him at dave.travis@leadnet.org

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

In his latest book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell examines the forces behind successful people.  He brings up several key factors such as mental and social competence, cultural upbringing, and pure luck. 

Probably the most disappointing and intriguing ingredient to success Gladwell cites is that they just work harder than others. 

He even goes on to identify 10,000 hours as the magic minimum number required to reach world class expertise at any one particular subject or skill.  He references everyone from Bill Gates to the Beetles - there's no shortcuts around pure hard work.

10,000 hours works out to roughly 10 years.  While there are many other factors that lead to 'tipping points' of success, this one is at least somewhat quantifiable.  What if we as church leaders looked at our investment in others and ourselves in at least 10 year increments?

Rather than turning back after giving something a try for a year, and assuming "God's just not in it", maybe we really haven't put our dues in yet?

10 years really isn't all that much.  Reality is most of us can attempt working at dreams with ten-year plans several times over within our lifespans. 

What are you waiting for?

Lon Wong, http://solarcrash.com

Hitchhikers Guide to Evangelism

We're leaving the day when programmatic evangelism is increasingly becoming ineffective. We’re entering a time in which one-on-one personal evangelism will once again be the main way to continue expanding the Kingdom of God. That’s why Hitchhiker's Guide to Evangelism book is so important. From friendship evangelism, to the vendor you buy from, to where you work, to evangelism at home, Bill Tenny-Brittian explores ways to share one’s story without alienating the non-Christian. The book is full  of practical examples and suggestions about sharing your faith. One great example is where Bill describes how to develop pertinent and open-ended questions you might use at the checkout counter in the grocery store that you consistently shop at. Every chapter provides the reader with multiple opportunities to grow in their faith sharing ability. This is a great book to use with people who have not yet learned how to effectively share their faith.

Sticky Church...We Can Do This!

Sticky Church is profoundly simple.  It is not simplistic, by any means.  But, as I read the book I kept saying (or writing in the margins), "Yes! Good point!  I agree!"  Larry Osborn writes as one who has traveled the road of local church ministry.  His heart is to help local churches reach people and then keep them connect in the body. 

The book is filled with many clear, simple, doable, and biblical ideas.  The concepts are transferable because they are not about North Coast Church alone, but about Christ's Church.  The primary innovation in this book is the marriage of weekend worship and small groups.  The content of the weekend worship becomes the heartbeat of small group gatherings.  The score card of church success is not butts in the seats on the weekend, but people who are committed to small group community, growth, accountability, and life-sharing. 

Many churches have worship services and small groups.  In this book we discover that the connection of these two is the key to making a church sticky.  People are part of the body when they begin to share life on a deep level in small groups. 

Another innovation I loved was the emphasis on making the back door smaller.  So many churches place all their energy in opening the front door.  But, people flow in and out at a painful rate and the net result is discouraging.  Larry makes it clear that reaching fewer people and keeping them is better than reaching lots of people for a first contact but loosing them. 

Larry is honest, frank, and even abrupt in his communication...and I love it!  If he sees a practice or pattern in the church as ineffective or dumb, he says it.  If he tried something that did not work, he does not seek to cover his tracks and look smart...he admits the struggles, presents them with clarity, and let's us look over his shoulder to learn from the mistakes of North Coast Church so we don't have to make the same ones.

If your desire is to help people connect in your church, to stick, this book lays out a sensible and practical plan to head down that road. 

50 reasons to attend Innovation3 Gathering

In the midst of the holiday season, many count down the days to Christmas. There's another count down that's starting today.

We are just 50 days away from the Innovation³ Gathering on January 27-28, 2009 in Dallas!

Every day leading up to the Innovation³ Gathering, we will count down 50 reasons for why you must attend, one reason for every day!

Reason #50: No stump speeches. Read all the reasons as they're posted at the Innovation³ blog.

And, look at the website www.innovation3gathering.com for more details and register online. Bring a team so you can share the experience and get best rates!

Browse the entire list of 50 reasons to attend Innovation³ Gathering as the count down continues...

Down to Earth

Here are two books that you really should read simultaneously to get the full impact. Both were published in 2008. Both are about incarnational moments in real living. Both present the Gospel as a combination of grit and hope … or as I sometimes say in workshops, each book seeks to provide desperate people with one good reason not to commit suicide tonight. Good Christmas reading.

Jim Walker from Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community wrote Dirty Word: The Vulgar, Offensive Language of the Kingdom of God (UMC Discipleship Resources). The essence of the book is in a chart on page 78. Our “deep needs” for assurance, belonging, meaning, and identity … are caused by the “four curses” of fear, rejection, luxury, and superficiality … and cured by the “Koinonia” of communion, community, compassion, and word … so that we find “salvation” through abiding (John 15), belonging (Luke 19), loving (Mathew 25), and truth (John 3:16). There. That’s the book. The other 256 pages are an extended footnote.

But what a footnote! This book helps you understand why church planting is not a curriculum, why so many mission-driven pastors are getting fed up with the established church, why so many Christians are getting fed up with pastors who only gripe about the established church and do nothing, and why so many seekers age 18-35 really are interested in Jesus. Jim Walker explores the meaning of “koinonia” in fresh and faithful ways.

The great irony in this book is that once past some of the surprising, gritty, and deliberately edgy terminology, Jim reverts to some remarkably abstract theological terminology. I suspect it might be lost on many veteran church members … who might in turn scoff that the realtime young seekers Jim’s church reaches will be turned away by theological language. That’s why the end of the book is equally surprising. Jim outlines the “Hot Metal Apprenticeship Program” as an afterthought (I think), but it was a good idea. Veteran churchy people who balk at basic Bible study will be shocked that these earnest seekers would do a 9-month experience of such theological intensity.

Meanwhile, Tex Sample released EarthyMysticism (Abingdon Press). These are personal reflections to describe mystical experiences in real life. These incarnational experiences are definitively not intellectual rationalizations. Sometimes they are occasions of great joy and fulfillment, and sometimes of great pain and emptiness, and sometimes of profound ambiguity that anticipates a clarity that is not yet. But they are all experiences when the infinite and finite connect and Tex is left in radical humility before God. This is mysticism, not “misty living”. It is not about walking in a comfortable fog, but about touching the Holy.

My favorite quote is in the preface as Tex recalls his surprising call into ministry: “I absolutely hated the idea of doing such a thing … I later learned, however, that the call to go into ministry is a lot like throwing up. You can put it off for awhile, but there comes a time when you have to do it.” The quote put me in mind of Jim’s “dirty word … the vulgar, offensive language of the Kingdom of God”. Only Tex wasn’t talking about language, but about God’s offensive, impolite, and inconvenient ways of working in the world.

The great irony about this book is that once past some of the poetic, mystical references to “the hush in the presence of the unspeakable, the awe-struck before the ineffable”, Tex reverts to simple, compelling story telling. I suspect this, too, might be lost on many veteran church members … who might scoff that the young academics Tex has mentored will be turned away by stories of the miraculous. His postscript is profound. What is theology, after all, but a humble attempt to explain what happens when God “shows up” in the midst of life?

Both books make a similar point. Perhaps this December we can replace the “theology of skepticism” which epitomizes the real doctrine of most established churches of modernity, with the real presence of Christ.

Tom Bandy www.easumbandy.com www.netresults.org