The Age of the Unthinkable: Why the New World Disorder Constantly Surprises Us And What We Can Do About It by Joshua Cooper Ramo
If you’re ready to stretch your brain and learn from a wide variety of
disciplines then this is the one book you need to read this week. If you want to
have insight into why few organizations or governments or churches or
denominations don’t work anymore, this is a must read. And it is a fascinating
read. So fascinating that you might be tempted to read it just for the pure
pleasure of what it contains and miss the implications for your ministry.
Of course, to see the implications for your ministry, you must be willing to read between the lines. But that’s not hard if you’re looking.
The theme of the book is simple – in revolutionary times like today we need to learn to think and act like a revolutionary. The author’s goal is to explore a new way to think about problems as they arise and to develop new instincts.
The first half of the book explains what is happening today in regard to world power and why the world has been turned upside down.
The second half of the book offers what the author calls “Deep Security.” Deep Security involves
- Learning to view life differently
- Empathy toward our enemies
- Becoming resilient rather than defensive
- A will to innovate and improvise and anticipate
- Willing to share power, something he calls “swarming and “peer production”
This was one of the most fascinating books I’ve read this year. It’s not about ministry and yet it could have a profound impact on your ministry if you could incorporate some of his ideas.
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