I read a few books while I was on vacation. Here is a quick recap in case you want to pick one of them up.
The Furious Longing Of God by Brennan Manning
This was a fun read. I’ve got a few of his books and this one is my second favorite of all of his books.
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
A novel of a young lady looking for some inner peace from being abandoned by a mother and raised by a mean father. Good, not too mushy.
Emerging Churches by Eddie Gibbs and Ryan K. Bolger
Great book on understanding the things we need consider in today’s post-modern age. I’ll reference this book often. Talks a lot about creating environments where life growth can happen. I’ll be getting my pastoral staff to read this book.
A Class with Drucker by William A. Cohen
A great leader’s book. Most of this I’ve heard before, but there was a couple of gems that will change the way I lead and my way forward in life. I’ll test some of it and begin to practice it a bit before I blog on it.
Quantum – A Guide for the Perplexed by Jim Al-Khalili
I love this book. I’m not quite done yet, but it’s so much fun to read. If you want to read a book that is as close to the laymen’s language as possible, if that is even possible, to the world of quantum mechanics then this is the book to read. Quantum Mechanics fascinates me and is one of the most important theory’s known to man about our world and its sub-atomic structure. If I ever write a book it’ll be called Quantum Leadership. You would think they don’t go together but I am finding so many parallel lessons. To get a taste of what I am talking about then read anything my Margaret J. Wheatley. I'll be blogging on this kind of stuff.
Grown Up Digital by Don Tapscott
This is a great book. I’m not done yet, but what I’ve read through so far is very helpful in understanding the technological age we are in, and what that means in how we communicate and stay relevant with the new generations coming up behind us. I’ll be recommending this one to my “older” pastoral staff.
Axiom by Bill Hybels
Has many things in it that I've already gleaned from listening to Bill over the years. If you've never had much opportunity to hear Bill, then this would become a valuable resource for you as a leader.
Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, 1 Peter, 1 Timothy
All good stuff. Books of life. Pick these up for sure.
jp
8 for 31
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Who Supports Me?
So I finished the book and wanted to bring forward for you one of the last chapters because it’s made me think a lot in the last three days. In chapter 24 Maxwell asked us to think about those that support us. I think you could do some translations from work to family to life in general, but I’ll talk here mostly from the context of my role and the staff that I lead at the church.
What kinds of support people do I have working for me? When I went through all of these questions I was able to plug a lot of my staff into them. So I’ll give you the questions and then talk a little at the end.
Who supports me at work?
Time Relievers – These are the people that save me time.
Gift Complementors – These are the people who do things I am not gifted to do and make up for those areas I am lacking. I need a lot of these kind of people!
Team Players – These are the people who add value to me and my team. They continue contribute and see themselves as part of something greater than just their own role.
Creative Thinkers – These are the people who solve problems and give me options. I can never get enough of these people and so I am always facilitating brainstorming sessions. I have my special people that I really love having at the table.
Door closers – These are the people who complete assignments with excellence. When I delegate something or create a project that get’s handed over, they bat it out of the park every time.
People developers – These are the people who develop and raise up other leaders and producers. Check out my other post here on Trading Up where I talk a bit about addition vs. multiplication.
Servant Leaders – These are people who lead with the right attitude. I’ve got a whole host of these kinds of people here.
Mind Stretchers – These are the people who expand my thinking and my spirit. Sometimes they create tension for me, but it’s always creative tension and never negative tension. I have come to really love these people in my life.
Relational Networkers – These are the people who bring other people into my life who add value to me. I’m really lacking people in my life that do this for me. This is the one area that I need to so some further thinking about to determine how I can acquire these kinds of people in my life.
Spiritual Mentors – These are the people who encourage me in my faith walk. I think I also need more of these kinds of people. They are hard to find in person. I have a few authors that give me substance, but not so much that one on one mentor.
Unconditional Lovers – These are the people who know my weaknesses, yet love me unconditionally. I need people in my life that I know are "for" me. I have a few of these. I’m thankful.
I am so grateful for my staff and from reading this chapter I realized even more all the wonderful people I get to work with. I’m not so good at letting them know how much I appreciate them, and with this list I’m actually able to put some verbiage around how they bless me.
I’ve gone through each of these types and wrote down the names of some of the people on my staff in those areas where they bless me. Over the next month I’m going to make sure they know what I think about them and how I appreciate them. Call me on it a month down the road and see how I did.
On to another book ...
jp
What kinds of support people do I have working for me? When I went through all of these questions I was able to plug a lot of my staff into them. So I’ll give you the questions and then talk a little at the end.
Who supports me at work?
Time Relievers – These are the people that save me time.
Gift Complementors – These are the people who do things I am not gifted to do and make up for those areas I am lacking. I need a lot of these kind of people!
Team Players – These are the people who add value to me and my team. They continue contribute and see themselves as part of something greater than just their own role.
Creative Thinkers – These are the people who solve problems and give me options. I can never get enough of these people and so I am always facilitating brainstorming sessions. I have my special people that I really love having at the table.
Door closers – These are the people who complete assignments with excellence. When I delegate something or create a project that get’s handed over, they bat it out of the park every time.
People developers – These are the people who develop and raise up other leaders and producers. Check out my other post here on Trading Up where I talk a bit about addition vs. multiplication.
Servant Leaders – These are people who lead with the right attitude. I’ve got a whole host of these kinds of people here.
Mind Stretchers – These are the people who expand my thinking and my spirit. Sometimes they create tension for me, but it’s always creative tension and never negative tension. I have come to really love these people in my life.
Relational Networkers – These are the people who bring other people into my life who add value to me. I’m really lacking people in my life that do this for me. This is the one area that I need to so some further thinking about to determine how I can acquire these kinds of people in my life.
Spiritual Mentors – These are the people who encourage me in my faith walk. I think I also need more of these kinds of people. They are hard to find in person. I have a few authors that give me substance, but not so much that one on one mentor.
Unconditional Lovers – These are the people who know my weaknesses, yet love me unconditionally. I need people in my life that I know are "for" me. I have a few of these. I’m thankful.
I am so grateful for my staff and from reading this chapter I realized even more all the wonderful people I get to work with. I’m not so good at letting them know how much I appreciate them, and with this list I’m actually able to put some verbiage around how they bless me.
I’ve gone through each of these types and wrote down the names of some of the people on my staff in those areas where they bless me. Over the next month I’m going to make sure they know what I think about them and how I appreciate them. Call me on it a month down the road and see how I did.
On to another book ...
jp
Friday, February 20, 2009
Trading Up
Finished chapter 22 in Leadership Gold. Maxwell talks about 10 different things that you need to consider trading for so that as a leader you can get to the next level. Really good stuff. Two of these trades jumped out at me.
1. Trade Addition for Multiplication
If I’m all about leading others, well that’s really great. Because I am adding to myself as I lead people forward in whatever seems to be the trek of the day. The follower list might be growing but it’s still only through addition and not multiplication. It’s a far more significant thing, and more difficult to achieve, to develop leaders who in turn lead others. If I can lead and grow others in such a way as to result in those I lead developing still more leaders under them, well, then we are talking exponential impact. I’m not so sure I do this well, but I’m becoming much more intentional about how I lead and develop others into leaders. I feel like I’ve stepped into some kind of vortex in the past 3-4 months that has heightened all my sensory receptors when it comes to this thing called leadership.
2. Trade Your Work for God for a Walk with God
I’ve been doing ministry for years. I think since I lead my youth group in high school. A small portion of those years have been in a paid role, but none the less, I’ve been a busy guy doing ministry in various areas of the church. I think I’ve spent most of this time doing things for God and not necessarily spending time with God. Since last summer I have become convinced that God is far more interested in my walk with Him than he is in “using me” for the work he doing in our world. I’m not saying that’s not important, but what I am saying that without a deep relationship with God, nothing else much matters. It’s the relationship that lives for an eternity. Susan Scott in her book called Fierce Conversation makes a statement about people and their relationships that I think goes for my relationship with God as well. She said that we can think all we want about our relationships with each other, but none of it has any substance to form “relationship”. Relationship is formed only during the act of conversation. The conversation is the relationship. In that very moment, the act of speaking and listening, centered on another human being comes the essence of the relationship. It’s either a positive or negative encounter based on the conversation (words, body language, unspoken words, all that conversational stuff). If I’m not fully there with my presence, chances are high that its does the relationship harm. If I’m all there, centered, listening, sharing, interacting, consumed with the very presence of another precious being, God or otherwise, the relationship grows and becomes greater than before. Today I crave a deeper walk with my creator than ever before. So I’m becoming much more intentional and careful when I come into His presence.
jp
ps. If you attend CrossRoads Church and would like a copy of Maxwell’s book, let me know. I’ve bought a few extra, just for you!
1. Trade Addition for Multiplication
If I’m all about leading others, well that’s really great. Because I am adding to myself as I lead people forward in whatever seems to be the trek of the day. The follower list might be growing but it’s still only through addition and not multiplication. It’s a far more significant thing, and more difficult to achieve, to develop leaders who in turn lead others. If I can lead and grow others in such a way as to result in those I lead developing still more leaders under them, well, then we are talking exponential impact. I’m not so sure I do this well, but I’m becoming much more intentional about how I lead and develop others into leaders. I feel like I’ve stepped into some kind of vortex in the past 3-4 months that has heightened all my sensory receptors when it comes to this thing called leadership.
2. Trade Your Work for God for a Walk with God
I’ve been doing ministry for years. I think since I lead my youth group in high school. A small portion of those years have been in a paid role, but none the less, I’ve been a busy guy doing ministry in various areas of the church. I think I’ve spent most of this time doing things for God and not necessarily spending time with God. Since last summer I have become convinced that God is far more interested in my walk with Him than he is in “using me” for the work he doing in our world. I’m not saying that’s not important, but what I am saying that without a deep relationship with God, nothing else much matters. It’s the relationship that lives for an eternity. Susan Scott in her book called Fierce Conversation makes a statement about people and their relationships that I think goes for my relationship with God as well. She said that we can think all we want about our relationships with each other, but none of it has any substance to form “relationship”. Relationship is formed only during the act of conversation. The conversation is the relationship. In that very moment, the act of speaking and listening, centered on another human being comes the essence of the relationship. It’s either a positive or negative encounter based on the conversation (words, body language, unspoken words, all that conversational stuff). If I’m not fully there with my presence, chances are high that its does the relationship harm. If I’m all there, centered, listening, sharing, interacting, consumed with the very presence of another precious being, God or otherwise, the relationship grows and becomes greater than before. Today I crave a deeper walk with my creator than ever before. So I’m becoming much more intentional and careful when I come into His presence.
jp
ps. If you attend CrossRoads Church and would like a copy of Maxwell’s book, let me know. I’ve bought a few extra, just for you!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The stuff of leaders
Just read a great chapter (15) from Leadership Gold by John Maxwell. He talks about leaders distinguishing themselves during tough times. Sometimes I think I’ve been on a great ride here at CrossRoads because God has blessed us all in so many ways. People are coming to Christ and lives are changing, the church growing. The finances required to meet the demands of ministry have been there. I have a great staff and generally, the people of CrossRoads are externally focused and all seems well.
Yet with all that said, the growth of the church is causing me to reflect on the sustainable nature of its state, asking the question as to whether or not we can we continue on with the current pace without some major paradigm shifts in how we think and do things. I am sensing that now is the time for me to really step up as a leader and earn my keep! As the challenges get deeper and more complex, it’s during these times that a good leader is most needed. Most people can lead on the front of a huge wave where everything is going well and rolling forward. But in challenging times, when tougher choices need to be made and the risks are higher, it takes an exceptional leader to move things forward. Am I such a leader?
Maxwell says that if you want to lead well in the tougher times, then you have to lead well in the smaller issues, making the tough calls when necessary. If you can do this, then no matter what kinds of storms come, or how far in over your head you may think you are, you can keep on leading well. I have a feeling there is a little more to it than just that, but I’ve found this is an important piece of the puzzle to leading well.
I’m most definitely in over my head most days and I’m glad I’m not doing this alone.
Over the next few blogs I’ll share some of my thoughts on how we need to think differently around here. The paradigm shifts I believe we need to make here at CrossRoads.
jp
Yet with all that said, the growth of the church is causing me to reflect on the sustainable nature of its state, asking the question as to whether or not we can we continue on with the current pace without some major paradigm shifts in how we think and do things. I am sensing that now is the time for me to really step up as a leader and earn my keep! As the challenges get deeper and more complex, it’s during these times that a good leader is most needed. Most people can lead on the front of a huge wave where everything is going well and rolling forward. But in challenging times, when tougher choices need to be made and the risks are higher, it takes an exceptional leader to move things forward. Am I such a leader?
Maxwell says that if you want to lead well in the tougher times, then you have to lead well in the smaller issues, making the tough calls when necessary. If you can do this, then no matter what kinds of storms come, or how far in over your head you may think you are, you can keep on leading well. I have a feeling there is a little more to it than just that, but I’ve found this is an important piece of the puzzle to leading well.
I’m most definitely in over my head most days and I’m glad I’m not doing this alone.
Over the next few blogs I’ll share some of my thoughts on how we need to think differently around here. The paradigm shifts I believe we need to make here at CrossRoads.
jp
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Altering the Future
Well, it's been a while and I've not journaled here one single thing. I have a sneaky feeling that there is a whole lot more thought going on in my head than that which I let out. Oh well.
Been reading Leadership Gold from John Maxwell. Great stuff. It encapsulates all of his thoughts on leadership throughout his life time into one book with great applications around each chapter.
First off, chapter one made it clear to me that I have a responsibilty as a leader to bring others along with me. If I'm climbing a mountain by myself, all I can do at best is tell others of my achievements, but if I bring others along with me, the stories get told in many places and many have an opportunity to learn with me those things that I am coming to understand.
Robert Greenleaf said that "The greatest forsight, the most difficult and most exciting, is the influence one wields on the future by helping the growth of people who will be in commanding positions in the next generation."
He goes on to say that the future can be radically altered by the kinds of people now being prepared for the future. Wow! I can either contribute to the future, or let my life pass before me without any intentiality towards the growth of others. I choose the former.
jp
Been reading Leadership Gold from John Maxwell. Great stuff. It encapsulates all of his thoughts on leadership throughout his life time into one book with great applications around each chapter.
First off, chapter one made it clear to me that I have a responsibilty as a leader to bring others along with me. If I'm climbing a mountain by myself, all I can do at best is tell others of my achievements, but if I bring others along with me, the stories get told in many places and many have an opportunity to learn with me those things that I am coming to understand.
Robert Greenleaf said that "The greatest forsight, the most difficult and most exciting, is the influence one wields on the future by helping the growth of people who will be in commanding positions in the next generation."
He goes on to say that the future can be radically altered by the kinds of people now being prepared for the future. Wow! I can either contribute to the future, or let my life pass before me without any intentiality towards the growth of others. I choose the former.
jp
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