Follow Jesus. Lead the church. Change the world.
I actually read this book in 2016. It was one of the books I chose to read during my short-term sabbatical. My One Word for 2016 was Energize. I chose the word because I wanted to improve my own physical and spiritual energy levels, and I also wanted to energize others such as the church. … Read more
On summer vacation, I read Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson. Batterson is one of my favorite writers and I love this book! The title for the book comes from the name Celtic Christians have for the Holy Spirit, the Wild Goose. It denotes adventure. Batterson makes clear, “nothing is more unnerving or disorienting than … Read more
Ten years ago, I made a big change in my preaching approach, switching from multiple-point preaching to one-point preaching. I did so in June 2006 after reading the first couple chapters in Communicating for a Change by Andy Stanley and Lane Jones. It’s hard to believe it’s been ten years. In 2007, I wrote my … Read more
Thom Rainer’s book, “Autopsy of a Deceased Church” (2014), grew out of a popular blog post he wrote in 2013. In the book, Rainer looks at ten common traits of dying churches based on his research of deceased churches. Rainer estimates, “As many as 100,000 churches in America are showing signs of decline toward death” … Read more
Bill Hybels’ book, Simplify, offers “ten practices to unclutter your soul,” in the following titles … From exhausted to energized From overscheduled to organized From overwhelmed to in control From restless to fulfilled From wounded to whole From anxious to peaceful From isolated to connected From drifting to focused From stuck to moving on From … Read more
Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes … in You and Your Kids is the best book on parenting I’ve ever read! The authors, Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, propose an honor-based approach to parenting (which is actually applicable to other areas of life, as well)! In families, it’s easy to focus on behavior, … Read more
On Sunday, I challenged our church family to protect the church. I read several statements from The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. Warren begins, “It is your job to protect the unity of your church.” He notes … Unity is the soul of fellowship. Destroy it, and you rip the heart out of Christ’s … Read more
A few years ago, I wrote a post on The Balancing Act by Bishop Robert Schnase. Recently, I’ve been thinking about something Bishop Schnase wrote. Bishop Schanse relayed a conversation he had with a woman, who thought churches should do a better job of caring for pastors. Bishop Schnase writes … She said that she … Read more
Ever since I heard about Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown, I was interested in reading it. I finally got around to it, and I was not disappointed! There’s so much in the book, it’s impossible to review it all here. But here are some of my favorite thoughts. McKeown describes the … Read more
I recently read Breaking the Missional Code by Ed Stetzer and David Putman. The book aims to help churches become missionaries in their communities. According to the authors, “breaking the code … means discovering the principles that work in every context, selecting the tools most relevant for your context … and then learning to apply … Read more