This week’s book of the week is John Maxwell’s Developing the Leaders Around You. Top 5 Thoughts: “The greatest leadership principle that I have ever learned in over twenty-five years of leadership is that those closest to the leader will determine the success level of that leader” (3). Maxwell quoted Winston Churchill who stated, “If you are doing big things, …
This week’s book of the week is John Maxwell’s Developing the Leader Within You. This book is one of Maxwell’s older books, but I had it on a list for an upcoming class, so I decided to read this volume on developing personal leadership skills. Top 5 Thoughts: “Leadership is influence. That’s it. Nothing more; nothing less. My favorite leadership …
This week’s book of the week is 11 Innovations in the Local Church written by the uber-talented team of Elmer Towns, Ed Stetzer, and Warren Bird. Each chapter focuses on different types of innovative churches. This book contains great stories of how Jesus is using some pasotrs and churches to do some incredible things in this country for Christ. This …
This week’s book of the week is An Emergent Manifesto of Hope edited by Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones. This book contained 25 emergent leaders writing on differing issues within the church from the emergent church perspective. If you are not savy on the emergent church, it is a group of church leaders who believe that the modern church needs …
This week’s book of the week is Bruce Demarest’s The Cross and Salvation. This hefty theological treatise is a slim 544 pages but is a great read even if it isn’t the easiest. Whenever you read about Jesus, time truly does seem to fly. Top 5 Thoughts: “Biblical salvation thus has past, present, and future dimensions.” Demarest’s words are pivotal …
This week’s book of the week is none other than Chuck Lawless’ Membership Matters. I read this book because he required it for my next class time with him. Dr. Lawless is the dean of my school, friend, mentor, and also an incredible writer. But I also read it because Jeff and I have been doing a lot of talking …
This week’s book of the week is entitled Evaluating the Church Growth Movement. Edited by Gary McIntosh and Paul Engle, they gather five differing views on the Church Growth Movement. Many churchgoers are probably unaware that great controversy exists on whether or not churches should try new things or incorporate new methods in order to see a greater harvest. This …
This week’s book of the week is Ken Hemphill’s Revitalizing the Sunday Morning Dinosaur. Hemphill makes a case for a Sunday school growth strategy that can work in churches. When he uses the term, “Sunday school,” he incorporates any effective small group strategy. While North Side has small groups and Sunday school, it is interesting to note that Sunday school …
This week’s book of the week is J. I. Packer’s classic, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God. This book was based off on some lectures by Packer concerning how believers should reconcile free will and election (both two prevalent biblical concepts that seem to be warring against one another). In actuality, these two concepts go together well even if we …
This week’s book of the week is D. A. Carson’s Becoming Conversant with the Emergent Church. The emerging church is a relatively new movement in church world. What’s hard about this movement is that there is a wide spectrum of people who are categorized as emergent. I know of “emergent” church leaders who keep the gospel at the center and …
This week’s book of the week is Firefall written by Alvin Reid and Malcom McDow. This book is a great commentary on the movement of the church over the last two centuries. It highlights revivals that spread when God’s people sought his power to come and change their land. Top 5 Thoughts: “Revival is God’s invitation into the lives of …
This book of the week is none other than John Mark Terry’s Evangelism: A Concise History. This book hits some of the greatest evangelists and the greatest evangelistic efforts since the beginning of the church. It’s one of those books that gets you excited about what God has done and what we can anticipate him doing again! Top 5 Thoughts: …
I’m starting a new feature on my blog this week: the book of the week. If Oprah has a book club, why can’t I? Each week, I will post a book I am reading or have read recently and give you the top 5 thoughts from the book. You might even want to check it out. This week’s book of …
September is nearing soon. What does that mean for me? I’ve got to get my class notes finished! I will be teaching Religion 101 at Lander University in the Fall. The last I heard we have a full class! The class title, “Sacred Texts and Ideas,” is a difficult course to tackle. But I am enjoying the challenge. The textbook …
We have been having a lot of conversations around the office about our missions strategy as a church. Our church focuses on three environments: worship, community, and missions. Worship is how we live pleasing to God. Community is how we love other believers and build each other up. Mission is to seek and to save those that don’t have a …
I recently read a book by William Chadwick called, Stealing Sheep. Here’s my review: Introduction In Stealing Sheep, William Chadwick addresses the discreet yet volatile dangers of transfer growth within churches. Chadwick has served as pastor in different churches, and he currently pastors Stroudwater Christian Church in Portland. As a pastor, he personally witnessed and actually initiated change within churches …
The people of America are becoming more and more spiritual. On one side, it is more acceptable to believe in a higher being and to adhere to certain spiritual practices. The other side of the spectrum is the backlash against anything remotely absolute. They don’t want anyone to tell them they have to believe a certain way or that only …
George Barna, author of Marketing the Church, is the founder and president of the Barna Research Group. The Barna Research Group specializes in research concerning the state of the church and the culture in which the church attempts to impact. In addition to writing Marketing the Church, Barna has authored many other books concerning church health and the culture’s perception …
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