I recieved four books for Christmas:
Helping: How to Offer, Give, and Receive Help by Edgar Schein
Still Surprised: A Memoir of a Life in Leadership by Warren Bennis
Getting Started in Consulting by Allen Weiss
Common English Bible New Testament (DecoTone Tan/Chocolate Brown)
It’s good to have these to balance out all of the theoretical books I read last semester.
I love this quote from Augustine (On Christian Doctrine, Book II, Chapter 40) on why our efforts as Christians should be interdisciplinary:
Moreover, if those who are called philosophers, and especially the Platonists, have said aught that is true and in harmony with our faith, we are not only not to shrink from it, but to claim it for our own use from those who have unlawful possession of it. For, as the Egyptians had not only the idols and heavy burdens which the people of Israel hated and fled from, but also vessels and ornaments of gold and silver, and garments, which the same people when going out of Egypt appropriated to themselves, designing them for a better use, not doing this on their own authority, but by the command of God, the Egyptians themselves, in their ignorance, providing them with things which they themselves, were not making a good use of; in the same way all branches of heathen learning have not only false and superstitious fancies and heavy burdens of unnecessary toil, which every one of us, when going out under the leadership of Christ from the fellowship of the heathen, ought to abhor and avoid; but they contain also liberal instruction which is better adapted to the use of the truth, and some most excellent precepts of morality; and some truths in regard even to the worship of the One God are found among them. Now these are, so to speak, their gold and silver, which they did not create themselves, but dug out of the mines of God’s providence which are everywhere scattered abroad, and are perversely and unlawfully prostituting to the worship of devils. These, therefore, the Christian, when he separates himself in spirit from the miserable fellowship of these men, ought to take away from them, and to devote to their proper use in preaching the gospel. Their garments, also,—that is, human institutions such as are adapted to that intercourse with men which is indispensable in this life,—we must take and turn to a Christian use.
61. And what else have many good and faithful men among our brethren done? Do we not see with what a quantity of gold and silver and garments Cyprian, that most persuasive teacher and most blessed martyr, was loaded when he came out of Egypt? How much Lactantius brought with him? And Victorious, and Optatus, and Hilary, not to speak of living men! How much Greeks out of number have borrowed! And prior to all these, that most faithful servant of God, Moses, had done the same thing; for of him it is written that he was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. And to none of all these would heathen superstition (especially in those times when, kicking against the yoke of Christ, it was persecuting the Christians) have ever furnished branches of knowledge it held useful, if it had suspected they were about to turn them to the use of worshipping the One God, and thereby overturning the vain worship of idols. But they gave their gold and their silver and their garments to the people of God as they were going out of Egypt, not knowing how the things they gave would be turned to the service of Christ. For what was done at the time of the exodus was no doubt a type prefiguring what happens now. And this I say without prejudice to any other interpretation that may be as good, or better.
you can find a translation of it here.
Many thanks to New Leaf Publishing Group and Jennifer O. White for the review copy. 
Shannon O’Dell has written a commendable book in Transforming Church in Rural America: Breaking All the Rurals. For who have never been in ministry in a small, rural, church, this book will shed a great deal of light. For those who do serve in rural areas, and there are many, this book will resonate, and ultimately, give hope. Why would a successful staff pastor leave a large church, city, and salary to go out to the sticks? This book tells the story.
While many of the concepts that O’Dell writes about are not new, the context in which they are set is. While there have been a handful of books written about rural ministry, few have been able to tell of the success that O’Dell has seen. More than anything, this book gives hope for those who serve in some of the most challenging areas with very limited resources. O’Dell does not paint a rosy picture about rural ministry; readers will find stories that will make them angry, laugh, cry, and jump up and down.
Throughout the book O’Dell shares the values and leadership needed to faithfully fulfill God’s mission in rural areas. The stories are inspiring. They give hope. They are accurate. This is a book that every pastor serving in a rural setting should read. Some might find qualms or questions with O’Dell’s conservative views, but these do not override the message of the book: Rural ministry is not a dead end, but with hard work, faith, and a lot of guts, rural churches can be God’s witness to those areas most would rather run from. Very inspiring; recommended.
Transforming Church by Kevin Ford is a unique and valuable contribution to church growth and church health research literature. Unlike many books on church growth/health, this book does not offer quick and easy answers to church decline. It does, however, offer valuable insights based on filed research.
Ford’s name may not be known to many in the field of church growth, but should be. Ford is not an academic, but an organizational consultant with the TAG Consulting group. Since he is a consulting, the value in this book is that the perspective comes from organizational and leadership development. This has often been an area that has not been fully investigated by church growth proponents, or at least not investigated accurately or profitably.
This is not to say that Ford or TAG consulting is unfamilier with church consulting. The group has done work with many churches, large and small, and through that developed the TCIndex, which is a unique congregational survey & assessment tool used to understand and help introduce change into a congregation.
One of the benefits of this book is that it introduces readers to adaptive leadership and change, a theory developed by Harvard leadership guru Ronald Heifetz.
In the book, Ford outlines fives key indicators that must be considered in understanding the transformation of churches:
1. Consumerism/Community
2. Incongruence/Code
3. Autocracy/Shared Leadership
4. Cloister/Missional
5. Inertia/Reinvention
This is not purely theoretical; Ford provides case studies illustrating each. One of the valuable points that Ford makes is that change is not instant, but happens slower that most would like. he likens the transformation of the church to a journey. Throughout the book, the reader enters the world of the consultant, gaining knowledge not only of the factors that can lead a church into change and health, but the questions to ask in the process. The case studies, which highlight the positive, as well as the hard aspects, of church change, give the reader a way to understand the theory presented, and are worth the price of the book alone. This is welcome addition to the literature, as well as a book that can be very important for churches that are plateaued or in decline. Highly recommended.
Here’s what I’m currently reading this summer. These reflect my research on organization change and leadership development, as it applies to missional issues in the church:
Bennis, Warren G. Why Leaders Can’t Lead : The Unconscious Conspiracy Continues. 1st ed. The Jossey-Bass Management Series. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1989.
Bennis, Warren. On Becoming a Leader. 4th ed. Jackson, Tenn.: Basic Books, 2009.
Bennis, Warren G., and Patricia Ward Biederman. The Essential Bennis. 1st ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2009.
Bennis, Warren G., and Burt Nanus. Leaders : Strategies for Taking Charge. 2nd ed. New York: HarperBusiness, 1997.
Bennis, Warren G., and Robert J. Thomas. Geeks & Geezers : How Era, Values, and Defining Moments Shape Leaders. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2002.
Drucker, Peter F. Managing the Non-Profit Organization : Practices and Principles. 1st ed. New York, N.Y.: HarperCollins, 1990.
George, Bill. Authentic Leadership : Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value. 1st ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003.
George, Bill, and Peter Sims. True North : Discover Your Authentic Leadership. 1st. ed. The Warren Bennis Signature Series. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2007.
Harvard Business Review on Leadership. Boston, Mass.: Business Review Press Harvard, 1998.
Heifetz, Ronald A. Leadership without Easy Answers. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1994.
Herrington, Jim, Mike Bonem, James Harold Furr, and Leadership Network (Dallas Tex.). Leading Congregational Change : A Practical Guide for the Transformational Journey. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2000.
Kotter, John P. Leading Change. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business School Press, 1996.
Kouzes, James M., and Barry Z. Posner. The Leadership Challenge. 4th ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2007.
Northouse, Peter Guy. Leadership : Theory and Practice. 5th ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2010.
Schaller, Lyle E. Strategies for Change. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993.
Thomas, Robert J. Crucibles of Leadership : How to Learn from Experience to Become a Great Leader. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business Press, 2008.
Anderson, Donald L. Organization Development : The Process of Leading Organizational Change. Los Angeles: Sage, 2010.
Burke, W. Warner. Organization Change : Theory and Practice. 2nd ed. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2008.
Demers, Christiane. Organizational Change Theories : A Synthesis. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications, 2008.
Gallos, Joan V. Organization Development : A Jossey-Bass Reader The Jossey-Bass Business & Management Series. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2006.
Harrison, Michael I. Diagnosing Organizations : Methods, Models, and Processes. 3rd ed. Applied Social Research Methods Series V. 8. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 2005.
Kegan, Robert, and Lisa Laskow Lahey. How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work : Seven Languages for Transformation. 1st ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001.
Kotter, John P. Leading Change. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business School Press, 1996.
Kotter, John P., and Dan S. Cohen. The Heart of Change : Real-Life Stories of How People Change Their Organizations. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business School Press, 2002.
Quinn, Robert E. Deep Change : Discovering the Leader Within Jossey-Bass Business & Management Series. San Francisco, Calif.: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1996.
Schein, Edgar H. Organizational Culture and Leadership. 3rd ed. The Jossey-Bass Business & Management Series. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2004.
Review of A Multi-Site Road Trip
Publications abound on new ways to do church, innovative ministry, and forms of leadership. Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon, and Warren Bird, add to this array of material, and in doing so, provide church leaders with an invaluable resource on the concept of the multi-site church.
This book chronicles of the research that the authors have done on more than 100 multi-site churches, based on observation, interviews, and reflection on the practices of these churches.
“Multi-site is the new normal” (11), claim the authors. While the concept of one church meeting in various locations to many is a new idea, the practical outworking of this is not. Throughout the book, the authors not only describe what multi-site churches are, but show what these churches are doing that makes them successful. Far from being only theoretical, the authors profile multi-sites churches to show how they are working. This is perhaps the most important aspect of the book.
The book is divided into 15 chapters, with an introduction and epilogue:
Introducing the Road Trip
Epilogue:Predictions of What’s Next
There are also appendices suggesting additional resources and providing various campus pastor job descriptions.
I will note several highlights that I found important. Chapter 6, on internet campuses, is especially informative. While internet campuses have been used by some churches for a number of years, this concept is just starting to get attention. While the authors show the benefits of an internet campus, such as involving people where they live, seeing the internet as a specific region and target population,the ability to reach into international ares, and relative cost, they by means disregard the criticisms of the internet campus. Problems such as addressing issues of discipleship, the use of technology, and the connections that are needed by people. This is a common thread through each case study. The authors not only write about the successes of various multi-site churches, but also about the failures and problems that these churches have encountered along the way.In chapter 8, the authors deal with the issue of organizational structure in utilizing a multi-site. They deal with issues surrounding the campus pastor, finances, and support. These are some of the most practical issues that churches ask when trying to understand the multi-site phenomenon. The remaining chapters contain information that is just as useful, and will be of great use to church leaders.
Another point that comes from this research is that multi-sites are not just for megachurches, although many of the churches profiled are.
This book is a great introduction to the concept of multi-site churches, As stated earlier, this is not a book on just why multi-sites are working, but an honest appraisal of the challenges that are encountered. With the effects of globalization, technology, and cultural change, multi-sites can provide a tremendous opportunity for churches to increase their mission in a way that can be effective and substantive. The authors are to be commended on their research,and hopefully more books based on field research of multi-site churches will come as a result of this book. This book is highly recommended to pastors, church leaders, and those involved in evangelism research as a staring point to understand the practical aspects of multisite ministry.
This semester I am taking an Evangelism Seminar that seals with Rhetorical Perspectives, In the spirit of that class, I thought I would post some helpful links on rhetoric:
A Glossary of Rhetorical Terms
Figures of Speech Served Fresh
Adventures in PhD Land 