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Book Review

The Listening Heart: A Book Review

Well, my friends are gone and my hair is grey
I ache in the places where I used to play
And I’m crazy for love but I’m not coming on
I’m just paying my rent every day in the Tower of Song.
– Leonard Cohen, Tower of Song, verse 1

On October 18, 2016, poet and singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen released his 14th studio album, You Want It Darker, which is quite possibly the most perfect title for a Leonard Cohen album. At 82 years old, Cohen has effectively been writing, making, and recording music longer than Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and Britney Spears combined. What might be the secret to Cohen’s endurance in an industry that is known for one-hit wonders, flash-in-the-pan stars, and fly-by-night raconteurs? What might be the lessons or principles one might glean from asking this question for others who seek to extend the shelf life of their own careers? Perhaps Cohen himself gives us insight into how he understands his own life and what sustains a long career in one of his most captivating songs.

“Tower of Song” was released on 1988’s, I’m Your Man album which came nearly two decades into to his career. One can understand the song to be an autobiographical narrative of the innerworkings of the heart and mind of The Singer – all the longings, joys, pains, and triumphs one must endure to become an artist and to truly live as one. In the song, The Singer, grizzled and alone, looks back on his long life (Well my friends are gone / and my hair is grey / I ache in the places where I used to play) living in the Tower of Song. The Tower serves as his description of the life that The Singer has been resigned to. The Singer tells us that he was compelled to live in the Tower of Song because he “was born like this (and) had no choice.” After all, he was “born with the gift of a golden voice” and “27 angels from the great beyond” subdued him, tying him to a table in the Tower of Song. It was not The Singer’s will that brought him and confined him to the Tower, it was a calling from beyond himself and outside of his own power that compelled him there and sustains his life. The Tower provides for him armor and protection to enable him to withstand enemy fire. Inside this place are other singers and artists, apparently also consigned to live within this framework of the Tower as well. Specifically, the Singer hears Hank Williams coughing “all night long” and he feels a connection to the haunted and saintly country western crooner that lives “a hundred floors above.” His songs serve as “mighty judgements” – prophecies and revelations meant to free the oppressed and marginalized “have-nots” and shame the rich who exploit them. For The Singer to remain he must continue paying rent – writing songs and singing regardless of how he feels at any given moment (I’m crazy for Love / but I’m not coming on) – and it is his songs that will endure long after he is gone. The Singer will be continue speaking sweetly forever “from his window in the Tower of Song.” Does this song really unravel the great mysteries of the universe, as Cohen has claimed while performing this song live, and give answers to how we might go about living a life filled with lasting meaning?

In The Listening Heart, author AJ Conyers attempts to give the reader a theological, sociological, and historical understanding of something that that is necessary for the flourishing of all mankind and the thing that Cohen’s Tower of Song captures so wonderfully – the power of meditating upon and attending to one’s vocation in life. Conyers argues that it is not in exercising free will, making individual choice, or even incorporating oneself into the societal milieu that produces a life of meaning. It is in responding to a vocation – the divine call and the human response to that call – that infuses life with meaning and purpose.  Conyers laments that it is the universal loss of a sense of vocation that has given rise to the modern sense of listlessness, purposelessness, and selfishness that plagues our modern life. Although the Enlightenment has been sold as a instutition-questioning, nation-building, and wealth-producuing enterprise marked by the freedom of individual choice and the ability to understand the world around us as it it really is. Conyers argues that it has essentially accomplished the exact opposite. Rather than give insight into the mystery of a vast and beautiful universe (from deep space all the way down to the smallest human cell),  the effects of the Enlightenment have tricked mankind into believing that it can master and control the world around us. By removing God (and in effect, the community of believers in the church) from the public square and relegating religion to a private matter, the State is now the one that is free to compel men into labor rather than call men to a life of service for the benefit of others and society as a whole. Rather than champion the uniqueness of each individual, the rise of the African slave trade, arguably the greatest export of the Enlightenment, reduced men and women to livestock or replaceable cogs in the machine of industry.  Modern culture is essentially distracted and disconnected from God, moral character, creation, and community. Today, life is less about human flourishing (individually and as a community) and more about merely surviving.  Conyers believes there is a better way. He succeeds in articulating what Jacob Shatzer calls a “grand vision of theology and ethics, rooted in the Bible and shaped by the Great Tradition of Christian theology” that reawakens this lost idea of vocation for the 21st century. The Listening Heart is not a diatribe against what has gone wrong in the past as much as it is a clarion call for the community of God to rise up and lean into what the Father may be calling us toward.

For Conyers, understanding and living out one’s vocation means giving attention to God as well as the people, the place, and the purposes for which he has called you to. Throughout the course of the book, Conyers attempts to give an equation for Vocation and how one might come to lean into God’s call their life. The equation might read as Attention + Tolerance + Place + Rest = Vocation and Community.

Attention

The purpose and end of attention is a transformation in which reality awakens within us, pushing aside the unreal and selfish dreams which had kept us subdued in unwakefulness. “Attention” of the sort we are discussing here, and which is related to the biblical idea of “watchfulness” or “alertness” always has this quality about it. It centers not on the self, but on something outside. Its power is in its honesty, in its reflection of the truth outside the observer.

For Conyers, the “appropriate response to vocation” is attention. Our ultimate attention is to God but one must also give attention to the people, places, and things God has given to us so that we may give Him glory and attend to the work He has given us to accomplish. No doubt the 21st century is a time filled with great distraction. From devices with non-stop notifications buzzing and blinking and beeping to the age old temptation to overlook the good life in front of us in favor of what might be a great life “over there,” our age is an age of diversion and distraction. Stephen Pressfield writes about The Resistance in his book, The War of Art. It is the Resistance that distracts and derails men and women on the road to living out their calling and a life of meaning. The Resistance, he says, stands between the “life we live, and the unlived life within us.” Conyers gives counsel in overcoming distraction through practices of attention such as prayer, perseverance in the face of trials (again, Pressfield would argue that suffering and trials are part of The Resistance’s bag of tricks), perceiving truth, and the willingness to face pain all require our attention if we are to experience the life god would have us live. To be present, in the midst of everything that the world may throw at you, is to attend to God’s calling on your life.

Tolerance

The modern doctrine (of Tolerance) has therefore obscured what might properly be called the practice of toleration. I decline to call it doctrine because it is not so much the statement of something true as it is the preparation of the soul for that which is true. It is more akin to silence than to discourse. It is the habit of not cutting off your interlocutor before listening to what he or she has to say.

Conyers makes a great distinction between Tolerance as a doctrine and Tolerance as a uniquely Christian practice. For a society to function well, a free exchange of ideas marked by an “openness to the experiences and thinking of others” is needed so that all may “wrestle with the foundational questions of what it means to be human and to live in community.” The doctrine of Tolerance produced by the Enlightenment, alive and well in today’s world, actually seeks to undermine this free exchange of ideas but creating the false teaching that all ideas are equal and valid. By relegating religious and moral thought to the private, personal spheres of life The State, and by extension, the Individual was now free to live and move and create their own state of being free from accountability and criticism. However, the practice of Tolerance is something radically different and finds its roots in the Christian, not secular, tradition. Whereas the doctrine of Tolerance proclaims that each individual can arrive at and capture their own truth, the practice of Tolerance is the pursuit of truth. “It is an openness towards what is true, recognizing the truth of God is true for all people,” says Conyers. It is a drawing out of truth wherever truth may be found – in the sacred as well as the secular.

Place

Real people belong to real places, and places, like people, have a character. Vocation is directed not to some pure spirit, or an abstract personality, but to persons who are rotted in a particular setting, and who can be known in part by the setting in which they are found or came to maturity.

Missing in today’s culture is a true sense of place. For Conyers, Place isn’t just where one may find themselves at this given moment. It is also the place where one comes from, “the place from which we proceed.” These places have a profound affect on us and flavor not only our lives but our work as well. In the Garden, God placed man and woman and gave them a work and a place to “cultivate, build, and improve on” right alongside The Creator Himself. Place is the essence of the Incarnation. Christ left one place, Heaven, in order to live in the midst of another place, Earth (specifically, 1st century Palestine). He fulfilled His calling from God and is now calling each of us to a place, The Kingdom of God. Our culture places a high premium on moving up the ladder of success and moving from place to “more significant place.” Ferris Bueller once remarked that “Life moves by pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around every once in a while, you could miss it.” For us to fully appreciate God’s calling on our lives, we must attend to the Place where we came from, where we find ourselves now, and ultimately, where God would have us be.

Rest

In the ancient and medieval mind, the contrary of this inexorable ruin to which all things run in time is the notion of “rest,” which means that time runs toward a goal or purpose – an eschatological goal, a telos – that is secure against the ravages of Chronos. Thus St. Augustine could say, “We were made for Thee, O God, and our hearts are restless  until we find rest in Thee.” Rest is not idleness, but as Thomas Merton said, “the highest form of activity.” Nor is it obliteration in death. That is why the Christian prayer, Rest in peace,” is not a concession to death but, in fact, a invocation against death.

In what is probably the most interesting chapter of the entire book, Conyers describes Rest, not as a Sabbath rest or a lazy, summer nap, but as telos, or the ultimate object or aim of life. The Enlightenment has caused our modern sensibilities to be obsessed with Motion for the sake of movement and Change for the sake of change. According to Conyers, “The biblical idea of ‘rest’ contains within it the assumption that the motion of people and things and events anticipates a time of ‘rest,” a time in which their motion is complete, will find its end.” No wonder we are a restless people in a world marked with much chaos and little peace. We are so obsessed with moving on to the next chapter in life that we fail to be attentive to the moment.

Reclaiming Community and Vocation

What is necessary for the world to begin to reclaim the idea of vocation? The answer might be Humility. For an individual to begin to aspire to something greater, a posture of humility is needed. To acknowledge that there is a God who is the one in control, who invites human beings into a relationship with Him, to co-labor beside Him in bringing truth, justice, and love into the world necessitates humility. To acknowledge the complexity and vastness of the creation and universe as well as our inability as mankind to control or coerce creation to our will, takes an understanding that we are not even half as powerful or in control as we think. To realize that each of us are called to serve the world around us rather than use others for our own purposes, requires that we let go of our pride and recognize that we “belong to Another” and to one another. To live out one’s vocation means saying “no” to our will and “yes” to the will of the One who has called us to this time and this place to serve these people to His purposes to His glory and to the benefit of others. That is how we will pay our rent in The Tower of Song.

The Listening Heart
AJ Conyers
217 pages
Spence Publishing Company
2006

Book Review, Leadership

Want to be a Catalyst Leader?

If you are a leader, I want you to know about a brand new book that is hot off the press. Many of you are familiar with Catalyst, the innovative and experiential leadership movement that has been going on for now almost 14 years, and now one of America’s most influential leadership organizations, with conferences and leadership gatherings all around the US.

Today is a big day because of the release of the book The Catalyst Leader. My good friend Brad Lomenick authors this game changing leadership book, based on his 20 years of leadership experience, as well as the last 10 years experience as the president and lead visionary of Catalyst. In it Brad identifies and captures what he calls the 8 Essentials for Becoming a Change Maker. Ultimately identifying the essentials of a Catalyst Leader needed for leading well, and leading now.

According to the book, a catalyst leader must be the following:

– Called by God to leadership and willing to seek his will

– Authentic and humble, becoming influential rather than impressive

– Passionate about God, committed to developing a heart for the creator

– Capable and determined, working harder than anyone on the team

– Courageous when the time comes to take a leap

– Principled in every decision made, unwilling to compromise for convenience

– Hopeful despite challenges, believing God can do what we cannot

– Collaborative, drawing on the strength of others and sharing praise

Living and leading by these essentials provides both spiritual and practical avenues to developing the qualities essential to leaders hoping to build a passionate, effective team that will last. This is not a book of theories. It is not a bragging autobiography from one successful boss. It is an honest and authentic examination of what you must be and do in order to empower and lead others to success and righteousness.

You can purchase the book wherever books are sold. Go to the book site at http://catalystleader.com to purchase today. I can’t recommend this book enough, whether you are a young leader or seasoned sage. It’s filled with practical leadership advice and application.

And, as a special bonus anyone who purchases the book between today and May 5th, scan and send your receipt to catalystleaderbook@gmail.com and you’ll receive over $600 of leadership resources for FREE, all for simply purchasing the book during this week from any outlet, including the Catalyst store as well as other retail outlets.

Order the book and receive:

? Catalyst Leader eBook – Take The Catalyst Leader with you on the go with the e-Reader of
your choice. Or, keep the eBook for yourself and give the physical copy to a friend!

? Catalyst Leader Audiobook – It’s true all leaders are readers, but if reading isn’t your thing,
this is a great way to hear this incredible content!

? Catalyst Leader Music Sampler Album – Catalyst is passionate about worship and releasing
new songs into the church. This sampler album will give you some of the top songs from the Catalyst movement.

? Catalyst Message Sampler Album – Get a few downloads of some messages that have
impacted the Catalyst movement throughout the years. Featuring timeless leadership lessons,
these messages have helped form the insights shared in The Catalyst Leader.

? 100 Photo/Text Images – We’ve picked some of our favorite quotes from The Catalyst
Leader and created 100 sharable images with the quotes. Tweet, Instagram, or share them and
challenge the leaders around you with profound leadership insights.

You will want to have The Catalyst Leader in your leadership library for years to come. Get it today and make a dent in your universe for the Kingdom of God.

Best of..., Book Review, iBoard, Leadership, Mission, Personal Leadership, Planning

Steve Martin and Ministry

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If you get the chance, I would encourage you to read through Steve Martin’s brilliant memoir about his stand-up career, Born Standing Up. I read it few years ago but have been reflecting back on it over the last few days.

Steve Martin is a member of my iBoard. My iBoard is an imaginary board of directors made up of men and women that I regard as leaders and visionaries in their respective fields whom I believe that I can learn from. My iBoard members represent people in the fields of leadership, ministry, theology, music, comedy, and philosophy.

I decided to read Martin’s memoir for a little more insight into the creative process and I wanted to understand how someone goes about crafting and then honing their skills until they are just right. I also knew that after 18 years (”Ten of those years were spent learning, four years were spent refining, and four were spent in wild success.”) Martin walked away from stand-up comedy forever.

I know plenty of pastors and volunteers who have experienced the same ebb and flow that I know Martin experienced. As a pastor I wanted to know if Martin chose to walk away because he felt burned out from his years in front of live audiences or if, like Seinfeld, he chose to exit while at the peak of success rather than slinking away in mediocrity.

As someone who spends a great deal of time standing before people delivering a message each week I can tell you that I have learned just as much watching stand-up comedians as I have watching people preach. I have learned more about timing, delivery, surprises, storytelling, and audience interaction by watching Steve Martin and Conan O’Brien than I ever have in a formal preaching class.

As I read the introduction I found proof that comedy and preaching go hand in hand despite what I was taught. I am quoting below but I exchanged the words comedy and stand-up for words that I deal with every week. See if you can relate.

My most persistent memory of (preaching) is of my mouth being in the present and my mind being in the future: the mouth speaking the line, the body delivering the gesture, while the mind looks back, observing, analyzing, judging, worrying, and then deciding when and what to say next. Enjoyment while (preaching) was rare – enjoyment would have been an indulgent loss of focus that (preaching) cannot afford. After the (sermon), however, I experienced long hours of elation of misery depending on how the show went, because (preaching) alone onstage is the ego’s last stand.

(Preaching) is seldom preformed in ideal circumstances. (Preaching’s) enemy is distraction, and rarely do (preachers) get a pristine performing environment. I worried about the sound system, ambient noise, hecklers, lighting, sudden clangs, latecomers, and not to mention the nagging concern “Is this (reaching people)?”

I too go through this same range of emotions and questions when I speak in front of any audience. As a campus minister I had to speak in front of a crowd of 600 high school and middle schoolers each day. I would have to be speaking, thinking about what I said, what I was going to say, judging reactions, judging content, analyzing the audience, worrying about this or that, monitoring time, and editing. Thankfully breathing and my heart work involuntary! Today whether I’m speaking in front of groups of 25 or 300, 20 leaders or the entire congregation the same thoughts and feelings surge through me. I am still working on my skills.

Born Standing Up was a great read. Do not be fooled, as affable and unflappable as Steve Martin might seem his struggles of self-doubt and self-worth can be shared by anyone who stands before an audience with a message. Martin is an extremely hard worker with a desire to better himself and his craft.

Martin has given me the understanding that in order to go as far as you want to go, you need a little self-realization, much discipline, and a whole lot of tenacity and courage.

Born Standing Up

Book Review, Books, Leadership

Why I’m Reading What I’m Reading

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
I do not read fiction very often. One of my reading goals this year is to read at least two works of classic literature. There are a few driving forces that caused me to choose the Hobbit. First, the imagination and depth of writing from Tolkien really appeals to me and speaks to my love for stories of redemption. In an interview at DesiringGod.com, pastor and author Timothy Keller said this about Tolkien:

Tolkien has helped my imagination. He was a devout Catholic—and I am not. However, because he brought his faith to bear into narrative, fiction, and literature, his Christianity—which was pretty ‘mere Christianity’ (understanding of human sin, need for grace, need for redemption)—fleshed out in fiction, has been an inspiration to me.

What I mean by inspiration is this: he gives me a way of grasping glory that would otherwise be hard for me to appreciate. Glory, weightiness, beauty, excellence, brilliance, virtue—he shows them to you in some of his characters.

When people ask: how often have you read Lord of the Rings?, the answer is: I actually never stop. I’m always in it.

Keller’s words confirmed to me that not only would I benefit from reading a bit more of Tolkien but that I would thoroughly  enjoy doing so.

Secondly, the first of two films based on The Hobbit is scheduled for release this December and I wanted to read the source material beforehand. The final reason I chose to read the Hobbit is rather personal. I want to read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books to my son when he gets older. I want to share with him the sense of adventure, loyalty, sacrifice, and standing together to fight evil that Tolkien magnificently brings to life. I’m practicing some voices as well. I do a pretty good Gandalf.

Simply Strategic Stuff by Tim Stevens and Tony Morgan
Over the last year I have had to take a crash course in church administration. The tag line on this book says, “Help for leaders drowning in the details of running a church.” Um… yeas please! Tim and Tony provide 99 brief chapters of advice, tips, and challenges to help you hire staff, communicate more clearly, cast vision, and build teams. I’ve tried to read a few of these chapters each day and journal my thoughts about how the information given can help me in my current context.

Lit!: A Christian Guide to Reading by Tony Reinke
I read quite a bit. In fact, the plan is that I will read somewhere between 30-40 books in 2012. So why would I want to read a book about reading when I could be reading about any other subject? The reason I chose to read Lit! is that I want to become a more enlightened reader and more intentional reader. I have been reading Tony Reinke’s blog, Miscellanies, for years and I have very much appreciated his insight and keen interest in the written word. In this book, Tony gives the reader a theology of reading and he teaches you how to discern what to read. The second half of the book is filled with practical instructions about the art of reading. Tony covers everything from reading faster to organizing what you read to highlighting/taking notes on what you read. My hope is the Lit! will help me be a better reader so I can communicate what I’m learning more effectively.

In The Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen
I first read In The Name of Jesus as I was starting out in my first full-time ministry position as a Campus Minister. I try and read this book every so often to be reminded of my calling of leadership. This is Nouwen’s meditation of the temptations of Jesus and how they relate to the temptations that Christian leaders face in the course of leading and serving those around them. The temptations to be relevant, popular, and out in front bubble up in the heart of everyone who leads but there is hope. Looking to Jesus we see how to overcome through prayer, ministry, and being led by the Spirit. I recommend this book to every pastor- young or old.

Best of..., Book Review

Top 10: Books of 2010 pt. 2

I read approximately 50 books in 2010- a record for me. Most often, I  limit my reading to books about best practices, theology, and church leadership. I’m pretty picky about what I read so I usually enjoy and learn from nearly every book I dive into. That makes writing a list about my favorite books of the year really hard for me. I don’t feel like I can pick just 10! Regardless, here is part 2 of my Top Books of 2010:

The Land Between by Jeff Manion
No other book blessed me as personally as this one did. A friend recommended it to me to help me work through a time of transition I was experiencing. We were moving, things changing at work, we were adjusting to a toddler. Things seemed more hectic than usual and I was looking for a way to navigate the chaos. This book was the perfect solution. When we experienced the miscarriage, I had finished this book the day before. I may not have known why I was recommended this book by my friend but God knew. Consider The Land Between a roadmap for your walk through the wilderness. I cannot recommend this book enough!

The Christian Atheist by Craig Groeshel
I heard Craig preach a series of sermons that eventually became this book and I was wreaked. The premise is that there are many Christians who say they believe in Jesus but live as though He doesn’t exist. Boom!

The Grace of God by Andy Stanley
Andy Stanley teaches about grace. That sentance right there would be enough for me to run out and buy 8 copies.

The Year of Living Like Jesus by Ed Dobson
After read this book, I attempted to live as Jesus lived for one month- eating kosher, observing the Sabbath, and wearing sandals. Just a warning before you pick this up for some light reading.

Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
Get an inside peak at the founder of Zappos and get caught up in his leadership and enthusiasm for his work, his love for those around him, and his passion for changing the world.

2010, Best of..., Book Review, Books, Discipleship, Leadership, Ministry, Mission

Top 10: Books of 2010 pt. 1

1) Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick
This was, without a doubt, my favorite book of 2010. I received an advanced copy over the summer and quickly read it twice. If you need a message to kick you in the pants, if you need something to stir up your faith and desperation for a holy and mighty God, then this is the message you’ve been looking for.

“This book is not a Snuggie. The words on these pages will not go down like Ambien.
I’m not writing to calm or coddle you. With God’s help, I intend to incite a riot in your mind. Trip your breakers and turn out the lights in your favorite hiding places of insecurity and fear. Then flip the switch back on so that God’s truth can illuminate the divine destiny that may have been lying dormant inside you for years. In short, I’m out to activate your audacious faith. To inspire you to ask God for the impossible. And in the process, to reconnect you with your God-sized purpose and potential.”

“If you’re not daring to believe God for the impossible, you’re sleeping through some of the best parts of your Christian life. And further still: if the size of your vision for your life isn’t intimidating to you, there’s a good chance it’s insulting to God.”

“There’s nothing our world needs more desperately today—in individuals, families, businesses, churches, and communities—than God’s saving, supernatural acts. And he’s ready to act if we will be bold enough to ask, not just for a good day or a better life, but for the impossible. Then step forward to act in audacious faith. Each of us is called to be a Joshua—each in our own way, in our own circumstances, with our own God-given personality. As you’ll see in the pages ahead, you and I are called not just to have faith but also to regularly activate our faith by asking God for giant outcomes, taking giant steps. If we have the audacity to ask, God has the ability to perform. That’s how God turns his amazing promises into everyday reality in every generation—for Joshua’s and for ours. You and I may not see the same miracles Joshua did, but we serve the same God. His nature never changes. The same power that stopped the sun and raised Christ from the grave lives in every believer. God still demonstrates his power and supplies his provision in direct proportion to the faith of his children.“

Audacious faith isn’t some newfangled, extrabiblical variety of faith. It’s a return to the core of Christianity: trusting Jesus completely in every area of your life and setting out to devote your life wholly to revealing his glory in this world. Critical clarification: We are saved by grace through faith in Christ—period. Don’t look at the challenge to act in audacious faith as an add-on to this saving faith. It’s a call to press deeper into that faith, until it becomes more and more effective in your everyday life. The opposite of audacious faith: passive unbelief.

2) Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas
The number 2 book of 2010 goes to an incredible story of discipleship and dedication to Jesus! You may know part of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s story but this book gives you the rest of the legend behind this amazing young pastor and his battle against the rise of the Third Reich. I want my son to read this book with me one day.

3) Rework by Jason Fried and David Hansson
This was probably the most practical book of the year as it helped me change some habits that kept me from getting everything done that I needed to do. The book is one part instruction manual and two parts inspiration. Check out these two highlights:

Imagine you’re standing in a rental-car office. The room’s cold. The carpet is dirty. There’s no one at the counter. And then you see a tattered piece of paper with some clip art at the top of it pinned to a bulletin board. It’s a mission statement: Our mission is to fulfill the automotive and commercial truck rental, leasing, car sales and related needs of our customers and, in doing so, exceed their expectations for service, quality and value. We will strive to earn our customers’ long-term loyalty by working to deliver more than promised, being honest and fair and “going the extra mile” to provide exceptional personalized service that creates a pleasing business experience. We must motivate our employees to provide exceptional service to our customers by supporting their development, providing opportunities for personal growth and fairly compensating them for their successes and achievements … * And it drones on. And you’re sitting there reading this crap and wondering, “What kind of idiot do they take me for?” The words on the paper are clearly disconnected from the reality of the experience. It’s like when you’re on hold and a recorded voice comes on telling you how much the company values you as a customer. Really? Then maybe you should hire some more support people so I don’t have to wait thirty minutes to get help. Standing for something isn’t just about writing it down. It’s about believing it and living it.

Whenever you can, swap “Let’s think about it” for “Let’s decide on it.” Commit to making decisions. Don’t wait for the perfect solution. Decide and move forward. Decisions are progress.

4) Leaders Who Last by Dave Kraft
Read this book and avoid being in the 70% of leaders who burn-out and fail to leave a meaningful legacy for anyone. Simple as that.

5) Church Planter by Darrin Patrick
Want to know what this book is about? Watch this video. Now, go change the world.

Book Review, Ethos, Experience, General, Leadership

Bob Dylan & Leadership

I have been devouring Seth Godin’s Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? Godin’s aim is to enlighten, encourage, and equip people to become an indispensable leader in their organization rather than a nameless, faceless cog that can be replaced anytime.

One of the things that keeps people from standing out and excelling at work is because they believe that they have to become perfect in order to become great. That is not the case. Godin uses Bob Dylan as the perfect example.

“Bob Dylan knows a little about becoming indispensable, being an artist, and living on the edge:

Daltrey, Townshend, McCartney, the Beach Boys, Elton, Billy Joel. They made perfect records, so they have to play them perfectly . . . exactly the way people remember them. My records were never perfect. So there is no point in trying to duplicate them. Anyway, I’m no mainstream artist. . . . I guess most of my influences could be thought of as eccentric. Mass media had no overwhelming reach so I was drawn to the traveling performers passing through. The side show performers—bluegrass singers, the black cowboy with chaps and a lariat doing rope tricks. Miss Europe, Quasimodo, the Bearded Lady, the half-man half-woman, the deformed and the bent, Atlas the Dwarf, the fire-eaters, the teachers and preachers, the blues singers. I remember it like it was yesterday. I got close to some of these people. I learned about dignity from them. Freedom too. Civil rights, human rights. How to stay within yourself. Most others were into the rides like the tilt-a-whirl and the roller-coaster. To me that was the nightmare. All the giddiness. The artificiality of it . . .

The interviewer then reminded Dylan, “But you’ve sold over a hundred million records.”

Dylan’s answer gets to the heart of what it means to be an artist: “Yeah I know. It’s a mystery to me too.”

Avoiding the treadmill of defect-free is not easy to sell to someone who’s been trained in the perfection worldview since first grade (which is most of us). But artists embrace the mystery of our genius instead. They understand that there is no map, no step-by-step plan, and no way to avoid blame now and then. If it wasn’t a mystery, it would be easy. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be worth much.”

I am about halfway through Linchpin and I am ready to declare this a must for you to read- regardless of your job and regardless of your position. Come back tomorrow for some more choice quotes from this incredible read.

Book Review, Books, Discipleship, Ministry, Resources, Theology, Wrestling With Scripture

Book Review: Dug Down Deep

“The wise builder is the one who comes to Jesus, listens to his words, and then puts them into practice. This activity- this faith-filled approach to Jesus, the acceptance of his truth and then the application of the truth and then the application of the truth- is what Jesus said is like a man who dug down deep and built on a solid foundation. When problems and trials and the storms of life came, the “house” of his life kept standing.”

I don’t know when exactly it happened but there came a time where I had no desire to read another pithy, saccharine-sweet devotional book. I craved the deep stuff. I wanted to know and understand beyond mere comfort and enjoyment. I wanted to dig deeper into the inner workings of my God and my faith. I wanted theology over warm fuzzies, truth over platitudes.

Dug Down Deep: Unearthing What I Believe and Why It Matters by Joshua Harris is a great primer for those who want to go a bit deeper in their faith understanding. For those who would like a beginner’s tutorial in the realm of theology you probably couldn’t find a more accessible book. Harris tackles everything from the doctrine of God (theology proper) to the doctrine of Scripture to the doctrine of Sanctification.

Don’t let the word doctrine turn you off. Harris makes each of these deep truths understandable without watering them down or coming across as some stuffy, thick-glasses academic. Harris writes about understanding and experiencing these teachings within the context of daily living. He talks openly about his struggles, his missteps, and his inability to understand it all. He does this in a way that invites the reader into the difficult task of building faith not of the shifting sands of the culture but but firmly in God and in the truth revealed through Scripture.

As a minister, where the rubber meets the road for me is whether or not this book is a good resource for me and my ministry. Would I recommend Dug Down Deep to my teens or their families? Yes. Could I use this book to help me teach a class on theology to teenagers/college students/families? Absolutely.

Joshua Harris cost me a few dates back in college when his I Kissed Dating Goodbye was all the rage. The young guy who rashly encouraged all the pretty girls to turn me down for dates has matured into an honest, thoughtful, and engaging author and minister. With Dug Down Deep Harris has proven that theology and doctrine are necessary to deepen one’s faith and understanding. Even more than that theology and doctrine help solidify the relationship between the believer and the Creator.

Disclaimer: This was book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah. (However…I would have bought this book anyway.)

Book Review, Discipleship, Ethos, Experience, Leadership, Life, Ministry, Mission, Resources

Book Review: Primal

One of my favorite authors, Mark Batterson, has a great new book called “Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity.” I got my hands on an advanced copy and finished reading it earlier this week. I want you to know that this is Mark’s best book yet.

The challenge of “Primal” is to get back to the basic element of Christianity. Len Sweet once remarked that the best picture of the church is that of a swing. The power of a swing comes from the point where we lean back and kick forward. In order for the church to make an impact in the future we must be willing to lean back- past all church traditions and dogmas- all the way into the arms of Jesus. When we do that, we can then move powerfully into the future with the Gospel message. For Mark, the essence of the Gospel message– the most basic element- is living out the call of the Greatest Commandment. That’s the heart of the Gospel. Well.. the heart, soul, mind, and strength of the Gospel.

If Jesus said that loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength is the most important commandment, then doesn’t it logically follow that we ought to spend an inordinate amount of our time and energy trying to understand it and obey it? We can’t afford to merely good at the Great Commandment. We’ve got to be great at the Great Commandment.”

The book divided into 4 sections to highlight the different facets of the Greatest Commandment that Jesus brings to our attention. Mark “reimagines” these elemants as follows:

The heart of Christianity is primal compassion
The soul of Christianity is primal wonder
The mind of Christianity is primal curiosity
The strength of Christianity is primal energy

Mark’s power as a writer comes from his ability to weave his heart and passion for the things of God into every story, every bullet point, and every conclusion. You become enthralled in the quest because Mark is enthralled with the quest. Mark Batterson is the real deal. He is a loving husband and father who loves his church and wants to introduce everyone to his Savior. You will not be disappointed by this book.

Here’s a great challenge for you. Make “Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity” the first book you read in 2010. As we start a brand new decade begin by working out your heart, soul, mind, and body to reconnect to the Gospel of Jesus. Start 2010 as a part of the primal movement to rediscover the Greatest Commandment for your life.

Disclaimer:This was book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.

Book Review, Books, Leadership, Resources

3 More: Books I’m Reading

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Yesterday I posted about my desire to finish up before the end of the year the 10 or so open books that I have been reading. To continue with that post here are 3 more books that I’d like to finish before 2010.

ReJesus: A Wild Messiah for a Missional Church by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch
Alan Hirsh wrote a great book called The Forgotten Ways a few years ago. That book was a call for Christians to bring the power and community found in the first century church to the here and now in order to make a great impact for the kingdom. ReJesus is about the source of that power and community: Jesus Christ. I have had this book waiting in the queue for most of the year and I am very much looking forward to getting into it.

So what’s this book all about? It’s all about Jesus, with direct implications for our discipleship, some radical challenges for our churches, and some suggested reformulations for our spirituality. In short, it’s about reJesusing the church. So this book is dedicated to the recovery of the absolute centrality of the person of Jesus in defining who we are as well as what we do. As hard as it is to truly follow him, we assert that we must constantly return to Jesus to authenticate as well as legitimize ourselves as his people. We have no other Archimedean point by which to set our coordinates or any other touchstone by which we can assess the abiding validity of our faith and to see if we are authentically Christian. The love of Jesus, and our commitment to live in conformity to him, is in effect an inbuilt spiritual mechanism at the heart of the church’s theology and experience that provides an instrument for our ongoing renewal. It seems to us that a constant, and continual, return to Jesus is absolutely essential for any movement that wishes to call itself by his name.

Fresh Start: God’s Invitation to a Great Life by Doug Fields
I’m not even going to deny it. I am a Doug Fields fan. I picked up Fresh Start in order to adapt it for my winter retreat but have found myself connecting with its message on every level. The message Doug wants to get across is that through Jesus, we have all been given a fresh start free from sin. Although we are to be controlled by the Holy Spirit many of us struggle every day to live free. Doug is a great, practical writer and Fresh Start is one of his best.

Here’s my confession: although I’ve been a follower of Christ for many years, there are still areas in my life that feel stuck. I’m talking about being spiritually stuck—bad habits that I can’t seem to get under control, nagging sins that never seem to go fully away, positive character traits I should have developed by now but that are still not apparent in my life. I desperately want to go forward and find greater maturity in my relationship with Christ, but it seems as though something is always holding me back from a fresh start. As a pastor, I always acknowledge I’m just one bad decision away from being a front-page scandal. (I’m sure you’ve read about some of my colleagues.) So for me, one example of me being stuck is connected more with my ugly thoughts (the ones I know I shouldn’t be thinking after thirty years of following Jesus), or the thoughtless, stupid words that occasionally fly out of my mouth (I should know better!). In short, the person I want to be (really want to be), well, I’m just not quite there yet. I feel bogged down in some areas of my life. Can you relate? I’m guessing you can.

The Power of Persistence: Breakthroughs in Your Prayer Life by Michael Catt
If there were one spiritual discipline that I would want to stand in the power of every single day it would be prayer. The Power of Persistence is a great primer on how to pray according to the scriptures. This small book has been a great encouragement to me this season and I can see myself revisiting it over and over.

The ups and downs of church history can be written in the prayer life of God’s people. The strength of the church has never been in programs, numbers, or events, but in prayer and obedience. God is not interested in our innovative methods. He is not impressed with our twenty-first century technology. God is still moved by the prayers of simple saints who learn in the quiet place to lay hold of the throne of grace. Prayer is not incidental to the work of God—it is the work! When God’s people face godless times, that’s when they need to turn up the heat in prayer. Tough times are no time for God’s people to sit by, cold and indifferent. As you read 1 Kings, you will discover that before the showdown on Mount Carmel, God was preparing Elijah in prayer. Elijah was learning how to ask God for the impossible and believe God in desperate situations. Before he ever stood on Carmel and confronted the false prophets, Elijah was a man of prayer and faith in the promises of God. All of us must be tested as to whether we will take matters into our own hands or take them before the Lord.