In the summer of 2020, I led an online theology class for people in the church I pastor. I was blown away that over 1000 people engaged in the class, asked thoughtful questions, and walked through the material each week. We used a theological text book as our reading, and explored a different “ology” each…
Reading
What a Great Time to Read!
Reading is always important for believers and ministry leaders, but with events canceled and sports missing from our lives because of the Coronavirus pandemic, this is an especially great time to read. And to read more than we normally read. Instead of passively streaming more hours of movies and shows, actively read more during this…
5 Books You Perhaps Haven’t Heard of That Impacted Me in 2018
John Wesley famously quipped to a group of young ministry leaders: “Read or get out of the ministry.” Oswald Sanders, in his classic work Spiritual Leadership, devotes a chapter to the subject of “The Leader & Reading” and insists that “the leader who intends to grow spiritually and intellectually will be constantly reading.” Each year, I…
Links for Leaders 5/25/18
Ten Books Every Christian Needs in Their Library—Devin Maddox It seems silly, maybe even snooty, in this day and age, to talk about a home “library,” but even the least enthusiastic readers have one. I notice them in every home I visit. Sometimes the home library is a set of built-in shelves framed around the…
Links for Leaders 1/26/18
10 Ways to Listen to Church Leaders—Chuck Lawless The focus of a leader’s words reveals the leaning of the leader’s heart. In the course of a day, do you hear about their activities, exploits, knowledge, and renown more than you hear about others? Good leaders point to others, knowing that their responsibility is to build…
3 Cultural Paradoxes Ministry Leaders Should Know and Respond to
Ministry leaders serve and lead within a cultural context. And we should understand the language of the culture and utilize the tools of the culture to serve and reach people. At the same time, there are cultural norms we must challenge and not embrace, cultural realities that must be overcome to effectively serve people well….
5 Business Books for Pastors
I am asked fairly often what leadership or business books I think pastors should read. I sometimes hesitate to answer because some ministry leaders should not read another leadership book. If your devotional life is weak, if you are not addicted to reading the Bible, or if you want to treat the church like just…
Links for Leaders 6/3/16
Steve Graves is a friend, consultant, and executive coach who loves the Lord. You should sign up for his blog! This week he gave a list of books to consider for the summer. Gaining and maintaining credibility is vital to effective leadership. If the people you follow or the people you lead cannot trust you,…
Three Ways to Get the Most Out of a Leadership Book
Francis Bacon said, “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.” You may approach some leadership books with the intention of a quick browse, a read where you are merely keeping up to date with current thinking in your field or looking for some pithy…
Five Leadership Books You May Not Have Read, But Should
Harry Truman said, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” Reading is important for leaders, not only because of the content being read but also because reading teaches one to think, reason, and formulate thoughts. Popular leadership books can be very helpful, especially if they are popular because leaders have found them…