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Great Employees Only

 "Great Employees Only" by Dale Dauten was a fascinating book to read. The idea is to create a culture where  great employees thrive and everyone else is "dehired" (his alternative to firing). The book intrigued me because some of the things he wrote were so appealing yet counter-intuitive such as his "formula for effortless leadership success":

• 90 percent hiring (and de-hiring)
• 10 percent inspiring, and
• 0 percent management. (If an employee can't be inspired and needs managing, return to top.)

I still wrestle with this and I'm conflicted because part of me wonders if this can really be true while at the same time hoping it really is! Even though there are some philosophical ideas I'm still weighing, there were many great points and there are a few applications that I walked away with right away after reading this book. In mind it makes that makes "GEO" worth the read even if I don't end up agreeing with all of Mr. Dauten's concepts.

Books in a sentence (or 2) part 5

Thoughts on the books I've recently finished:

"Shepherding a Child's Heart" by Ted Tripp -Some parents have a tough time with this book since Tripp is militant about spanking (though against spanking militantly), but I found it to be a great book to help parents develop a philosophy of parenting that develops a long-term, big-picture strategy.

"The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate" by Gary Chapman -Classic book on marriage that I've heard a lot about but only recently got around to reading. Fascinating to consider that much of the frustration we face in marriage may not be attributed to a lack of love, but rather a lack of properly-expressed love.

"Vintage Church: Timeless Truths and Timely Methods (Re:Lit: Vintage Jesus)" -Mark Driscoll -This was a great book for our staff to work through together. Mark isn't always right, but he ALWAYS has an opinion; love it!

"No Perfect People Allowed: Creating a Come-as-You-Are Culture in the Church" -John Burke. Every pastor/church leader should read this book that discusses outreach and discipleship achieved through the cultivation of proper environments. I found it both moving and motivating.

"Fargo Rock City : A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota" by Chuck Klosterman. Hilariously awesome book that was a lot of fun. If you grew up on metal this is a must, if you didn't you'll probably still find this book funny, though possibly pointless and offensive.

Zero to Sixty

I recently finished reading "Zero to Sixty" by Bob Franquiz. Before I say any more, I need to divulge that Bob is one of my best friends, and I used to be his administrative pastor at Calvary Fellowship (Miami Lakes). Through the years I've personally watched Bob grow from a student of leadership to a teacher of it. I often tell people that if I did not have the benefit of working on Bob's staff for a couple of years, then our church would be much different (and not for the better).

Having said that, I thought "Zero to Sixty" was a great book regardless of any personal ties I have to the author! If you are a pastor and/or a church leader you need to read it. The book was filled with very practical principles that can help you accelerate your leadership and effectiveness. I wrote down a bunch of specific things that I plan to do to improve my personal and professional leadership that I got from ideas in this book.

The writing is clear and concise. In fact, one of the things I really like about the book is the short chapters; each is only a few pages. This allows you to read the book in short bursts and thus quickly think through how you might be able to apply the principles to your context. It also allows the book to serve as a reference manual for future review.

If you are a spelunker, this book might not be helpful to you. If you are a church leader, it is essential!

Not Now

"Buzzmarketing" author Mark Hughes has asked me to write a chapter for his newest project, "Not Now" (book & DVD). More details coming soon...

Click here to join the Not Now fan page for upcoming updates and media.

The Principle of the Path

Andy Stanley is one of my favorite Christian communicators because he is so focused and so practical. This translates very well in written form, so I make a point of reading each book he writes. His latest book, "The Principle of the Path: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to be" was well worth my time! I found it personally helpful and challenging.

So many people I talk to describe their life as if it were a movie they watched rather than a life they lived. They're frustrated and discouraged over where they are in life, but often fail to see that they didn't just end up at their destination, they walked there one step at a time. They made many decisions (including indecision) that led them to where they are.

In "The Principle of the Path," Andy addresses this concept as he deconstructs some myths about life choices and then highlights some biblical and practical that we can leverage to take us to where we want to go. As he says, he didn't invent this stuff, he's just illuminating some fundamental facts about life, God and destiny that many of us do not consider often enough in our daily decision making. The key concept is that in life "attention (not intention) leads to direction and direction leads to our destination." 

If you are ready to stop making excuses for where you are in life and to take responsibility for where you want to be, then this is a fantastic book on wise decision-making that I highly recommend!

10 Things I Hate About Christianity

 I recently finished reading "10 Things I Hate About Christianity" by Jason Berggren. Let me start by sharing the best quote of the book that is interestingly enough found in the acknowledgments, "And thanks to Bill LaMorey. He has been one of my best and most necessary friends. Without a doubt, he is the funniest person I have ever known..." He goes on to say other nice things, but I do have to keep my pride in check after this past weekend's message.

In all seriousness, I quoted that as a form of disclosure. I am not, nor can be, unbiased about Jason. We are friends, went to Bible College together, were roommates, worked on a church staff together, etc. So, forget about objectivity and let me just tell you what I liked about the book.

Jason, in real life and in his book, is nothing if not honest. Sometimes, uncomfortably honest. He does not gloss over tough topics or wrap up unresolved issues with pretty paper and a tidy bow so they look appealing. Instead he painstakingly (and painfully sometimes) unwraps certain issues that are challenging and uncomfortable in order to process and resolve them. In his book he does this to the Christian faith in a way that is relevant to both Christians desiring honest examination as well as those that are kicking the tires of Christianity to check it out.

In "10 Things I Hate..." Jason tackles some tough topics (10 of them as you might have imagined) like Sin, Hell and even Christians. He does so not only with honesty, but also with wit and humor. There are some HILARIOUS stories throughout; my favorite is the Messianic Rabbi kicking the band Strongarm out of the temple because parents were concerned that their music was opening a porthole to hell (ya can't have kids falling through that)! It is helpful that Jason shares his struggle with each of these things, but also shares how he worked through these frustrations. And in some cases how he is still in the process of doing so. Some of these insights will surely be helpful to people dealing with similar doubts and struggles. I would agree with our mutual friend Bob Franquiz who said that the chapter on prayer was perhaps the best.

If you find yourself wrestling with elements of the Christian faith, this is a great book to get into some thoughtful, raw discourse about things that still baffle you or drive you crazy about Christianity.

And if you want some really funny stories about Jason that are not published, just let me know...

Books in a sentence (or 2) part 4

Concise thoughts on some books I've read and/or listened to over the past few months:

"Eat That Frog" -Brian Tracy: Fantastic, practical book on time management/planning priorities that is both informative AND practical.

"Celebration of Discipline" -Richard Foster: A modern classic book on the spiritual disciplines that I found both challenging and helpful for personal spiritual growth. Ya gotta love the Quakers!

"How the Mighty Fall" -Jim Collins: An excellent book by a great business writer examining why major companies/institutions have failed and the lessons we can learn from them. This should be required reading for our federal government.

"Death By Love" -Mark Driscoll: A tough, gritty book that is both theological and practical as it examines what the work of the cross does for us and how to apply the cross to our lives to meet our deepest needs.

"The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" -Patrick Lencioni": Great teams have both raucous debate and unquestionable unity & loyalty at the same time; this book coaches you through how they are developed.

"Axiom" -Bill Hybels: Besides the fact that ANY book that Hybels writes on the subject of leadership is sure to be a goldmine, this book is unique and user-friendly in that it covers 76 leadership proverbs in  bite-size chunks of a few pages that make them easy to process and digest.

I'll give my thoughts on a few other books I've read recently or I'm finishing one at a time shortly. Any good books you'd recommend to me?

Books I plan to read in 2009

Every year I try to read as much as I can, but I have never planned my readings for the year. 25 books is pathetically low compared to some of my peers, but it is my plan for now and I hope to exceed it.

This year (in addition to reading through the entire Bible) I plan to read (or re-read) the following books (in addition to at least a dozen additional audiobooks):

1.    Reality Check -Guy Kawasaki
2.    Beautiful Mess –Rick McKinley
3.    Heaven –Randy Alcorn
4.    The Cost of Discipleship –Dietrich Bonhoeffer
5.    Axiom –Bill Hybels
6.    Death by Love –Mark Driscoll
7.    Czar –Ted Bell
8.    Celebration of Discipline –Richard Foster
9.    Spend Less Reach More –David Jones
10.   Leadership Gold –John Maxwell
11.   18 Words –Jim Packer
12.   Words that Work –Frank Lutz
13.   5 Dysfunctions of a Team –Patrick Lencioni
14.   Scripture and Truth –D.A. Carson
15.   The Art & Craft of Biblical Teaching –Haddon Robinson
16.   10 Things I Hate About Christianity -Jason Berggren
17.   Made to Stick –Chip Heath & Dan Heath
18.   Leading at a Higher Level –Ken Blanchard
19.   The Master Plan for Evangelism –Robert Coleman
20.   The Purpose Driven Church –Rick Warren
21.   The Five Love Languages –Gary Chapman
22.   Living Your Strengths –Winseman & Clifton
23.   Listening to the Beliefs of the Emerging Church –Robert Webber
24.   Vintage Jesus –Mark Driscoll
25.   Raising Confident Kids –Bob Barnes
26.   Speak to Win -Brian Tracy (fine; its 26 now!)

This may change as new releases come. Some of these may be moved to audiobook status to make way for other printed material. The reason I planned the list is it forces me to use my wise timely and balance my topics, so please help me!

If there is a book here that you think I am wasting my time on, let me know!
And if you think there is a book I HAVE to read, again, let me know!!

To Own a Dragon

 I just finished "To Own a Dragon: Reflections on Growing Up Without a Father" by Donald Miller & John MacMurray. It was a fun book to read because Miller is always fun to read, but it was also a tough one in a lot of ways due to the subject matter. The author echoed many of the fears, failures, insecurities, dysfunction, etc. that I myself experienced in life as a result of growing up without a father. If you grew up with a good dad in a stable home, then it is hard to understand or relate to what this does to a person, but it really can mess you up...a lot. However, I really appreciate that while the book looks at these issues soberly, it does so with a sense of humor (Miller and I both have pretty good ones, so maybe that's one of the thing kids w/out dad's develop to cope). But what I love most about the book is it isn't a whiny book about how people like us are all vivctims with lots of excuses for how pathetic we are and how it isn't really our fault; it is a book about growing up and overcoming. In fact the authors share that their prayer for the readers is that we would not be "arrogant victims, but wounder healers."

If you grew up without a father or a father who wasn't really there for you, you should read this book.

Books in a sentence (or 2) part 3

Some succinct thoughts on the past few books I read:

"7 Practices of Effective Ministry" -by Andy Stanley. Even as a third-time read, I found this book served as an extremely helpful reminder of some valuable principles for organizing and leading an effective church. A must for any ministry leader!

"The Search to Belong" -by Joseph R. Myers. While I'm not sure I agree with all of the author's thoughts about small groups, this book was well worth the price and time to read for "four spaces of belonging" concept alone. We all belong in 4 relational spheres (public, social, personal & intimate) with different people. Each space is important to maintain relationships in, and the goal is not to unnaturally progress each relationship through the spaces to a final goal of intimacy. If this thought intrigues you, get the book and unpack it some more!

"The Divine Conspiracy" -by Dallas Willard. I'm really glad I got the audiobook on this one. It is very dense and long, but also very good. I was challenged, encouraged, stimulated and am motivated to listen to it again in the future.

"Your Church Can Grow" -C. Peter Wagner. A church-growth movement classic. A lot of people are down on books like this, but I loved it. One of my favorite quotes came near the end: "God's work in the world today will not be accomplished by timid, pessimistic people who rationalize away defeat. It will only be done by those who are sold out for God!" Preach it, Peter!