• Archive of "Featured" Category

    God of the Moon and Stars

    March 10, 2009 // 4 Comments »

    Eddie Gibbs introduced us to this amazing song and video at the Ecclesia conference. Its written by a dutch singer and I am not sure if his name. But, its a really moving video.

    Posted in Faith & Theology, Featured, Missional, Videos

    The Strengths of Suburbia? My #theideacamp session…

    February 27, 2009 // 1 Comment »

    This afternoon I am facilitating a discussion at The Idea Camp around the topic of suburbia and them missional. Now, this is a topic that I have written about a lot and spoke about a few times as well. My most significant contribution to those of us that are talking about this topic is the paper I wrote during a seminary class. In that paper you’ll find a fair amount of my thoughts on the challenges that we are faced with as we seek to be faithful churches in a suburban context.

    In our discussion today however, I am trying to take a new approach to the issue and come at it from a different angle. While I think there is value in looking at the weaknesses and challenges in a suburban context, I have a “idea” that we would do much better to start asking what things are valuable in suburbia and what are the strengths of the suburban context.

    I’m kind of a leadership book junkie and one of the things that I’ve learned is that good leaders help their organizations and communities focus on strengths and grow them forward rather than put all their effort into overcoming weaknesses.

    A good example might be the current state of the Pheonix Suns. They were a top 5 team for the last number of years because they focused on their strength of athleticism and scoring. They were, in my mind, a lucky bounce or two away from an NBA championship. This year however, in an effort to get over the hump, the owners and GM decided they would focus on their weaknesses, which was of coruse their defense. So, they fired offensive genius Mike D’Antoni and hired a defensive minded coach. They traded away Shawn Marion a very atheletic forward and got Shaquille O’Neal who is, well, not so athletic.

    The result? Well, let’s just say they lost to the LA Lakers by 30 last night.

    So, today, instead of focusing on challenges and weaknesses like I’ve done in the past, we’re going to ask the questions, “what are the strengths of suburbia and how can we capitalize on them and grow them forward?”

    I’m looking forward to a good conversation with whoever shows up at the seminar.

    Posted in Faith & Theology, Featured, Missional, Suburbia

    Headed to IdeaCamp / Kairos Church in LA

    February 19, 2009 // 3 Comments »

    My wife and I are deep in the midst of a move to a new apartment so I am really looking forward to next week where we’ll get out of here and spend a couple of days in Los Angeles from Feb 25 – March 2.

    We are headed out there mainly for an conference called IdeaCamp which is a really cool looking unconference kind of conference.

    Here is a short description:

    The Idea Camp is a FREE, open source hybrid conference designed to help people move from the realm of ideas to implementation…We are gathering some of the most innovative and creative leaders from around the country (this means YOU!) to share ideas, intentionally network, and move collaboratively into idea-making…the focus of this conference will be on the participants (yes, You!) and not on keynote speakers. We function under the belief that the crowd is always smarter and wiser than any one speaker.

    I’ll be leading one of the workshop conversations around the topic of the missional church in suburbia (info here). I basically have about 10 minutes to present and then the rest of the time will be on conversation and discussion. I am really looking forward to tossing around some ideas I’ve had around this topic and seeing how others are processing the same things.

    We’ll be sticking around for Sunday and I’ll be preaching at Kairos church in Hollywood on March 1st. Kairos is pastored by one of my good friends JR Woodward and it is also part the Ecclesia Network which is our network of churches. (JR will actually be preaching at The Well the next week after that since he’ll be on the east coast for the Ecclesia National Gathering).

    I was able to bring my wife along since I had a free ticket on Southwest Airlines. She has never been to LA so she’s pretty excited to say the least. We are also really looking forward to some time away just the two of us before our third child comes….

    If you are in the LA area, I’d love to see you at the conference. Drop me a line if you will be there…

    Posted in Faith & Theology, Featured, Missional, Suburbia

    Generosity and Fear

    February 16, 2009 // 9 Comments »

    We are living in a time where fear and despair are the overwhelming attitudes. Whether we’re talking about our personal financial situations or our national financial situation or our world’s financial situation these attitudes are prevalent. Fear. Despair.

    But as those who profess faith and resurrection, we can’t succumb to fear. We can’t ignore the problems of the world, but we can’t let fear be our master.

    We are not people of fear.
    We are not people of despair.
    We are not a people of obligation.

    Fear leads to selfishness.
    Despair leads to self-preservation.
    Obligation leads to legalism.

    We are people of hope.

    Hope that comes from grace.
    Hope that comes from resurrection.

    Hope leads to freedom.
    Freedom leads to Generosity.

    Let us be a people of freedom.
    Let us be a people of grace,
    overflowing in generosity.

    Posted in Faith & Theology, Featured, Missional Leadership, Money & The Church

    links for 2009-02-12

    February 12, 2009 // No Comments »

    Posted in Featured

    Limitations

    February 11, 2009 // 3 Comments »

    I turned 32 today. Not sure what to think about that. But I can confess that one begins to think more intentionally about life the older one gets. Of course, its not like I am old. There are plenty of you reading this who are much older than me!

    Recently, I read a post from Bob Hyatt where he noted the following quote.

    “There is something deeply spiritual about honoring the limitations of our lives and the boundaries of what God has given us to do as leaders. Narcissistic leaders are always looking beyond their sphere of influence with visions of grandiosity far out of proportion to what is actually being given. Living within our limits means living within the finiteness of who we are as individuals and as a community- the limits of time and space, the limits of our physical, emotional, relational and spiritual capacities, the limits of our stage of life… and the limits of the calling God has given. It means doing this and not that. It means doing this much and not more.”
    - Ruth Haley Barton

    This is a good word for someone like me who has many “visions of grandiosity” and is convinced that I can change the world someday. I am realizing that, while vision and dreaming is important, I must also be very present to what is in front of me. That is my family, my job(s), my neighbor, my community, my friends and even the personal soul care.

    So, while I still have dreams of changing the world, I am more fully aware of how its got to start in the daily and the normal parts of my life.

    “How we spend our day is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing.”
    - Annie Dilard

    And finally, another good word from Robert Benson in the book A Good Life.

    “It is tempting sometimes, or at least it seems so to me, to think of my work here on earth in rather large and grandiose ways. It may be that writers are the only ones who suffer from such a thing, but I am not sure that is so.

    I like to think of my work in terms of building the kingdom and spreading the gospel. It is not a bad thing for us to step back and try to see how the labor of our hands and hearts and minds fits within the grand scheme of things. In fact, it is the proper thing to do so.

    But it is also right that we recognize that a goodly portion of the things we do can seem mundane and ordinary are the very places where we are likely to live out the gospel.

    Our days and our lives are more often filled with little chances to show our love to others than they are filled with great and grand opportunities. It is in those little things that we are given to do and to say and to be what we must do the work of building the kingdom.”

    What are you doing today?

    Who are you being today?

    What are you saying today?

    Posted in Faith & Theology, Featured, Great Quotes

    links for 2009-02-11

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    Posted in Featured

    The Rule of Benedict and the Suburban Christian

    February 2, 2009 // 11 Comments »

    In my recent post on “The Mob” I tried to bring out the idea that we need to always be aware and thinking thinking critically about our way of life. We need to constantly be allowing God, mostly through the scriptures and through prayer, reorient and reconvert our way of life. I believe this is especially true for those of us who live in Suburban America. We live extremely individualized, consumerized, busy and disconnected lives (just to name a few). Without paying attention to our way of life, we’ll more than likely just go about our culture’s default life without even realizing it.

    With this in mind, I’ve been reading around the topic of the Rule of St. Benedict. I’m curious about the connection between a healthy suburban spirituality and the monastic way of life. My big question is, “what would it look like to have a suburban rule of life?”

    What I don’t want is a prescriptive list of requirements and duties that someone must perform. This is what frustrates me and most other people about organized religion. Often the word “rule” can be construed in that way. But, really the term “rule” (regula) is more better defined as a “guidepost” or “railing.” What I like about Benedicitine Spirituality is this is the focus. Joan Chittister writes,

    “The rule of Benedict is more wisdom than law. The Rule of Benedict is not a list of directives. The Rule of benedict is a way of life. And that’s the key to understanding the Rule. It isn’t one.”

    The thing I like about the Rule of Benedict is also that it is not about getting out of the world and isolating yourself from reality so you can focus on God. Rather, it is about living well and aware in the daily.

    Chittister writes again in the book Wisdom Distilled from the Daily: Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today writes,

    “Spirituality is the way in which we express a living faith in a real world. Spirituality is the sum total of the attitudes and actions that define our faith” and later she writes, the Rule of St. Benedict is designed for ordinary people who live ordinary lives.”

    Later she writes a paragraph that cuts right into the typical suburban christian’s way of life,

    “Today, too, people go faithful from church to neighborhood week after week and, then, between times give themselves entirely to making money, and being nationalistic, and having fun. In the meantime, Lazarus again waits hungry for the Christians of this time to notice his deprivation and stoop down to listen to him as the Lazarus of the gospel story waited in vain for help from the wealthy and pious…”

    We are all guilty of being so caught up in a default way of life that isn’t out rightly evil, but is destroying our souls and our witness. What we need is to fashion a way of life that is contstantly reminding us to be present to the moment in front of us, be presetn to the person in front of us, remind us that we are part of the People of God who are here as witnesses to a risen Messiah.

    I’m finding that the Rule of St. Benedict is a good teacher for me as I seek to live life more aware of my/our calling…

    I am reading this book by Chittister (which I highly recommend. On Tim Keel’s recommendation I am also reading a book called A Good Life: Benedict’s Guide to Everyday Joy
    by Robert Benson a second time and we’re actually reading this book together at the leadership team retreat we have this weekend. And, finally, I figured I would go to the source and I picked up a copy of Rule of Saint Benedict in English.

    Any thoughts on a suburban rule?

    Posted in Book Reviews, Faith & Theology, Featured, Suburbia

    links for 2009-01-31

    January 31, 2009 // No Comments »

    Posted in Featured

    Paying Attention to What’s in Front of Me

    January 29, 2009 // 1 Comment »

    Those of you who visit my blog daily, whoever you are, may have noticed that I’m not posting as much as I had been recently. That’s on purpose. I’m doing my best to pay attention to the things that are right in front of me and not spread myself too thin. I often, with the best of intentions, tend to get way too many sticks in the fire and then it gets hard for me to manage them.

    So, I’m focusing these days on being faithful to what’s in front of me while still looking intentionally at the future. That means I’ve got to say “no” or “not now” to some things that I really want to say yes to.

    For now, my blog is getting a “whenever I get the chance” response from me. Not sure how long that will last really. I’ve been trying to spend more of my nights reading rather than surfing the web so I’m likely to throw a quote up or a book review here and there.

    Now would be a good time to subscribe to my e-mail updates (you’ll only get e-mail when I create a post and you can unsubscribe anytime) or if you are a nerd you can subscribe to my RSS feed.

    Posted in Blogging, Featured, Life

    links for 2009-01-28

    January 28, 2009 // 1 Comment »

    Posted in Featured

    The Mob.

    January 26, 2009 // 7 Comments »

    Who do you get when you take a poor person in a slum in Ndola Zambia and give them…

    a house,

    a fenced in back yard,

    a two car garage,

    cable television with a DVR,

    two cars for that garage,

    and a job that pays me well but makes me work 50+ hours a week?

    You get a person who has just lost all they had going for them:

    Community and relationships.

    Sure. They had nothing.

    But you’ve just replaced nothing with nothing.

    That’s not much of an improvement if you ask me.

    Mobs do things that individuals would never do on their own.

    Individuals in mobs do things that that don’t make much rational sense.

    Individuals in mobs climb live electric poles and flip taxis.

    Individuals in mobs also live well beyond their means.

    Individuals in mobs work super long hours to provide for their way of life, but in doing so have no time for their kids.

    Individuals in mobs believe that if they aren’t personally effected by a situation the pain of others doesn’t actually matter.

    Individuals in mobs have their schedules decided by television shows rather than the rhythms of prayer, caring for others and community.

    Individuals in mobs think that they will have more time to care for others when they get the next raise or when their kids get out of the house.

    I don’t know about you.

    But I live in a mob.

    No, it’s not very violent.

    It’s not like I’m flipping cars or anything.

    But it is flipping lives.

    It’s flipping my life.

    And, honestly I’ve pretty much bought what it is selling.

    And I’m done…

    At least I want to be.

    But, I’m not going to leave.

    Nope. I’m staying put.

    I want to start a new mob.

    One that imagines a new way of life.

    A mob that prioritizes community…Or at least is trying to figure it out.

    A mob that radically cares for their neighbor. Or, at least knows their names.

    A mob that spends itself on behalf of the poor… Instead of spending ourselves on consumer goods.

    I want to start a new mob that looks deeply at its way of life and filters everything through our call to be witnesses of a different King and a different Kingdom.

    A mob that keeps pulling me back, giving me grace and smacking me across the head when I start putting my feet too far into the other mob.?

    Mobs don’t form by invitation.

    Mobs don’t send out e-vites and event announcements on Facebook.

    Mobs form because there is something worth forming about.

    Mobs form because someone just won a World Series for the first time in 35 years.

    Mobs also form because Someone said that the Kingdom of God is like a treasure buried in a field…

    I’m convinced it is little ideas that change the world.

    I’m convinced people who are sick and tired of playing by other people’s rules change the world.

    However, I’m convinced that I can’t change the world.

    I’m convinced that you can’t change the world.

    Not alone at least.

    I am convinced that if we do this together we have a chance.

    I am convinced that you and I can live differently than we’ve been told we’re supposed to.

    In order to do that its going to take reworking some assumptions that we’ve carried our entire lives.

    I invite you, walk with me as we seek to re-imagine our lives as residents of a new mob….

    Posted in Africa, Faith & Theology, Featured, Missional, Missional Living, Suburbia

    ReJesus by Alan Hirsch & Michael Frost

    January 15, 2009 // 2 Comments »

    I just finished reading ReJesus by Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost (doesn’t Michael have a blog?!).  Overall it was a really good read that I really enjoyed.   It was a great call for the Church/christians to actually act like Jesus.  They do good job of showing that if we really were to “act like Jesus” a lot of things would have to change.  

    One of my favorite quotes they used was one that my friend Chris Marlow used as well in his excellent blog post this morning.  They write, 

    The process of reJesusing the church will begin with a rediscovery of the fierce and outrageous life of Jesus. Too many people have become turned off to the church because the object of our faith seems bland and insipid. It reminds us of the quip made by the archbishop who is reported to have said, “Everywhere Jesus went there was a riot. Everywhere I go they make me cups of tea!”

    Well, everywhere I go they make me coffee but that’s just because I use Starbucks as my office all the time.  This book has really gotten me thinking about how I am living and the picture of Jesus I am putting forth with my life (and the picture of Jesus that our church is putting forth with our life together). 

    Perhaps the best part in the book is simply the call to ask fresh questions about how our lives match up with the One that we follow.  You can’t really go wrong with asking that question and its one that we need to ask a heck of a lot more. 

    As Chris says in his post, I want to be like Jesus, but only kind of. And honestly, most of the time I want to be like Jesus if it is convenient for me.

    All in all, I recommend the book.  It was good for stimulating my imagination.  I thought there were parts that dragged a little bit (but that might be because I felt pretty versed on those sections) but it was still very well worth the read and definitely worth having my library.

    Posted in Book Reviews, Faith & Theology, Featured, Missional

    Finished Reading: Resident Aliens & The Tangible Kindgom

    January 12, 2009 // 4 Comments »

    One of the things I have been trying to do more of in the evenings is read more.  I can all too easily slip into the: put the kids to bed -> turn on the TV -> Turn on the computer routine.  Next thing I know its 11:30 and I’ve wasted the evening watching bad television and aimlessly surfing the web and refreshing twitter like a helpless addict (not that I am addicted, I can stop whenever I want).  While some nights I do need to just veg in front of the TV and hang out with my wife, I’d rather make that the exception rather than the rule.

    So far I’ve done well and, i’ll be honest, it feels really good to get some into some good books.  I’ve gone through two this month already and I’m well into my third.  Here’s a rundown of what I’ve read.  I always like to see what other people are reading so I hope you find them helpful…

    Resident Aliens
    I read most of this book during my vacation and I really had a hard time putting it down. This book renewed my interest in the Sermon in the Mount (I’ve been studying it on my own the last week or so) and it was a great companion as I’ve sought to think through what it means for us to be an alternative community (i.e. colony), faithful to the Christian story in the Philly Suburbs. I’d recommend this book to anything thinking along those lines.

    Tangible Kingdom
    This book didn’t grab me quite as fast. I went off the recommendation of a few close friends and while the book started slow for me, I did finish it (which says a lot). I really appreciated reading the story of Hugh Halter’s church and was interested to find out through Facebook that one of my friends from my childhood attends there. This book is full of good stories and I read it much like I read Organic Church by Neil Cole…. it really helped get my imagination flowing for our own community. And, I love books that ignite my imagination so I am glad I read it.

    I am in the middle of ReJesus by Hirsch and Frost and am really enjoying it so far. More on that one later.

    I can’t wait to crack open The Politics of Jesus by Yoder. It’s sitting next to me in my bag and I am doing all i can to concentrate on taking care of my web projects I need to do today before I open it up.

    Posted in Book Reviews, Faith & Theology, Featured

    Thinking about 2009 – A More Disciplined Life

    January 4, 2009 // 2 Comments »

    I’ve been processing things like resolutions and goals more than ever this year. I’ve been thinking through a lot of different things but the one I keep coming back to is my need for a more disciplined work week.  It’s not that I am totally undisciplined. I mean, if I were there is no way I could run my own freelance design business and pastor at The Well.   But there is a need for me to have more boundaries and guides so that I can be faithful to my responsibilities. 

    I currently love my lifestyle. I am mostly my own boss.  Each day I wake up and can choose what I want to work on (at least, mostly) where I want to work on it.   The “what” means I decide if I’ll be working on design work or church work that day. Depending on the week, some days  I need to focus on design work and others I need to focus on church work. Its up to me to figure out how to spend my time.  

    Of course, the “where” is the most fun part.  I can’t imagine my life inside a cubicle (sorry those of you who are currently reading this from your cubicle!).  Each day I wake up and say to myself, “Where do i want to work from today?”  Sometimes its my office in the basement but most times its my office in one of the local Starbucks locations around my area. I also can head up to the cool little town of Doylestown and plop down in the local coffee shop or even spend a couple hours in the coolest cigar shop ever (if i have studying or reading to do since there is no wifi there).  

    It’s funny, I woke up one day and was complaining to my wife that I was bored with all my “offices.”  She just looked at me and shook her head.  It’s amazing how spoiled one can get…

    While this way of life is great, it requires that I find some more discipline.  It’s all too easy to spend my day doing things that are “work” but are not really the things I should be doing at the moment.  When things get crazy at church, its all too easy to forget about design stuff.  When things get busy with my design work, its all too easy to get the small (but important things) at church fall through the cracks.  In all of this, the tyranny of the urgent usually kills me. Bigger, longer term projects keep getting pushed aside because I am only thinking two to three days in advance.   This obviously isn’t good.  

    In all of this, its all too easy to let my two jobs invade my personal life and family time.  Not having a permanent office means that my office is wherever I am.  Which, of course, sometimes means my office is my living room.   Which of course, sometimes make the family a little frustrated!

    So, over the next couple weeks Melanie and I will be working through a more disciplined schedule together.  So far I have Monday mornings figured out.  This is the time that I am setting aside for scripture reading, book reading, prayer,  reflection, etc.  This is something I desperately need and want to do but its one of those things that doesn’t seem “urgent.”  Once a month during this time I’ll be meeting up with three other pastors who have become such incredible friends and brothers and I can’t imagine living without. (JR Briggs, Tom Ward and LT).  

    I’m working out the rest of the week so that I am able to set aside specific time for sermon study, admin work, design work and meetings.  It might be more annoying for people to schedule time with me since Ill have specific times I am available for meetings but I definitely need boundaries so that I can be faithful to all my responsibilities. 

    So, here’s to 2009.  

    Oh, and my other major goal is to beat my 5 year old’s record in Wii bowling.  He bowled a 263 a week or so ago…

    Posted in Featured, Life, My Family

    The Task of the Church

    January 3, 2009 // 1 Comment »

    From Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics v.4.3.2 – The Doctrine of Reconciliation

    To sum up, we may say there is committed to it the gospel, I.e. The good, glad tidings of Jesus Christ, of the real act and true revelation of the goodness in which God has willed to make and has in fact made Himself the God of man and man His man.  This great Yes is its cause.  It has no other task besides this. (page 800)

    Posted in Faith & Theology, Featured, Great Quotes

    Books of 2008 – Theology

    December 31, 2008 // 2 Comments »

    Last year I listed out the books I read in 2007. It was fun to look back over the year and see what books influenced me and shaped my thinking. You can see the list for 2007 here. This post is made of the books that relate to Theology and Church for 2008.

    You can see the books of 2008 that relate to leadership here.

    Believing in the Future (Christian mission and modern culture) - David Bosch
    This little books packs a serious punch. It’s a great follow up and addition to his mega-book Transforming Mission (which, yes, I am still reading!). This is one of those books I should have underlined the things I didn’t want to remember because pretty much the whole book is one continuous underline. It’s a hard book to find since it is out of print but I found it cheaper than its listed right now but it would be worth every penny. It’s one of those books that a pastor should have in his/her library.

    The New Conspirators: Creating the Future One Mustard Seed at a Time – Tom Sine
    This may very well have been my favorite book of the year. In fact, yes, it was my favorite book. It was inspiring and full of great research, advice and examples. I read this right as I got back from Africa so I was seriously ripe for its content. In fact, what I would consider some of my most significant thoughts of this year flowed from reading this book. Those thoughts are outlined in the first related post listed below about the Suburban Mob.

     
    African Friends and Money Matters - David E. Maranz
    I started reading this book before I went to Zambia this summer. It was really, really helpful as it gave me a glimpse to the culture there. The author gives 90 observations about how money is handled differently in Africa than the West. I’ll probably pick it back up again and try and finish it before I head back next summer.

    Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation - Parker Palmer
    This was surprisingly good book. I think the author hits on some seriously important things as we understand ourselves, vocation and calling. He named a lot of the stuff I’ve been working through personally and it gave me some good language to understand how to view myself (and others) in light of the gospel. Highly recommended.

    The Dangerous Act of Worship: Living God’s Call to Justice – Mark Labberton
    I read this book in Zambia. Labberton lays out well how the church simply cannot ignore the poor and still call what they do worship. I gave this book to our worship pastor and he loved it as well.

    Coffeehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life – Ed Cyzewski
    My friend Ed sent me a copy of this book for review and I really enjoyed it. You can read the review I wrote here.

    The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible – Scot McKnight
    I generally like everything that Scot writes. This was no exception. I think he handled this topic very, very well and would consider using this book in a book study small group. I think it would generate some great discussion on some important topics, namely reading the scriptures with a view of the entire narrative.

    Practicing His Presence – Brother Lawrence & Frank Laubach
    I read most of this book. I was highly challenged by it and I keep coming back to its concept which is, what if we were constantly mindful of the fact that God is present? Like the journey the author takes in this book, its something that grows with time. But this little book was a significant help for me here.

    The Multiplying Church: The New Math for Starting New Churches – Bob Roberts, JR
    I really enjoyed this book. Very practical if you or your church is ever considering planting churches.

    Posted in Books of 2008, Faith & Theology, Featured

    Links for 2008-12-29

    December 29, 2008 // 2 Comments »

    Posted in Featured, Links

    Books of 2008 – Leadership

    December 27, 2008 // 5 Comments »

    Last year I listed out the books I read in 2007. It was fun to look back over the year and see what books influenced me and shaped my thinking. You can see the list for 2007 here.  So, without further waiting, here are the books that I read in 2007 along with my response to each one.  This first section is on General Leadership.  A follow-up post with books on Theology will be coming soon.

    A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quickfix – Edwin Freiedman
    This might be the most helpful book I read this year. As you can tell from the list, I ended up reading a lot of leadership type books. I’ll confess that I am kind of a leadership book junkie and this one was on the top of the list. This book takes a look at how leadership in our culture has been fairly neutered and we need leaders who are willing to take risks and lead with some “nerve.”

    Tribes – Seth Godin
    I’ve grown to really appreciate the “no-brainer” way in which Seth Godin thinks. He somehow manages to write in his books (and his blog) about issues that should be common sense but somehow have become uncommon sense. This book was inspiring and was full of really, really good thoughts. I’d recommend it to anyone.

    The Five Dysfunctions of Team – Patrick Lencioni
    I heart Patrick Lencioni. He’s kinda like Seth Godin in that he typically writes fairly uncomplicated, simple things that just make sense. This book has some great insights for those who lead in teams. In fact, I’d argue that this is one of the more important and helpful books that I’ve read in the last few years. He writes in a narrative form and I actually enjoy that part. But, this parts of this book on building trust in a team were completely invaluable.

    The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive – Patrick Lencioni
    Another great book from the Patmeister. This was helpful for me as it helped me begin to think carefully about the things that I need to focus on as lead pastor at The Well. I am not a big fan of seeing the Pastor as CEO but there were some valuable things for me to pull from this book. Very glad I read it.

    Death by Meeting – Patrick Lencioni
    Meetings generally suck. Ours have sucked. But they are getting better. This book helped me think through some of the reasons why they sucked and how we can make them suck less. In fact, I am beginning to enjoy our meetings more and more.

    Six Thinking Hats – Edward DeBono
    I paid 69 cents for this one used on Amazon. It was worth every penny. If you work in teams, this is a helpful book as it helps us see how we all think through issues differently.

    Books on Theology up next….

    Posted in Book Reviews, Books of 2008, Faith & Theology, Featured

    Resident Aliens in Suburbia

    December 26, 2008 // 3 Comments »

    Resident AliensI’ve been reading Resident Aliens by Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon over the break. Chapter four is brilliant. This year I have done a lot of thinking about the Church as a counter-cultural community. I think this is always necessary and I’m certain there is a desperate need for those of us in a suburban context to be intentional about re-imagining a life together that is in fact counter-cultural (in the way of Jesus). Of course, we don’t have to re-imagine out of nothing, without any direction. We have the witness of Isreal, Jesus, the disciples, the church and a hope of a New Heavens and New Earth to guide this process (you know, all the stuff found in the Scriptures).

    I’ve spoken about this idea using the concept of a mob in a post after I returned from Zambia in July.

    Here Willimon and Hauerwas say it as well as I’ve heard it articulated:

    Here [in the sermon on the Mount] is an invitation to a way that strikes hard against what the world already knows, what the world defines as good behavior, what makes sense to everybody. The Sermon, by its announcement and its demands, makes necessary the formation of a colony, not because disciples are those who have a ned to be different, but because the Sermon, if believed and lived, makes us different, shows us the world to be alien, and odd place where what makes sense to everybody else is revealed to be opposed to what God is doing among us. jesus was not crucified for saying or doing what made sense to everyone. People are crucified for following a way that runs counter to the prevailing direction of the culture…

    See, I told you they were smart.

    Posted in Faith & Theology, Featured, Great Quotes, Missional, Suburbia

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