Living Your Strengths: Discover Your God-Given Talents and Inspire Your Community

Living Your Strengths: Discover Your God-Given Talents and Inspire Your Community
Average customer rating:

It is helpful

Gallup Goes On and On

Bulk of the book is strength descriptions

it is what it is

Living your strengths

Living Your Strengths: Discover Your God-Given Talents and Inspire Your Community
Albert L. Winseman , Donald O. Clifton , and Curt Liesveld
Manufacturer: Gallup Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Ministry | Ministry & Church Leadership | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Inspirational | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Spiritual | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup's Now, Discover Your Strengths

Growing an Engaged Church: How to Stop "Doing Church" and Start Being the Church Again

Now, Discover Your Strengths

Soar with Your Strengths

Teach with Your Strengths: How Great Teachers Inspire Their Students

ASIN: 1595620028

Book Description

While millions of people in the U.S. are actively involved in some sort of religious organization, many people feel disengaged from their faith communities. More than half report that they really don't get the opportunity in their congregation to do what they do best. The problem is this: too many people's talents are going unappreciated. But it doesn't have to be this way. Living Your Strengths shows readers how to use their innate gifts to enrich their faith communities. The book shows people how to identify and affirm their talents, and how to use them for growth and service. Most importantly, Living Your Strengths helps people discover their true callings. The book includes an ID code that gives readers access to StrengthsFinder.com, a personality assessment that reveals the user's top five talents.

Customer Reviews:

It is helpful.......2007-08-09

You may be better reading the original "Strenghts Finder" by Tom Rath. However, this is helpful from a ministry context. It is especially insightful for ministry staff, pastors, lay leaders, etc.

Gallup Goes On and On.......2007-06-26

More ideas from the people that brought you "Discover Your Strengths." In this case they take on a religious bent in explaining how to use your innate talents to discover your place in moving christianity forward. A fairly simplistic look and quick read. Nothing really new in terms of life-altering ideas on how to direct your talents.

Bulk of the book is strength descriptions.......2007-03-24

I was very excited to receive this book, as I had recently been to a workshop at a conference singing the praises of the Gallup-developed strength finder system. I was able to use the code in the book jacket with no problem and it was great to get the results, but I was a little disappointed with the rest of the book from that point. The bulk of the book is just descriptions of the strengths, so of the 30-some-odd most folks will only need to read their five. The rest of the book was pretty much five-point checklists with some ways to be in ministry, which, while nice for the layperson, wasn't the meaty stuff I was hoping for since I am in a church vocation. I am interested in perhaps getting the original (Now, Discover Your Strengths) hoping that it will go into greater detail about how to use the strengths, not just identify them. I'll probably flip through it at a bookstore first, just to be sure. I found the online survey very enlightening and want many folks I know and work closely with to take it! That part was very satisfying.

it is what it is.......2007-03-14

Quite and interesting and helpful title, if it is what you are looking for. It is a basic strengths evaluation, if that's what you want.... buy it, if not... you will probably be disappointed.

Living your strengths.......2007-01-17

I heard the pastor of a parish that used this book and plan. We are beginning to use it and find it very revealing and grace giving.

Finding people to blend together in the parish community is awesome.

Spiritual Leadership: Moving People to God's Agenda

Average customer rating:

A Counter-Cultural Call to Biblical Leadership
Spiritual Leadership by Henry T. Blackaby
Spiritual Leadership: Moving People to God's Agenda
Very Good, but not the best
EXCELLENT BOOK-MUST HAVE FOR PASTORS

Spiritual Leadership: Moving People to God's Agenda
Henry T. Blackaby , and Richard Blackaby
Manufacturer: B&H Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Spiritual Leadership: The Interactive Study
Spiritual Leadership (Commitment To Spiritual Growth)
Courageous Leadership
Next Generation Leader: 5 Essentials for Those Who Will Shape the Future
The Making of a Leader

ASIN: 0805418458

Book Description

Instructing those who hold leadership positions—not only in religious capacities but also including CEOs and teachers—best-selling authors Henry and Richard Blackaby teach on approaching leadership from a biblical perspective. The twenty-first century is the most advanced age in history, but effective biblical leadership has never been more needed. Spiritual Leadership will equip those called to lead with the tools to move God's people on to His agenda.

Customer Reviews:

A Counter-Cultural Call to Biblical Leadership.......2007-07-27

Drawing from examples of leaders in the Bible, leadership theories, testimonies of ministry and secular leaders, and their own experiences, Henry and Richard Blackaby present a refreshingly helpful and insightful resource on leadership in their book, Spiritual Leadership. Recognizing that Christian leadership today sounds more and more secular than Christian, the Blackabys call on Christians in leadership roles, both inside and outside of the church, to "seek to lead God's way" (17). They define this type of spiritual leadership as "moving people on to God's agenda" (20).

Three main aspects of Spiritual Leadership set it apart from other leadership books and make it highly commendable...

First, it is intended for a broad audience. It is written in a way to be just as helpful for Christian CEOs and other business people as it is for pastors and ministry leaders. In fact, the authors state that they intend this work to be for all Christians who want to make a difference (14).

Second, and most significant, Spiritual Leadership is theocentric in its approach, not anthropocentric. This book is not a do-it-yourself guide to leadership nor is it a self-help book. Instead, it is a refreshing focus on God in the vast sea of "Christian" leadership books today. From the outset, issues such as goals and influence are all presented in terms of God's will. For example, influence is defined as moving people from where they are to where God wants them to be (20). Even popular leadership concepts are reframed in order to present the issue from God's perspective, such as noting how time management really is personal management in order to stay on God's agenda (200). All throughout the pages of this book the Blackabys paint the picture of leadership in terms of God's plans. It is not about advancing one's personal goals. Rather, it is about obeying God and moving people to be in line with His will. The authors conclude that since "God is on mission," the task of leaders is to join Him in that mission and bring people along to join that mission (70). In light of this reality, leaders are urged to make decisions with the reminder that they will give an account before God. The authors remind the readers that the goal is bringing God glory while the reward is finding joy in knowing that they pleased God. In being God focused, this book also recognizes that leaders can accomplish nothing without God. Instead of providing a checklist to be used to achieve goals, the Blackabys encourage leaders to depend on the Lord. In fact, from the outset they state that God calls leaders to do things that only He can do; thus, spiritual leaders must depend on the Holy Spirit (21). Such dependence on the Lord requires a leader to have a vibrant prayer life as well as seek guidance in the Word, from other believers, and even from looking at how God is moving in the circumstances of life. While the repeated stress on dependence and prayer may cause the reader to think "I've heard all of these things ten times already!," such an emphasis prevents the reader from missing the most important theme of the book as well as challenges him or her to remember Jesus' words that are so counter-cultural in the leadership world today: "Apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

Third, Spiritual Leadership focuses more on being than on doing. Instead of offering a program to implement, a check-list to do, or an attitude to embrace, this book challenges leaders to be faithful to God. As in the other themes, the Blackabys are straightforward in this assertion, as seen when they say within the first several chapters that "leadership is more about `being' than about `doing'" (31). The Blackabys believe that being holy and faithful and modeling obedience to God's will are necessary since leaders cannot take their followers deeper than where they themselves are. As such, spiritual leaders must spend much time in the "conscious presence of God" (170). By abiding in Him, spiritual leaders can then encourage their followers to grow in their relationship with God. In addition, such abiding is shown to be necessary since spiritual leadership comes through revelation, not from vision. As leaders and followers seek God, they will be able to join together in accomplishing the work to which He calls them.

All of these themes are repeated throughout the book. By stating them directly in the introductory chapters and repeating them throughout, it is hard to imagine how any reader could miss this counter-cultural, yet solidly biblical, approach toward leadership. By the time readers turn the last page, they can easily articulate the thesis that spiritual leadership is moving people on to God's agenda. They can articulate the reality that leadership is about pleasing God. They understand that such leadership requires abiding with God more than doing certain tasks. Most of all, they recognize that such spiritual leadership, while hard work, is a high calling and a "God-given privilege" (236). Whether you find yourself in a leadership role in the church, in business, in education, or even in your home, the timeless, Biblical principles articulated by Richard and Henry Blackaby will motive you to discern God's will, be faithful to follow the path He has set before you, and do everything you can to bring others along on the exciting adventure of knowing and following God.

Spiritual Leadership by Henry T. Blackaby.......2007-01-12

Excelent book. Every leader should read this book. Many good examples of leadership, including President Truman.

Spiritual Leadership: Moving People to God's Agenda.......2007-01-11

We, Christian School teachers, read this and found it very informational. Additionally, it was quite helpful as we learned things that were very helpful in growing and nurturing young leaders of the future.

Very Good, but not the best.......2007-01-10

The book differentiates between worldly leadership and spiritual leadership, the leader's relationship with God being the key to his/her ability to lead effectively and appropriately. The author's move through eleven chapters each focusing on one key aspect of the leader's life, from The Leaders Challenge (chapter 1), to The Leaders Character (chapter 5), to The Leaders Pitfalls (chapter 11).

List strengths of book.
I found the emphasis on the spiritual aspect of leadership to be very refreshing, not to mention accurate! The book is rooted in biblical principles and is focused on helping the leader to make godly decisions in all that he does. The definition of leadership was also very refreshing: "Spiritual Leadership is moving people on to God's agenda" (p. 20). I liked the parallel with Robert Clinton's book on "The Making of a Leader" concerning how God develops leaders. I also found the "Concepts and Scriptures for Consideration" at the end of each chapter to be very helpful.

List weaknesses of book.
I found very little to consider as a weakness of this book. The only issue might be that at times it was not always practical. There are times when the authors will share how something needs to be in the life of the leader without following up with clear practical ways/steps to accomplish the desired issue. However, I did not find this to be the case very often in the book.

EXCELLENT BOOK-MUST HAVE FOR PASTORS.......2006-11-10

Purchased for my husband. This book is a must have for pastors who want to make Godly decisions. Blackably does an excellent job explaining what true leadership is and how to know if you are successful (by God's Standards).

Average customer rating:

Ministry as a Baseball Game
Must read for church leadership groups
Unique & Creative leadership teaching
Very Helpful
Seven Practices of Effective Ministry

Seven Practices of Effective Ministry
Andy Stanley , Lane Jones , and Reggie Joiner
Manufacturer: Multnomah
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication
Creating Community: Five Keys to Building a Small Group Culture
Next Generation Leader: 5 Essentials for Those Who Will Shape the Future
First Impressions: Creating Wow Experiences In Your Church
Simple Church: Returning to God's Process for Making Disciples

ASIN: 1590523733
Release Date: 2004-08-18

Book Description

There’s no scoreboard in the sanctuary, and the only plate is probably for the offering. But every church leader needs to know how to win, and every congregation needs to know when to cheer. This insightful book speaks to every church leader who yearns for a simpler, more effective approach to ministry. An engaging parable about one overwhelmed pastor is followed by an overview of seven successful team practices, each one developed and applied in a ministry setting. Reinforced by relevant discussion questions, these clear, easy, and strategic practices can turn any ministry into a winning team.

Your ministry is perfectly designed to produce the results you are currently experiencing. If you are satisfied with those results, you don’t need this book. If not, it’s time for a change.

Like your own personal trainer, 7 Practices of Effective Ministry is an insightful guide for any leader who yearns for a simpler, more effective approach to ministry. Here are seven strategic principles that when put into play will bring focus and clarity to everything you do and turn your ministry into a winning team.

âFor many years, I practiced and taught church growth. What I have witnessed as a member at North Point takes church growth to a whole new level. Andy and his team communicate principles that will add value to you and the church you love.â

John C. Maxwell, founder, The INJOY Group

âEvery professional athlete recognizes the value of solid coaching. The best are always working to get better. From what I’ve seen at North Point, these seven practices can improve the game of any church in America.â

John Smoltz, Cy Young Award-winning pitcher

âThe practices covered in this book are down-to-earth, practical, and come from real difference-makers who know what church leadership is all about. Andy, Reggie, and Lane have definitely hit the ball out of the park with the 7 Practices of Effective Ministry.â

Ed Young, Jr., senior pastor, Fellowship Church

Story Behind the Book

Looking for ways to help pastors faced with hectic lives and depleted resources, Andy Stanley, Reggie Joiner, and Lane Jones decided to write a parable about the complicated life of a local pastor. Rather than come straight at those in ministry with formulas and lists, they engage readers in an effort to have them identify with the character.

Customer Reviews:

Ministry as a Baseball Game.......2007-10-17

I was made to read this book as a part of a group I was in. I put it off and thought that it was just another book by a famous preacher's son (Charles Stanley). A few pages into this book, I learned why I was made to read it and that Andy Stanley is not just free riding on daddy's coat tails. This book is great, and I don't know how I ran a ministry without its wisdom.

The book compares ministry to a baseball game through some creative writing during its first half. It then gets technical and explains the principles during the second half. I consider this an essential read for leaders on my team.

Must read for church leadership groups.......2007-10-11

The leadership team of my church did a study using this book, and it absolutely transformed our thinking. The material presented by the staff of Northpoint is liberating for those who have become trapped in a mindset of inward rather than outward thinking in church. This is good stuff--simple and powerful!

Unique & Creative leadership teaching.......2007-09-21

This book is a breath of fresh air for leadership teaching. I especially liked the "playbook" sections of the book. These sections are real ministry illustrated strategies that were played out by Northpoint church. I like it when church leaders share their failures as well as their successes. The book is open and honest.

Very Helpful.......2007-08-27

I found this book very helpful. I usually get a lot out of anything Andy Stanley writes or helps write and this is no exception. It has many practical, transferable principles to help any church of any size anywhere.

Seven Practices of Effective Ministry.......2007-08-09

Absolutley the best ministry help book I've ever read. This book was required reading for a seminary course that I am taking...it should be required reading for everyone in church work.

Average customer rating:

Best Book I Read Last Year!
Answer to prayer
Dangerously challenge your conventional Christianity
The Externally Focused Church
The Externally Focused Church

The Externally Focused Church
Rick Rusaw , and Eric Swanson
Manufacturer: Group Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church
The Church of Irresistible Influence: Bridge-Building Stories to Help Reach Your Community
Simple Church: Returning to God's Process for Making Disciples
Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens
Culture Shift: Transforming Your Church from the Inside Out (J-B Leadership Network Series)

ASIN: 0764427407

Customer Reviews:

Best Book I Read Last Year!.......2007-09-25

When contemplating the Church and its mission, Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson have written an excellent resource. The authors identify an externally focused church as: "internally strong, but they are oriented externally." (p 17) They encourage church leaders to ask, "Whose lives are different because of this church?"

Christians ought to engage their communities "with truth and grace, good news and good deeds." (p 16) Believers need to be both salt and light. Here are four characteristics identified with externally focused churches:
1) They are convinced that good deeds and good news can't and shouldn't be separated.
2) They see themselves as vital to the health and well-being of their communities.
3) They believe that ministry and serving are the normal expressions of Christian living.
4) They are evangelistically effective. (pp 24-27)

Key Strategies of externally focused churches are:
1) Identify needs of their communities and start ministries or programs to meet those needs.
2) Partner with existing ministries or human-service agencies that are already accomplishing a shared mission in the community. (pp 29-30)

The Externally Focused Church is definitely the best book I read in 2006. I have highly recommended it to other pastors, leaders and church planters. It helps readers to discover practical ways to serve those in their cities or towns. This book also has a great section at the end of each chapter with something to think about, talk about, and act upon, plus sermon/message ideas.

Finally, here's their understanding of how good works and good news work together:
"Good deeds, in spite of all the wonderful things they can accomplish, are not sufficient to lead a person to saving faith in Jesus. Good works can be the bridge or the road, but they are not the saving message that crosses that bridge or travels that road. Good works are the complement but never the substitute for good news." (p 120)

Answer to prayer.......2007-05-17

Great book, great stories, great motivational stuff to get the Church catapulted from "in here" to "out there" where Jesus' people belong. Have been giving this out by the boxful for some years now. Jesus' Church needs dozens if not hundreds of more titles along these lines of doable, practical idea packed books. More Lord!
I have been praying for more books along these lines to be written for literally 25 years or more.
Thanks Rick and Eric for taking the time to write this glorious book. May millions be eventually purchased!

Steve Sjogren
Author, Pastor, Coach

Dangerously challenge your conventional Christianity.......2006-12-22

What if the unemployment rate were to rise above 10 percent? We would be in a crisis. Yet, when a church has 80 percent unemployment (with 20 percent active), it is viewed as normal. Remember that we are not saved by good works, but we are saved for good works. "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." --Eph. 2:10. As Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson explain, the church should not be a hospice that prepares people to die; it should be a rehab center, preparing people to live. Two facts: 1) Christians do not grow unless they serve. "Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." --James 2:17. 2) Your community needs you. This book is packed with examples of how real-life people have discovered how to use their gifts to encounter Christ by serving in their community. The two dimensions of Christian living -- proclaiming the Good News and demonstrating good deeds - are balanced in the evangelistic church that moves beyond its four walls.
"Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." - Hebrews 10:24

The Externally Focused Church.......2006-03-15

We purchased this book because we have a strong desire to reach our community for Christ. God has been stirring our hearts for sometime to get outside the walls and become essential to our community. The Externally Focused Church gives clear direction on developing ministries outside the walls and cautions about what not to do. It is the best book I have read to date on outreach and I highly recommend it.

The Externally Focused Church.......2006-02-24

A fantastic book about how the church must get out of it's walls and engage the local community. Not by handing out tracts and standing on street corners waving it's Bibles, but by acts of kindness to show that the church cares about the future of the community. There are also examples from externally focused churches on how they get involved with local projects, the business community and schools to help improve the community. All with no strings attached. This way, onlookers will see a servant church that is not just focused on their congregation. The book also discusses how to set up a community ministry and having a community minister on staff go out work with the 24/7 people to meet community needs and set up projects for volunteer's from the church. It's the future of the growing churches.

Practicing Greatness: 7 Disciplines of Extraordinary Spiritual Leaders (J-B Leadership Network Series)

Average customer rating:

Fantastic book!
A good ministry tool
Excellent
A quick read...
Great Leadership Book

Practicing Greatness: 7 Disciplines of Extraordinary Spiritual Leaders (J-B Leadership Network Series)
Reggie McNeal
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Simple Church: Returning to God's Process for Making Disciples
The Missional Leader: Equipping Your Church to Reach a Changing World (J-B Leadership Network Series)
The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church
Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication
Breaking the Missional Code: Your Church Can Become a Missionary in Your Community

ASIN: 0787977535

Book Description

Based on his extensive experience as coach and mentor to many thousands of Christian leaders across a broad spectrum of ministry settings, Reggie McNeal helps spiritual leaders understand that they will self-select into or out of greatness. In this important book, McNeal shows how great spiritual leaders are committed consciously and intentionally to seven spiritual disciplines, habits of heart and mind that shape both their character and competence:

The discipline of self-awareness—the single most important body of information a leader possesses

The discipline of self-management—handling difficult emotions, expectations, temptations, mental vibrancy, and physical well-being

The discipline of self-development—a life-long commitment to learning and growing and building on one's strengths

The discipline of mission—enjoying the permissions of maintaining the sense of God's purpose for your life and leadership

The discipline of decision-making—knowing the elements of good decisions and learning from failure

The discipline of belonging—the determination to nurture relationships and to live in community with others, including family, followers, mentors, and friends

The discipline of aloneness—the intentional practice of soul-making solitude and contemplation

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic book! .......2007-07-05

This has become one of my all-time favorite books on the subject of leadership (and I've read books by some of the most well-know leadership experts).

Usually I run into two problems with other leadership books. First, some of them are just boring to me. Sometimes I have felt like I'm reading through some dry, academic work. This is not too fun--it seems counterintuitive to try to sharpen your skills with a dull book. Secondly, some leadership books are too repetitive and vague. The information kind of runs together, with one chapter looking suspiciously like the previous chapter.

McNeal's book is different. It was a joy to read, and each of the 7 disciplines made a lot of sense to me. Practicing Greatness is more about being a leader than "doing" leadership roles. This book further confirmed my decision to stay in my current ministry and continue to do something that I'm gifted for and passionate about.

I hope you'll take time to read it.

A good ministry tool.......2007-02-06

Better than your average Christian leadership book. It's neither so business-minded as to make you wonder where God is in all this, nor is it so spiritual that it neglects practical application. It challenges you to examine yourself through the Word of God and develop healthy relationships - which are often lacking most in church circles.

Excellent.......2007-01-12

This is a great book, and a must read for those looking to better themselves in the areas of leadership and life.

A quick read..........2006-11-27

Practicing Greatness is a quick read that will challenge the ministry-weary practitioner. While there are some sound principles, it's better as an introductory read for emerging spiritual leaders. It would have been nice to have more in-depth, scripturally inspired examples. Nonetheless it is a worthwhile read.

Great Leadership Book.......2006-11-10

One of the best leadership books I have read. Deals more with the person than with the tasks of leadership. Would be a great book for a group of leaders to read together and discuss.

Reclaiming the Great Commission: A Practical Model for Transforming Denominations and Congregations

Average customer rating:

THE place to start the discussion about mainline renewal
Church as mission outpost
Must Read
Building the church of Christ or building a denomination?
Every Church Vision Should Model This Book

Reclaiming the Great Commission: A Practical Model for Transforming Denominations and Congregations
Bishop Claude Payne , and Hamilton Beazley
Manufacturer: Jossey-Bass
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Leading Congregational Change : A Practical Guide for the Transformational Journey
Revolution in Leadership: Training Apostles for Tomorrow's Church (Ministry for the Third Millennium)
Testimony: Talking Ourselves into Being Christian (The Practices of Faith Series)
Leading and Managing a Growing Church
Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America (The Gospel and Our Culture Series)

ASIN: 0787952680

Book Description

Reclaiming the Great Commission describes a biblically based model that can restore the missionary power of first-century Christianity to twenty-first century denominations and their congregations. Based on shared vision and mission, the model can guide the members of any congregation or denomination into deeper and broader evangelism, an enhanced experience of community, and a renewed hope of personal and spiritual transformation.

Customer Reviews:

THE place to start the discussion about mainline renewal.......2005-10-24

In the last fifteen years or so there have been a zillion books written about mainline renewal. Most of them were written by consultants like Lyle Schaller or academics like Will Willimon. Most of them show a lack of real world concreteness. Payne and Beazley provide an cure for that problem

They take the changes made in the ministry of the most hidebound, change resistant group in the Protestant world-the Episcopal Church-and show what they did in Texas. They deal with real world problems and real world solutions. They call the organizational structure of the church to again become responsive to the needs of local churches and communities and work to accomplish the ministry of the church instead of perpetuate the structure at any cost. The one particular tool they developed that caught my eye was Team 1000 a plan to raise $1 million yearly for church development. Also important was the reminder that some churches we start will never be self supporting, but we as a church have an obligation to support them because the ministry is the right thing to do. Further it shows how important it is to have a leader who is willing to expend his/her leadership capital to accomplish what needs to be done

I highly recomend this book for anyone who has an interest in structural reorganization of denominations, or for those who have given up on the possibility of reform within their own judicatory bodies.

Church as mission outpost.......2005-08-19

This is a literate description of how the Anglican Church in Texas turned several hundred Churches into successful mission outposts. Well-written and helpful for the would-be mission Church.

Must Read.......2003-06-03

In a time of "Church Growth" gurus, books, and workshops - it is very refreshing to have a book that doesn't focus on bells and whistles and technological ways to manipulate, but calls the church back to the mission given by Christ - to go into the world with the transformative Christian faith. If only those of us in mainline denominations would be willing to lift our eyes off of agendas, useless meetings and other distactions and consider "Reclaiming the Great Commission." Mission, not maintenance, is the call of this book, bringing the focus of the church on God, people, and relationships. Shared vision founded in Biblical faith is the key for the local congregation and the larger church. I recommend this to pastors, priests, lay leaders, bishops, and all who are interested in sharing the Gospel.

Building the church of Christ or building a denomination?.......2003-05-04

The author says the present generation church can be like the first generation church, but how can that be? The first church had 'the same' gospel, there was only 'one denomination' at that time and they were simply called Christians. There was no need for denominations in the early church because disciples all believed 'exactly the same things'. To say the present church can be like the first is to not understand the first.

The teachings in this book merely show how to run a successful corporation for that is was this present generation of many churches has become.

Every Church Vision Should Model This Book.......2001-10-22

Our church is using this book as a model for its vision for the year 2001. Our Daughters of the King prayer group is using this book as its study for the coming year.

Creating Community: Five Keys to Building a Small Group Culture

Average customer rating:

Unbelievable resource for church builders
Creating Community
Good book to begin
Insightful Small Group Panorama
An average sharings / sermon-liked books

Creating Community: Five Keys to Building a Small Group Culture
Andy Stanley , and Bill Willits
Manufacturer: Multnomah
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Seven Practices of Effective Ministry
Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication
First Impressions: Creating Wow Experiences In Your Church
Leading Life-Changing Small Groups
Simple Church: Returning to God's Process for Making Disciples

ASIN: 1590523962
Release Date: 2004-12-31

Book Description

In Creating Community, Andy Stanley and Bill Willits take you on their amazing journey of developing the small group culture at North Point Community Church. They reveal their five key discoveries about what it takes to create a compelling small group ministry. These discoveries have helped connect almost 8,000 people into North Point’s adult small groups.

This is not just another book about community; this is a book about strategyâstrategy that builds a small group culture. Creating Community shares clear and simple principles to help people connect into meaningful relationships. The kind God desires for each of us. The kind He uses to change our lives.

Small Groups That Succeed.

Small groups are the key to impacting lives in your church. But a healthy small-group environmentâone that fosters meaningful, lasting connectionsâdoesn’t just happen.

So pull up a chair. Let’s talk about how to make it happen.

Bill Willits and bestselling author Andy Stanley share their successful approach, which has resulted in nearly eight thousand adults becoming involved in small groups at North Point Community Church in Atlanta . Simply put, the five principles clearly described here have passed the test.

Put this proven method to work in your ministry and enjoy the tangible resultsâGod’s people doing life TOGETHER.

FRONT FLAP

[Head]:

Small Groups.

Big Change.

âThe small-group program at North Point Community Church is not an appendage; it is not a program we tacked on to an existing structure. It is part of our lifestyle. We think groups. We organize groups. We are driven by groups. Creating Community contains our blueprint for success. And I believe it has the potential power to revolutionize your own small-group ministry!â â Andy Stanley

Story Behind the Book

Creating Community flows out of the North Point Community Church story. The message here is not just some new small group program, but reflects a passion lived out and implemented in their church from the very beginning. Even with phenomenal growth, the church has stayed true to its commitment to small groups and has fine-tuned its ministry process into one of the most unique and effective models in churches today. Andy Stanley and Bill Willits have put these successful principles into this new book with the hope and prayer that pastors, churches, and leader with put them into practice.

Customer Reviews:

Unbelievable resource for church builders.......2007-06-07

wow! Though I'm not a fan of the "7 steps to..." "5 ways to...." etc. books, I LOVED this! It starts off a little slow, but develops into a PERFECT plan for building community in your church. My husband and I are church planters and we were so grateful for every single piece of advice in this book. Amazing!

Creating Community.......2007-03-09

This book is not, perhaps, for the standard layman, but wonderful for anyone who wants to understand better in inner workings of their church and why some programs fail and others succeed. The questions at the end of each chapter are very thought provoking. The book is an easy read, but very powerful.

Good book to begin.......2007-02-15

With the task to help create a small group area in my church i recomend this book as a good starting point.

I usually don't like the very personal writing style that the author adopt, I don't care to know his personal problems and spiritual conflicts.

But beneath that sentimental stuff there is a good road map to begin planning a small group ministry. It is an esay reading book ( a blessing in our days) with an important message.

Insightful Small Group Panorama.......2006-10-12

Creating Community is an interesting book, a big idea book. Reading it is like taking a tour of NorthPoint's small group ministry.

The tour includes the feel for the required environment and leadership participants. It includes glimpses into the planning and formation of this "Small Groups" church. There's also a peak into review and reformation when changes are needed.

As a big idea and invigorating planning book it succeeds,however, this book alone will probably not provide a blue-print for constructing a small group ministry. It will certainly inspire the framework and growth of smal group ministry!

An average sharings / sermon-liked books.......2006-08-09

There are some good sharings in this book. Some does provide insight. But sometimes it's just made me feel that the chapters are only the collections of the author's sermons.

Average customer rating:

Limited Audience
Good for beginning or refining small group ministry
Don't reinvent the wheel... this is the 'wheel'
Small group training manual
Help for all phases of small group life.

Leading Life-Changing Small Groups
Bill Donahue
Manufacturer: Zondervan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Ritual | Other Practices | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Coaching Life-Changing Small Group Leaders: A Practical Guide for Those Who Lead and Shepherd Small Group Leaders
The Seven Deadly Sins of Small Group Ministry: A Troubleshooting Guide for Church Leaders
Creating Community: Five Keys to Building a Small Group Culture
Building a Church of Small Groups: A Place Where Nobody Stands Alone
Making Small Groups Work

ASIN: 0310247500

Book Description

Now revised, a comprehensive leadership tool for small group leaders and for churches seeking to structure their ministries around small groups.

Customer Reviews:

Limited Audience.......2007-07-31

I sent this book back. While it has some good information in it, it is two tied to the author's religious beliefs.

Good for beginning or refining small group ministry.......2007-03-12

The thrust of the book is to help you organize a small group ministry in your church, as in almost reorganizing how your church works to include everyone in a small group and pastor them in a small group setting. There is a substantial section on how to conduct different types of small groups, which is what I bought it for, and that part is very good. I've been leading small groups for a few years - some of the insights are things you would learn over time, others I hadn't quite gotten to yet. I would highly recommend this to anyone leading a small group. I disagree with his belief in women leading small groups of mixed gender, but that's a minor disagreement, the content is still great.

Don't reinvent the wheel... this is the 'wheel'.......2007-03-09

Our 350 member church has studied 'small groups' intentionally for 18 months. We just launched 18 groups with 150 participants. Things appear to be going very well. This manual has grown continually in our esteem and confidence. It is thorough, Biblically rich, helpful in the extreme, organized, & educationally sound. A small group leader can take this resource, and with study and effort, learn how to start immediately as an effective leader and then how to continually enrich the group's life together. A church program can choose it as a foundation and better the odds for success greatly and instantly. Highest recommendation. Thank you, Willow.

Small group training manual.......2005-09-12

Our congregation has used Bill Donahue's Leading Life-Changing Small Groups as our primary reference manual for training small group leaders for over 5 years. It gets right to the heart of the organization and leadership issues needed for successful ministry. It is also an excellent reference for avoiding and resolving problems that may occur as people get to know one another.

Help for all phases of small group life........2001-12-14

Whether you have led small groups for years or you are just starting out, you will find practical advice in this great resource. The text is easy to follow and can easily be used by small group leaders as they "group" together to learn to lead.

Most of the Church is now focussed on relational evangelism. What better way to cultivate a personal relationship than in the small group. The group offers the opportunity to really know each other. Once strong relationships are in place, people begin to grow, multiplication takes place, and lives are changed.

Book Description

This book draws provocative and stimulating conclusions about meaning and significance of Christian ministry.

Customer Reviews:

Quick Read.......2007-09-08

This is a well written personal narrative about a Harvard Professor that experiences a renewal of faith when he leaves the academic world. As he gives up that which has given him security he remembers where real security comes from.

His experiences aren't profound; however, they do offer some simple reminders about the important parts of life.

Leading in Love.......2007-08-01

True Christian leadership should be done from the raw core of Jesus's pure, pristine love.

Leadership efforts can become tainted and corrupted with relevance and arrogance, glossed over with the appearance of power and importance.

Some Christian leaders are controllers and dictators who expect obedience. But even Jesus didn't do that; He was a servant-leader.

This book doesn't preach about what you should or shouldn't do. It just indicates that leading, guiding, and teaching should come from the humbleness of Jesus's love (which has nothing to prove and there are no competitions) instead of from power, intimidations, or judgments.

I am sad for those leaders who think their popularity and importance are getting them brownie points in the Kingdom, and also for those participants in church groups who are miserable because they are expected to be a certain way.

Even though this book is small, it has a much greater impact than most drawn-out books. Just like Jesus's Love: Simple, but yet great.

Everybody should read this book, and know Jesus's Love.

extraordinary, challenging, very useful.......2007-06-05

Henri J. M. Nouwen has taught at the University of Notre Dame, Yale, and Harvard, he is the author of several books, and a priest. I have found In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership, a very fruitful reading and a practical, challenging book. In its pages beat several values like human sensibility, sincerity, humbleness, and biblical influence. I could declare the book's theme to be the temptations and virtues that the Christian leader will deal with in the 21st Century.

In several ways, the writing deals with the new experiences and ministerial perception that Nouwen has felt in his own flesh, and that he thinks that must characterize the true Christian leader. When the author changes his residence from the academic world of Harvard to L'Arche, his social experiences, his ministry as priest, and his spiritual insight was changed too. The L'Arche community in Toronto was far different from that of the academy. Working with the mentally handicapped was the Master's teaching for the professor Nouwen. In L'Arche, Henri Nouwen didn't have anyone to impress with his book, because they couldn't read. They weren't impressed with his performance, knowledge, or social influence either. In this situation, the author confesses that he must be only who he was, a vulnerable man. The author says, "I am telling you all this because I am deeply convinced that the Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self." This is a message that I am sure that many of my colleagues do not want to hear. Our culture celebrates success before authenticity, greatness before insignificance. If we have nothing to offer to the World, why preach the Gospel? Well, we don't have anything from ourselves to offer, but we have Christ, His message, and hope. Isn't that enough? In my perception, the author is not pretending to cancel human participation in the kingdom of God, but to moderated it. The women and men that serve God are not the center of the message. God is.

Reading this book, I have receive new insight about the ministerial attitudes that moved a servant of God to serve and love. In these days, when we are hearing that if your church is not growing fast or using some specific strategies, maybe you aren't a minister of Christ. Other people is saying that if you are not "swimming in money", God is not blessing you, etcetera. The words of Nouwen are very important. He says, "The question is not: How many people take you seriously? How much are you going to accomplish? Can you show some results? But: Are you in love with Jesus?" Another rewarding insight was about the dangerous temptations that every minister must resist and how to resist them. Based on Jesus's temptation, Nouwen refer to three of these current temptations: the temptation to be relevant, the temptation to be spectacular, and the temptation to be powerful. On the other hand, the author suggests three spiritual disciplines to win over these temptations: the discipline of contemplative prayer, the discipline of confession and forgiveness, and the discipline of theological reflection.

From my perspective all the book makes sense to me, and is a valuable source of inspiration for the minister in the 21st Century. A time when the churchman is having old temptations in new packages, the same strategies that have worked for the man Jesus Christ, will work for us today, and ever.

A Breath of Fresh Air.......2007-04-17

I greatly appreciated Henri's book and it was a breath of fresh air which make me think very deeply about my life and ministry. I am a former Roman Catholic and appreciate the thoughfulness of Nouwen.

short and easy... but a challenging read.......2007-04-07

This book is definitely a breath of fresh air in a market filled with books about Jesus being whatever you want Him to be in the mold of the world's system. It's a call to come out of the erroneous mindsets we have about leadership to embrace the humility of Christ. Servant leadership that lays down its life for the sheep. One that is not a hired hand, leading in a professional spirit. It's a short and easy... and challenging read

Average customer rating:

Courageous Leadership
"Hybels-Haters" need to read this. I think it would help them shut their mouths.
Great for Pastors, especially
Courageous Leadership
An excellent leadership boost!

Courageous Leadership
Bill Hybels
Manufacturer: Zondervan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Next Generation Leader: 5 Essentials for Those Who Will Shape the Future
Spiritual Leadership (Commitment To Spiritual Growth)
An Unstoppable Force: Daring to Become the Church God Had in Mind
Spiritual Leadership: Moving People to God's Agenda
Seven Practices of Effective Ministry

ASIN: 031024823X

Book Description

When the spiritual gift of leadership comes alive in churches everywhere, the church will become the hope of the world and a most influential force for good.

Customer Reviews:

Courageous Leadership.......2007-10-18

This is an excellent book for anyone who is a leader in a church. The author has written the book in an easy to understand format. He gives excellent practical advice for leaders.

"Hybels-Haters" need to read this. I think it would help them shut their mouths. .......2007-07-01

I have lived an hour south of Willow Creek most of my life. My father, a pastor, goes there almost weekly to get refreshed and then drives the hour home with new ideas from the Holy Spirit. We are both saddened by the vast numbers of people who criticize Hybels and Willow Creek without knowing their heartbeat or, suprisingly, even stepping foot on the churches main campus.

Courageous Leadership is a book that will act as a portrait of the heartbeat of Pastor Hybels and what makes him tick. It is also a book that acts as a tremendous source for church leaders of all shades and descripitions, even if you are not a pastor.

Covered in this 252 page book are the following....

* Finding leaders who have chemistry and who fit with your current team.
* Establishing clear goals for everyone, and making them tangible.
* Excellence in church is a must. He discusses how people will use excellence in their worldly jobs, but have a hard time using those same critical methods for the kingdom of God.
* The vitality of vision and recasting that vision.
* The importance of celebration and giving honor to church workers, especially volunteers. Hybels tells of a story on page 175 in which all the volunteers were honored in a quasi-parade in which they all marched onto the stage as the church cheered them on. One of Willow's pastors, John Ortberg and drama leader Nancy Beach, acted the parts of Regis and Kathy Lee as they described each ministry group as they marched by.
* Praying to become like Biblical warriors and adopting the best attributes of people like Esther, Joshua, and David.
* Emulating the tenacity of Christ and the Apostle Paul.
* The importance of saying no to certain things and ideas in order to use your energy on what God really wants in your life.
* The importance of staying focused and cleaning up our own secret, inner problems first and foremost.
* The crucial importance of finding a team that is big on character, competence, and chemistry.

I found it interesting that nowhere in this book does Hybels ask leaders to emulate Willow Creek's worship style or vision methodology. He does, however, ask leaders to emulate his own dependence on the living God through different forms of prayer and team-building, accountability, as well as seeking out what our own gifts are while utilizing them where we're at.

Hybels also discusses the importance of getting away from the church at times to be alone with his family and the Lord. I thought this part of the book was probably the best because he talks about how it has revolutionized his own life and turned his children, instead of turning on the faith, into dynamic lovers of the Lord. The summer break, as he calls it, is something that all leaders need in some form or another.

All-in-all, Courageous Leadership is a great book for Christian leaders of any sort, not just pastors.

Great for Pastors, especially.......2007-05-25

I have the cassette audiobook tapes. I have totally enjoyed listening to the series. Hybels is a very unique Pastor, who through God, has built a very unique (but highly Biblical) Church. All of his comments are worth looking at. Every Church needs to consider converting their Sunday morning service to a Seeker-friendly service. It highly concerns me that the average Church in America caters mainly to believers. As a result of that, we rarely see Church growth by profession of faith. We see "transfer growth" (Christians coming from another Church) more than anything. Unless someone has grown up in the Church, they would probably feel lost in our typical Sunday Services. To the unsaved, who has has no Church background, the average Church would have to Win this person to 2 things before they could get saved: 1. To the Culture of Church and, 2. to Christ. So, the Church culture itself, sometimes, becomes the greatest hindrance to new salvations. Hybels realized this when he created his Sunday morning services to minister to the unsaved, unchurched. Also, his comments about hiring ministry staff and what he looks for in a staff person (The 3 C's- Character, Competence, and Chemistry) are very good. He shares mistakes he has made in hiring staff, and totally explains the 3 C's in detail. If your a Pastor, buy the book. If you are a real busy Pastor, buy the audiobook and listen to it in your car. If you are open at all to new, effective ideas, this is the book (or tapes) to get.

Courageous Leadership .......2007-03-23

This book will inspire every leader both in the church and in business.

An excellent leadership boost!.......2006-11-11

This book is a short concise read but it has compelling insights to how leaders can make adjustments and improvements. I found the information to be useful and relevant -- especially when it comes to leadership in ministry settings. As the Director of www.faithbasedcoach.org, we are always looking for tools to help leaders take it to the next level. This is it! So, if you want a book that will help you develop the team of leaders around you and if you want a new way to look at yourself, put this in your cart for rush delivery! It is well worth the investment!

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books