Archive for Book Reviews
Seth Godin Kicked My Butt!!! December 1, 2008
One of the things I enjoyed about Catalyst the most this year was Seth Godin’s presentation…for some reason it absolutely astounded me!!!
After his talk they gave everyone at Catalyst a copy of his new book, “Tribes.” (The theme song from Survivor just kicked off in my head!!!)
I had it in my office for several weeks until finally I began picking it up just to flip through it…and could not put it down.
Hands down…it is one of THE TOP FIVE LEADERSHIP BOOKS I’VE EVER READ! Seriously! (You can order it here…right now!!!)
Here are just a few quotes…
- “People yearn for change, they relish being part of a movement and they talk about things that are remarkable, not boring.”
- “Leaders make a ruckus.” (The redneck in me LOVED this quote!!!)
- “Organizations that destroy the status quo win.” (DANG!)
- “Boring ideas don’t spread. Boring organizations don’t grow.”
- “We choose not to be remarkable because we’re worried about criticism. We hesitate to create innovative movies, launch new human resource initiatives, design a menu that makes diners take notice, or give an audacious sermon because we’re worried, deep down, that someone will hate it and call us on it.”
- “If the only side effect of the criticism is that you will feel bad about the criticism, then you have to compare that bad feeling with the benefits you’ll get from actually doing something worth doing. Being remarkable is exciting, fun, profitable and great for your career. Feeling bad wears off.”
- “Odds are that growth and success are now inextricably linked to breaking the odd rules and seeing your organization’s new rules loose an industry too afraid to change.”
- “The art of leadership is understanding what you can’t compromise on.”
- “Leadership requires acting and thinking like the underdog. That’s because leaders workto change things, and the people who are winning rarely do.”
- “The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow.”
Seriously, this book is amazing…get it…read it…enough said.
(By the way…I do not know Seth Godin, never met him…he has no idea who I am and did not ask me to endorse his book. I picked up the book, read it, liked it, was challenged by it and decided to blog about it. That’s how books get blogged about here…just FYI.)
Francis Chan Kicked My Butt! November 21, 2008
I don’t know if you have read “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan yet…but it’s AWESOME. I have had the privilege of hearing Francis speak and the dude is ON FIRE. Here are some quotes that stuck out to me…
- “His perfect holiness, by definition, assures us that our words cannot contain Him. Isn’t it a comfort to worship a God we cannot exaggerate?” (DANG!!!)
- “Could it be your arrogance that makes you think God owes you an explanation?”
- “I quickly found that the American church is a difficult place to fit in if you want to live out New Testament Christianity. The goals of American Christianity are often a nice marriage, children who don’t swear, and good church attendance. Taking the words of Christ literally and seriously is rarely considered.”
- “Jesus’ call to commitment is clear: He wants all or nothing. The thought of a person calling himself a “Christian” without being a devoted follower of Christ is absurd.”
- “Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.” (DANG!!!)
- “But we need to realize that how we spend our time, what our money goes towards, and where we will invest our energy is equivalent to choosing God or rejecting Him.”
- “…you have to stop loving and pursuing Christ in order to sin.”
- “Having faith often means doing what others see as crazy. Something is wrong when our lives make sense to other believers.”
- “We like finding refuge in what we already have rather than in what we hope God will provide.”
- “If a guy were dating my daughter but didn’t want to spend the gas money to come and pick her up or refused to buy her dinner because it cost too much, I would question whether he were really in love with her. In the same way, I question whether many American churchgoers are really in love with God because they are so hesitant to do anything for Him.”
I literally could go on and on…I would SERIOUSLY recommend this book…it’s AWESOME!
(By the way…Francis did not ask for a review on my blog! I would probably say he has no idea I even exist. I read the book…I liked it and then I blogged about it. Don’t do a lot of book endorsements here…unless God uses them to ROCK my world!!!)
Best Books I’ve Read Lately July 5, 2007
One of the questions people often e-mail in is, “What are you currently reading?” I actually just when through a phase where I could not put a book down…some of the things I have been digesting are…
- “The Four Obessions of an Extraordinary Executive,” by Patrick Lencioni – I literally read this book in two days…AWESOME STUFF!!!
- “Death by Meeting,” by Patrick Lencioni – the book above was so good I had to read some more of his stuff–the walkaway was incredible.
- “The Starbucks Experience,” by Joseph A. Michelli – I loved it–great look behind the curtain of Starbucks and how they have been able to do what they have done.
- “In A Pit With A Lion on a Snowy Day,” by Mark Batterson – I think this is hands down one of the best books that I have read in a while. Mark did an incredible job with this work–it is a MUST READ!!!
- “Just Walk Across The Room,” by Bill Hybels – I love to read about evangelism…and this book LIT MY FIRE about continuing to reach unchurched people for Christ!
- “The Blessed Life,” by Robert Morris – I would say it was THE BEST book on giving that I have ever read! Warning–when you read this book you will want to give something away!!!
- “Confessions of a Pastor,” by Craig Groeschel – I think that Craig is one of THE BEST leaders in the country right now…and after reading this book I know why–he’s honest, humble and desperate for God! In this book he clearly communicates that pastors are people who deal with crap just like everyone else does.
- “Good to Great and the Social Sectors“, by Jim Collins – DANG!!! First of all, “Good to Great” is a MUST READ for any pastor or business leader. And then, after reading that–read this…once again, I could not put it down.
- “Nehemiah,” by Jesus – this book ALWAYS fires me up…and the Author is out of this world, but is in it as well!!! :-)
Hope that helps!
Awesome Book(s)…and A Random Thought Or Two… December 21, 2006
Guess what–Terry Storch has been FOUND!!! He was right here all along…
Yes, it’s true! The “blogging king” made an exit…and everyone mourned the loss of such an incredible blogger. Yet–it turns out that he, along with Brian Bailey, have written a book entitled “The Blogging Church” which totally has to do with…DUH…blogging! Yes–that’s me in my office with this treasured piece of work!
I would HIGHLY recommend this book if you want to begin blogging…think you should start blogging…or just want to know more about it. And trust me…it is an easy read! You may think, “Well…I am not a computer geek & so I won’t understand it.” Uh…yeah…our IT guy had to come in to my office the other day and put batteries in my wireless mouse because I could not figure out what in the world was wrong with it…THAT is how technical I am…and yet I understood the book!
Some of the people Terry & Brian interviewed for this project were me, Mark Batterson, Tony Morgan, Mark Driscoll…and a few others as well. You have GOT to get this book when it comes out…it will open your eyes to world of blogging…and some FANTASTIC wisdom is shared!!!
A few other great reads…just in case you are interested…
This is one of the best books I have ever read! I was able to meet Dr. Cloud a few weeks back…yeah, he’s possibly one of the smartest men on the planet. I literally could not put this book down…it is an incredible mix of leadership, psychology, and Christian teachings. EVERY pastor in the world should read this book!!!
And then I read this book! All I’ve got to say is, “Craig–thank you for being honest bro!” If you are somewhat religious…this book will offend you. However, if you want to grow in your walk with God…you need to read this book. Craig puts aside the fake side that many pastors seem to display and gets real! WOW!
And then finally…I did read Mark’s book…and I don’t think you should read this one…IF you want to stay comfortable. You see…if you read this book then you are going to be challenged to take GIANT leaps of faith for God. You won’t be able to sit around and be comfortable any longer. Seriously–after I read this book I wanted to go to the local zoo, crawl in a cage with a lion and KICK HIS REAR END! This book is awesome…it’s not safe…but it’s awesome!
AND…one more thing…Tony Morgan wrote an article in Outreach magazine about NewSpring Church–you can check it out here. Loved it!!!
See you this weekend for Christmas Eve…oh yeah…talked to Lee about the music today & he said that the music will be the best it has ever been for anything we have ever done!!! YEAH!
You Have Got To Read This Book June 9, 2006
Last September I had the privilege of meeting Mark Driscoll, lead pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington. (They have a podcast–I would highly recommend it!) It was an awesome experience to meet with this guy for two reasons…#1, he is the real deal, what you see (and hear) is what you get–he’s not a “Christian all-star celebrity”…and #2, I had been listening to his messages on-line for so long–it was cool to discover that this dude really did exist.
Mark has written a couple of books–but the one I want to talk about is his latest one, “Confessions of a Reformission Rev.” I know I say this a lot–but if you are a pastor–or you love and care for one–you have GOT TO READ THIS BOOK!!! (Here is the link if you want to order it!)
If you have ever listened to Mark preach then you know he is honest and straightforward. This guys main concern is not making sure people are happy and church politics–he preaches from the Bible and all he talks about is Jesus–which is an awesome thing.
Mark is VERY transparent in this book about his struggles as a pastor. Let me say this–if you are considering going into the ministry…READ THIS BOOK! Mark tells you some things that seminary will not teach you. He speaks of the sexual temptation, burnout, struggles in his marriage, satanic attacks–I am serious folks–it is intense!!!
(Let me just say that I agree with Jonathan that one of the best parts of the book is when he talks about a time when he had “the runs” and decided to preach anyway…and then 15 minutes into his message he crapped his pants! I won’t tell you the rest–you’ve got to read it for yourself–and you will laugh out loud!!!)
I have serious ADD…and so I made the decision about a year ago that if a book did not captivate my attention in the first three chapters that I was not going to read it. Mark definitely had my attention…and he kept it throughout the book. It is an easy read–but please don’t take that as meaning it is not challenging. I have plans on reading it again and possibly taking my lead team through it together.
People always ask me when they read a book that I recommend, “Did you agree with everything in the book?” The answer is always no; however, in this book the issues that I disagree with Mark on are merely a personal preference or two…and I will not elaborate any further. One of the problems with Christians today I feel is that we claim to love Jesus…but we will get mad at people when they don’t think and act exactly like us! Mark is in love with Jesus and is reaching people in Seattle–which by defalt means that he gets to drink Starbucks coffee–which makes me very jealous!!!
Let me share two of my favorite quotes with you from the book…
#1 – In regards to what he discovered when visiting other churches…and the disappointment he faced…
“The woman pastor of this church, wearing a very nice, flowing, cutting-edge-of-the-1536 robe, talked about rainbows for twenty minutes while sixty or so very old people who were former classmates of Noah and eyewitnesses to the covenant rainbow sat scattered among one thousand seats or so and napped in Jesus’ name. Between her sermonette, the written literature I picked up told me how to bequeath my estate to the church when I die, and looking around the room at the equilevent of a Viagra before-photo of lifeless geriatrics. I truly could not discern why that church existed. The closest I came to finding someone with a mission was the children’s pastor, namely the meek husband of the senior pastor in pumps, who said his goal was to make his wife happy, which made me very sad.”
#2 – In regards to challenging men to become men!!!
“Things were starting to get out of hand with the men, so I called a meeting and demanded that all of the men in our church attend. I preached for more than two hours about manhood and basically gave the dad talk to my men for looking at porno, sleeping with young women, not serving Christ, not working hard at their jobs, and so on. I demanded that the men who were with me on our mission to change the city stay and that the rest leave the church and stop getting in the way because you can’t charge hell with your pants around your ankles, a bottle of lotion in one hand, and a Kleenex in the other.”
I could list more…but you’ve got to read it for yourself–excellent read!