With thanks to Mike Fluchere for the picture. And to Kim Campbell for a great reflection on this "weird, perfect" storm that occurred in the middle of one of our worship services last Sunday.
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Tod Bolsinger: It Takes a Church to Raise a Christian: How the Community of God Transforms Lives
Selected for an Award of Merit by the Christianity Today Book Awards in the Church/Pastoral Leadership category.
Tod Bolsinger: Show Time: Living Down Hypocrisy By Living Out The Faith
This books is from start to finish a book for “everyday believers” living out their faith in the real world.
John Mark Reynolds, Roger Overton, eds.: The New Media Frontier: Blogging, Vlogging, and Podcasting for Christ
I contributed a chapter to this discussion of how New Media helps--and hinders--communicating the old, good news.
Kevin G. Ford: Transforming Church: Bringing Out the Good to Get to Great
This is the best overall book on church leadership that I have read.
Danny Meyer: Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business
Danny Meyer makes money selling what the church is supposed to be giving away for free.
Jim Herrington: The Leader's Journey: Accepting the Call to Personal and Congregational Transformation
Pastor: Stop. Read this. now.
Ori Brafman: The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations
This may be the best organizing principle for the church.
Laurence Gonzales: Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
How your brain works under stress and how to learn to survive and thrive. Much of what is here is refreshingly counter-intuitive.
James P. Osterhaus: Thriving through Ministry Conflict: By Understanding Your Red and Blue Zones
This little book is a must-read for every pastor or church leader who wants to learn how to make good decisions in the complex church system.
Peter Block: Community: The Structure of Belonging
"Leadership is convening." Great insights in community and change by a provocative thinker.
Edwin H. Friedman: A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix
Douglas Stone: Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most
Jeffrey Miller: The Anxious Organization, 2nd Edition: Why Smart Companies Do Dumb Things
Henri Nouwen: The Wounded Healer: Ministry in Contemporary Society
A classic.
Mark Lau Branson: Memories, Hopes, and Conversations: Appreciative Inquiry and Congregational Change
A helpful process for equipping communities to build on their strengths for future challenges.
Jack Uldrich: Into the Unknown: Leadership Lessons from Lewis & Clark's Daring Westward Expedition

Diversity...Bad news, surprising news. Good News?
Bill Rice, an elder in my church sent me this article from the Wall Street Journal online that detailed a study by Harvard's Robert Putnam (of Bowling Alone fame) on the effects of diversity on community. The result? Arggh! After interviewing 30,000 people in over 40 communities around the country they concluded that diversity leads to the decline of community. The more diverse, the less community. Not exactly what a lot of us who want both community and diversity were hoping for. Here is an interview with the Wall Street Journal article editor.
And if you listen all the way to the end of the interview, you'll find a most unexpected surprise.
Do you know the one place where diversity seems to thrive within community? You'll never guess. And I'll bet that a lot of Harvard folks are shaking their heads about it.
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