The Spiritual Life: A Joke and a Quote... - Tod Bolsinger

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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.

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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.
Ronald A. Heifetz: The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World
Edwin H. Friedman: A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix
Peter L. Steinke: Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times: Being Calm and Courageous No Matter What
Ronald Heifetz and Martin Linsky: Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading
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
Jim Collins: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't
This is the book that started me on the transformational leadership journey. I re-read it all the time and have most of the big concepts committed to memory.
Jim Collins: Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great
Applies the insights of Good to Great to non-profit organizations. Every senior leader should buy a copy for every board and staff member.

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Thursday, March 03, 2005

The Spiritual Life: A Joke and a Quote...

Since my Lenten series is about "giving up the yoke of you." That is, giving up defining your spiritual life by what you, yourself (and mostly all by yourself) can do, I thought I'd share a joke and quote about this topic...

First the joke.

Question: How many narcissists does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Answer: Just one. He holds the bulb while the world revolves around him.

Now the quote. (Eugene Peterson again, from the same CT article, March 2005):

"One way to define the spiritual life is getting so tired and fed up with yourself that you go on to something better, which is following Jesus."

Posted at 06:30 AM in The Spiritual Life | Permalink

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