A Few Good Reads

Here is part 2 of a summary of a few resources I've recently read that have been an encourgement to me in church leadership. Hope it's helpful!

1. Tony Morgan and the Unstuck Group help churches all over the country become “unstuck” through sometimes simple, sometimes difficult and challenging, but always strategic changes. I grew in my appreciation for Tony’s wisdom as a church consultant when I took part in his Coaching Network a few years back and I never miss reading his latest blog or book. So, needless to say, I read his latest book, The Unstuck Church – equipping churches to experience sustained growth, as soon as it came out last year. This book requires humility and an honest look at yourself as a leader as well as the overall health of your church. But, if we don't do that and we reach a point of surviving on life support then our focus can’t be on leading people to Jesus, can it? Tony walks the reader through 7 stages of a church life cycle in a clear and easily understood manner that will help you see where your church is and then he shows you practical steps to take in order to change directions. Don’t be tempted to skip to the stage you think your church is experiencing, but take Tony’s advice and read from the first chapter all the way through so you can get the full picture of the life cycle. Tony doesn’t sugar coat it, so brace yourself and dive in with eyes open...then share it with the rest of your leadership team! You won’t regret it.

2. Obstacles in the Established Church – How Leaders Overcome Them, by Sam S. Rainer III. This book was a suggested read when I was working on a certificate in church consultation with Church Consultation University (churchconsultation.university) and I’m not only glad I read it, but I’ve suggested it to the rest of our pastors and ministry directors. Let’s face it, as church leaders we expect obstacles to pop up with every new idea that leads to change at almost any level. Obstacles are present even when we don’t present change, right? Sam tackles change and these words that are often cited as the seven last words of a dying church – we’ve never done it that way before! Those words point to four hurdles to change that Sam outlines in a very helpful way. Then there are the obstacles we encounter of criticism, comfort, and expectations. I love this challenge – am I spinning my preference as vision? What about the “we can’t!” attitudes? I can have that myself… so how do we overcome that obstacle? I loved the challenging idea Sam addressed that made me wonder if our people are average, or normal… and if we are willing to be uncomfortable so we can reach people for Christ. And one more… do I believe in the power of God myself or is it just words? I’ll stop there and just share my encouragement to pick up a copy of this book and see what you think.

3. Michael Hyatt always raises the bar for me when it comes to organization and efficiency and his brand new book, No Fail Meetings – 5 Steps to Orchestrate Productive Meetings (and avoid all the rest), has given me much needed encouragement to reevaluate meetings I facilitate. Meetings take time and that time can be well spent and productive or it can be a drag on your week. Michael challenges us to consider who attends the meeting, timing for meetings, agendas, follow-up and so much more. I’m a strong believer in teams and for teams to function as true teams rather than just a bunch of individual silos calling themselves a team, there needs to be collaboration, communication, and time spent together in meetings. I came away challenged to do a better job of preparing for meetings and I love that he provides templates for agendas, meeting notes, and other resources in the book and on his website. No Fail Meetings is a quick read that will give your meetings a boost!