In so many ways Trust God is my favorite chapter of this
book. We started with seeking
significant God encounters and we ended with trusting God with what you
discover. What an awesome way to do
life! From all the reading I’ve been
doing lately I truly sense that the Christian church in all its forms is in the
midst of a spiritual awakening – there is some cyclical truth to this
phenomenon – it’s happened before.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Saturday, June 1, 2013
PARTY ANIMALS by Paul Nixon
This book was going to be a nine-chapter book, until I did one more
read of the gospels and hit the party theme. Of course it was there
all along, maybe too obvious. It is perhaps appropriate that I did this
last read while on a cruise.
Monday, May 27, 2013
HOLD DIFFICULT PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE by Kim Shockley
Wow! I read through this chapter again before I
started writing this blog, only to realize in the months since the original
writing how much I have learned about difficult people. We were right! But this work is hard!
I mentioned Ed
Friedman’s book, A Failure of Nerve, in
an earlier blog, about how leaders experience a failure of nerve when they bump
up against the emotional baggage of other people. I just posted a blog on my own site about
chronically anxious systems: http://kimcoach.wordpress.com/. It
might be helpful reading. Leaders can’t lead when they let the bullies,
whiners, and controllers rule the day.
So, I’m processing a strategy for how to deal with these folks.
Monday, May 13, 2013
LEGEND ON GRAPEVINE by PAUL NIXON
I was visiting with one of my coaching clients the other day when
each of us observed that we have a bit of P.T. Barnum in us. A bit of
shameless promoter. I get this from my father. He was a pastor. He
liked to have what he would call 'big days' at the churches he pastored,
Sundays when something happened that got the buzz going, got people
talking. Sometimes he would invite a celebrity to church to sing. He
observed that often after a 'big day,' church attendance was permanently
higher, maybe 25 or 50 more per week. In his own way, he was working
to create good legend.
Friday, May 3, 2013
MAKE A FEW, HELPFUL BOLD MOVES by Kim Shockley
In this chapter, Paul mentions the work of Ed Friedman in
his final book – The Failure of Nerve.
I have been slowly digesting this work, one chapter at a time, for a
couple of months. The insight I’ve
gleaned from this reading is that the thing that stops us from making bold
moves is usually the state of a chronically anxious system. Remember, we’ve talked a lot about how fear
gets in the way of our faithfulness, so Friedman helps us to recognize fear
within congregations and family systems.
Monday, April 8, 2013
BRIGHT EYED PEOPLE by Paul Nixon
The metaphor of bright-eyed people originated in my third book, I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church,
published six years ago. Now in three successive titles, I have
referenced it to one degree or another - and I it is on my mind as I
write a new book this year. So I guess you could say I find this
concept pretty integral to the subject of church renewal. What ever
else Jesus was looking for 2000 years ago as he collected his disciples,
he was certainly looking for people who sparkled at the suggestion and possibilities of the Kingdom. They sparkled, and they dared. They went for it.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
URGENCY by Kim Shockley
In a coaching conversation this week with a pastor who is currently reading The Surprise Factor he told me of his initial reaction – the surprise is the place where God intersects with what is unfolding! It was very gratifying to know that people are catching on to what this book is all about. I think the key to surprise is training oneself to look for God’s surprises in the midst of the day. When we look for them, they really are there!
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