CURRENT READS
Our society is still obsessed with quick fixes. But Peterson's time-tested prescription for discipleship remains the same―a long obedience in the same direction. Following Jesus requires a deepening life of prayer, and throughout history Christians have learned to pray from the Psalms. Peterson finds particular encouragement for today's pilgrims in the Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120–134). With prophetic and pastoral wisdom, he shows how the psalms teach us to grow in worship, service, joy, work, humility, community, and blessing. Now
Loneliness has reached epidemic proportions. We have lost the art of connection and relationship, and it’s killing us. When you read and apply the practices herein, you’ll develop habits that move you from isolation to connection. You’ll learn the importance of attachment, the art of connection, the power of relationships, the priority of personal responsibility, the gift of vulnerability, and the vision of God, who knew from the beginning that it’s not good for us to be abandoned to ourselves. This book will guide you, the people you love, and the community you live in toward a richer, fuller, healthier life.
MEANINGFUL READS
“Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life. Hurry is the great enemy of the spiritual life.” It wasn’t the response he expected, but it was—and continues to be—the answer John Mark Comer needs. Too often we treat the symptoms of toxicity in our modern world instead of trying to pinpoint the cause. A growing number of voices are pointing at hurry, or busyness, as a root of much evil. Within the pages of this book, you’ll find a roadmap to staying emotionally healthy and spiritually alive in the chaos of the modern world.
Tozer was often referred to as a prophet. That doesn't mean he predicted future events, but rather he spoke God's truth to believers and the culture, even if it meant disrupting the status quo. The encouragement in Voice of a Prophet is that the church today is in desperate need of the kind of prophet Tozer embodied and describes in this important book. Using the lives of such prophets as Elijah, Elisha, and John the Baptist, Tozer underscores the importance of the ministry of the prophet in our world today.
Never Split the Difference takes you inside the world of high-stakes negotiations and into Voss’s head, revealing the skills that helped him and his colleagues succeed. In this practical guide, he shares the nine effective principles you can use to become more persuasive in both your professional and personal life. Life is a series of negotiations you should be prepared for. Taking emotional intelligence and intuition to the next level, Voss gives you the competitive edge in any discussion.
God is love. Crazy, relentless, all-powerful love. Have you ever wondered if we're missing it? Does something deep inside your heart long to break free from the status quo? Are you hungry for an authentic faith that addresses the problems of our world with tangible, even radical, solutions? God is calling you to a passionate love relationship with Himself. Because the answer to religious complacency isn't working harder at a list of do's and don'ts—it's falling in love with God. And once you encounter His love, as Francis describes it, you will never be the same.
Can a simple concept shift your entire world? Bob certainty thinks so. When it comes to loving your neighbors, instead of focusing on having the “right answers” or checking the “right boxes,” what if you decide to simply do love? To shamelessly show love and grace to those around you--what would that look like? Not the kind of love that stops at thoughts and feelings, Bob's love takes action. Bob believes Love Does.
In this intimate, non-judgmental, and soul-searching account, Miller describes his remarkable journey with and back to the infinitely loving God, helping you... discover how the Christian faith is still relevant in a postmodern culture; learn how to have a genuine encounter with a God who is real; and enjoy a renewed sense of passion for your life. Blue Like Jazz is a gentle, honest resource for those curious about the Christian faith, or new to it, and offers a fresh and original perspective on life, love, and redemption.
LEADERSHIP
Maxwell examines the differences between leadership styles, outlines principles for inspiring, motivating, and influencing others. God has called every believer to influence others. Developing the Leader Within You will equip you to improve your leadership and inspire others.
Where does great culture come from? How do you build and sustain it in your group, or strengthen a culture that needs fixing? In The Culture Code, Daniel Coyle goes inside some of the world’s most successful organizations and reveals what makes them tick. He identifies three key skills that generate cohesion and cooperation, and explains how diverse groups learn to function with a single mind.
In this edition of Spiritual Leadership, the Blackabys update their notes on the key points regarding a leader’s challenges, character qualities, influence, decision making techniques, and more, all the while focusing on how leaders discover and promote God's vision for their organization and move people on to His agenda. There are also new chapters on leading change and leading teams.
The 10X Rule unveils the principle of "Massive Action," allowing you to blast through business clichés and risk-aversion while taking concrete steps to reach your dreams. It also demonstrates why people get stuck in the first three actions and how to move into making the 10X Rule a discipline. Find out exactly where to start, what to do, and how to follow up each action you take with more action to achieve Massive Action results.
What is my calling? How do I best live it out? Will my vocation change? In this revised edition of his popular book, Gordon Smith addresses these and other questions you may be struggling with. And he leads you through a process to discover your vocation by listening to God and becoming a coworker with him.
As the central curator of the success media industry for over 25 years, author Darren Hardy has heard it all, seen it all, and tried most of it. This book reveals the core principles that drive success. The Compound Effect contains the essence of what every superachiever needs to know, practice, and master to obtain extraordinary success.
Procrastinate on Purpose, Vaden presents the five permissions that set us free to do our best work – on time and without wasting energy battling stress and anxiety. Readers will learn to: Eliminate, Automate, Delegate, Consolidate, and Procrastinate (yes, you heard that right). Anyone seeking to up their game, do meaningful work, and ditch the stress of looming deadlines and too many tasks on the front burner will embrace this smart, insightful guide.
Having a clear, compelling vision--and getting buy-in from your team--is essential to effective leadership. If you don't know where you're going, how on earth will you get there? The Vision Driven Leader offers six tools for crafting an irresistible vision for your business, rallying your team around the vision, and distilling into actionable plans that drive results.
The Built to Last study of the 90's, showed how great companies triumph over time and how long-term sustained performance can be engineered into the DNA of an enterprise from the very beginning. But what about the company that isn't? What are the universal distinguishing characteristics that cause a company to go from good to great?
SELF-HELP
According to researchers, the vast majority--a whopping 75-98 percent--of the illnesses that plague us today are a direct result of our thought life. What we think about truly affects us both physically and emotionally. Supported by current scientific and medical research, Dr. Caroline Leaf gives readers a prescription for better health and wholeness through correct thinking patterns, declaring that we are not victims of our biology. She shares with readers the "switch" in our brains that enables us to live happier, healthier, more enjoyable lives where we achieve our goals, maintain our weight, and even become more intelligent.
Scazzero learned the hard way: you can't be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature. Even though he was the pastor of a growing church, he did what most people do--avoid conflict in the name of Christianity; ignore his anger, sadness, and fear; use God to run from God; and live without boundaries. Scazzero shares stories and principles as he outlines his journey and the signs of emotionally unhealthy spirituality. Then he provides seven biblical, reality-tested steps to become emotionally mature.
"Only God deserves absolute surrender because only God can offer absolutely dependable love." In our self-reliant era, most of us recoil from the concept of surrendering to a power or authority outside ourselves. But surrender need not be seen as threatening, especially when the One to whom we surrender is the epitome of goodness and love. In his book, Benner explores the twin themes of love and surrender as the heart of Christian spirituality. Through careful examination of Scripture and reflection on the Christian tradition, Benner shows how God bids us to trust fully in his perfect love.
MINISTRY
Negative perceptions. Church dropouts. Prodigals and nomads. It's easy to get discouraged by all that's going wrong when it comes to Christianity and the emerging generation. Yet what's going right? In fact, signs of hope are springing up all around. Dive into major new Barna research that uncovers what's working -- five practices that contribute to resilience. Enter the world of resilient young adult Christians and learn how they are sustaining faith.
Few concepts are more basic to Christianity-or more important to a Christian's personal and spiritual well-being-than forgiveness. Yet in an age in which it has become fashionable to "forgive yourself" rather than to forgive others, can our modern ways of understanding guilt, blame, mercy, and justice be reconciled with Jesus' teaching?
Our hearts were made for deep, authentic relationships—for community with others. And like nothing else, small groups provide the kind of life-giving community that builds and empowers the body of Christ and impacts the world. In this book, Donahue provide guidance for the strategic decisions that must be made to establish, develop and grow a thriving small group ministry in the local church.
Based on his own experience and on his many conversations and interviews with churches in crisis, DeVries pinpoints problems that cause division and burnout and dispels strongly held myths. He then provides the practical tools and structures pastors and church leaders need to lay a strong foundation for your ministry so that it isn't built on a person or the latest, greatest student ministry trend.
First Two Years in Youth Ministry—hands-down the most comprehensive companion to not only surviving, but also thriving, during the most crucial phase of youth ministry. Doug covers all-important issues such as: Dealing with discouragement, Establishing a solid spiritual foundation, Building effective relationships with students, Resolving conflict, Ministering to parents and families, Trailblazing change, Working with volunteers, Defining a realistic job description, and many others!
With generational divides wider than ever, parents, educators, and employers have an urgent need to understand today's rising generation of teens and young adults. Technology is not the only thing that distinguishes this generation from every one before them. Where iGen goes, the world goes. Understanding them and helping memebers of iGen understand themselves is a first step.
DISCLAIMER: The following links are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may earn a commission or be compensated in some way. These are resources that I have either used in the past, continue to use today, or have proven helpful to me over the years. If you click and utilize any of them, thank you!
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