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Top 10 Most Ministry-Impacting Books

January 24, 2012 By 6 Comments

Media Survey Results: Part 1

Wherever Christian leaders gather, it isn’t long before the topic of conversation turns to the question, “So, what are you reading these days?”

Leaders don’t ask this to make idle chitchat. Leaders are readers. In addition, leaders value their time as a precious commodity; they want to know that the next book they pick up (or load on their Kindle) is likely to have an impact. They can’t afford to start reading a new book, only to find out after half a dozen chapters, that it just isn’t delivering what they need.

With all this in mind, The Leadership Centre Willow Creek Canada recently conducted an online survey of Christian leaders in Canada, and the first question we asked was:

In 2011, what were the 3 most ministry-impacting BOOKS you read?

Here, in order, are the top 10 results (clicking a title will open the publisher’s website where you can get more information on the book);

  1. Sun Stand Still, Steven Furtick
  2. Radical, David Platt
  3. The Power of a Whisper, Bill Hybels
  4. Surprised by Hope, NT Wright
  5. Humilitas, John Dickson
  6. Prodigal God, Timothy Keller
  7. Sticky Church, Larry Osborne
  8. Disappointment with God, Philip Yancey
  9. Leading on Empty, Wayne Cordeiro
  10. Simple Church, Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger

Note that this is not a scientific survey; it serves only to give you a quick snapshot as to what books have been making an impact on Christian leaders in Canada in 2011.

In total there were 49 books that made the list. To see the complete list in alphabetical order click here. (Note that responses deemed statistically insignificant are not included.)

Interestingly, the next question we asked was to find out which authors were having the greatest impact. To our surprise, the list of authors did not always match the list of books!

Check back soon to see the list of top ministry authors.

What books would you add to this list?

Filed Under: Effectiveness, Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

How Leaders Know When to Cash-in “Change Chips”

November 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Just before you pull the trigger on that change you want to introduce, ask yourself, “Is this worth cashing in my chips?”

Leaders know that they possess a certain number of “change chips”. These chips are made up of credibility, respect, authority, good will and other essential intangible ingredients.

cashing in my chipsLeaders carry these chips around in their pocket knowing that at the moment when they must introduce change they will have to cash-in some of these chips.

But if you cash these chips in at the wrong time or for the wrong reasons it can make introducing real, meaningful change that much more difficult.

I learned this lesson in a painful way during my first weeks on the job when I served as executive pastor of a large Canadian church.

I led a staff of about 35 people, and soon after I was hired I saw that the office configuration was not optimal. Almost before I had settled into my chair I was moving staff around the facility from one office to another. Because I was the new sheriff in town, the staff dutifully followed my edict. And within a couple of weeks most staff were in new offices which, to me, was a marginal improvement over the previous set up.

But I had cashed in several credibility chips with only a marginal “win” for the organization. I had introduced irritation, confusion and distraction, and the only upside was a slight increase in the ergonomics of the office.

In hindsight I wish I had saved those chips for later on when I needed to call for significant change that could generate meaningful, positive results.

What might this mean for you?

Take a few minutes to actually make a list of the potential changes you’re contemplating. Perhaps it looks something like this…

  • Changing the day of the weekly staff meeting,
  • Dropping a well-established, but tired, program,
  • Introducing new ways for expense reports to be submitted,
  • Launching a new product or service.

For each item on your own list, carefully consider the change chips required to be cashed in.

To make lasting, significant change, you may find that you need to keep a few more chips in your pocket!

Filed Under: Change, Leadership Tagged With: , ,

A Leadership Lesson from Ice Cream Cake

July 16, 2010 By 4 Comments

I did something remarkably stupid the other day.

It was so ridiculous I can’t believe I not only did this, but also that I’m about to tell you about it.

I had just completed a 10k run along Okanagan Lake, and returned home feeling great. I went to the freezer to get ice to put in a glass of water and was confronted with a left-over ice cream birthday cake from Dairy Queen.

I ate it. I ate it ALL.

I sat down on my deck, admiring the view of where I had just run, and ate a thick slice of ice cream cake.

As I wiped the last bit of chocolate icing from my chin, it was only then that I paused to consider the absurdity of the situation. Here I had done something reasonably healthy in completing a good run, and had basically nullified its effectiveness by wolfing down a million calories and a boat-load of fat from this ice cream cake.

Now, at the risk of hammering an illustration pretty hard, I think we sometimes do this in our leadership. I’ll call this the Ice Cream Cake Syndrome.

I’ve noticed, for example, that a lot of people attend The Leadership Summit every year, get all fired up about their leadership, but immediately afterwards put their conference binders on the shelf, never to refer to them again. They then plow back in to the grind of daily life.

It’s kinda like eating ice cream cake after a run. By not paying attention to ongoing leadership development, it nullifies a lot of the benefit of the Summit experience itself.

At a recent gathering of our Summit host pastors from across Canada we asked them how they place the Summit in the context of an ongoing leadership development plan. Check out their answers in this 2 minute video and see if it sparks some ideas for you.

What is your plan for ongoing leadership development?

Let me know how you develop your own ongoing leadership development plan and I’ll share these with other leaders. And let’s commit to avoiding the Ice Cream Cake Syndrome!

Filed Under: Discipline, Leadership, Leadership Summit, Random, Temptation, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , ,