Ministering to the Mourning
by Warren and David Wiersbe
Outstanding Book! Absolutely recommended for everyone - but especially for those who minister to others (pastors, elders, care givers)! Tough topics, but warmhearted compassionate biblical advice.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Book Review: Leadership Next by Eddie Gibbs
There were some parts of the book I liked - for instance, the movement towards a shared leadership framework. However, like most "Emerging Church" leaders, he shows too much disdain for the church of the present and the past and thinks, like many others, that his generation will finally *get it right.* I'd like to see him do a review of this book 25 years from now - but of course, that doesn't help his readers today. Worthwhile for some insights and approaches, but I wouldn't recommend it to a non-critical reader.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Book Review: Spiritual Leadership
Spiritual Leadership
Principles of Excellence for Every Believer
by J. Oswald Sanders
This book was required reading for me for a course. I've found it to be helpful in some areas, but I have questions about others. Dealing with the issue of Leadership, Sanders is at his best when he deals with the "inner life" or "private life" of the leader - there's no divide between the character of the leader as leader and as a private person. This is a continually welcome message for both the church as well as the culture. He deals quite well with the fact that Jesus' choice for leaders in the early church was quite different from what the world would have chosen.
He rightly reminds us that God is most interested in our relationship with Him and our relationship with others. One might be quite smart, or quite down-to-earth, or quite charismatic - but that does not mean one would be a leader in the mold of Christ. Service is perhaps the best word Sanders uses to define what Leadership within the church looks like.
He deals with practical issues of time management, reading, delegating, training others, and making yourself exspenable to the place you serve. He highlights the cost of leadership, the perils of leadership, and the tests of leadership. All of this is great stuff, because it reflects scriptural principles to a large degree.
However, I do wonder if there is too much focus on the "religious" at times. I recognize that prayer is time we spend with God, but the "old-time" focus on three, four, or five hours of prayer a day makes me wonder if we have not allowed religious ideas or even a bit of asceticism to creep in. I also wonder if we too easily excuse neglect of family in the name of "serving the Lord." I have heard that many of the leaders of these "great awakenings" have not had the best family life - and, without judging them, I wonder how much we should listen to them in their spirituality?
My final issue that I will voice is one I have with many evangelicals today - the reference to Charles Finney as a positive example. From what I know, Finney denied that Christ's death on the cross did anything for mankind, or for individuals - except that it was an example to follow. From my understanding, that places Finney not just outside the bounds of orthodoxy, but outside the "church." How can we quote a man's methods whom Paul (see Galatians) would apparently oppose?
Principles of Excellence for Every Believer
by J. Oswald Sanders
This book was required reading for me for a course. I've found it to be helpful in some areas, but I have questions about others. Dealing with the issue of Leadership, Sanders is at his best when he deals with the "inner life" or "private life" of the leader - there's no divide between the character of the leader as leader and as a private person. This is a continually welcome message for both the church as well as the culture. He deals quite well with the fact that Jesus' choice for leaders in the early church was quite different from what the world would have chosen.
He rightly reminds us that God is most interested in our relationship with Him and our relationship with others. One might be quite smart, or quite down-to-earth, or quite charismatic - but that does not mean one would be a leader in the mold of Christ. Service is perhaps the best word Sanders uses to define what Leadership within the church looks like.
He deals with practical issues of time management, reading, delegating, training others, and making yourself exspenable to the place you serve. He highlights the cost of leadership, the perils of leadership, and the tests of leadership. All of this is great stuff, because it reflects scriptural principles to a large degree.
However, I do wonder if there is too much focus on the "religious" at times. I recognize that prayer is time we spend with God, but the "old-time" focus on three, four, or five hours of prayer a day makes me wonder if we have not allowed religious ideas or even a bit of asceticism to creep in. I also wonder if we too easily excuse neglect of family in the name of "serving the Lord." I have heard that many of the leaders of these "great awakenings" have not had the best family life - and, without judging them, I wonder how much we should listen to them in their spirituality?
My final issue that I will voice is one I have with many evangelicals today - the reference to Charles Finney as a positive example. From what I know, Finney denied that Christ's death on the cross did anything for mankind, or for individuals - except that it was an example to follow. From my understanding, that places Finney not just outside the bounds of orthodoxy, but outside the "church." How can we quote a man's methods whom Paul (see Galatians) would apparently oppose?
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