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3 for Thursday: eBooks

March 10, 2011 in 3 for Thursday, Blog with 1 Comment

Leaders are readers! Here are three free eBooks I have come across this week that will help church staff, Pastor folks like me. These resources will inspire your organization’s growth and help you go further faster.

  1. Nine Game-changers for Global Missions by Eric Swanson and Leadership Network. I am big fan of the resources and people of Leadership Network. I am constantly learning as a result of what they are producing. In this eBook you will read about Game-Changers like mutuality, partnering, good news & good deeds, focus, technology, etc. We are experiencing the same Game-Changers in our Sending Church Movement at LifePoint.
  2. 125 Tips for Multi-site by Jim Tomberlin. Jim is not only a consultant, he was a pioneer and practitioner of Multi Site for two churches. Plus, he pastored in Europe which was a great connection with us at LifePoint when he came and did coaching with our staff a couple of years ago.
  3. The Mission Book by Upstream Collective. Upstream Collective are great friends and partners of LifePoint. We are journey together in this Sending Church movement. The guys at UC have deep and wide connections in the missionsphere. They have used those connections to develop a great online book with many contributors telling their story and wrestling with profound questions and principles about being on mission. Plus, you can contribute!

3 for Thursday: Books

December 16, 2010 in 3 for Thursday, Blog with 1 Comment

Just last Thursday, I was hovering over the globe several thousand feet in the air. I had the life changing fortune to be in 2 countries to learn, listen, plan, dream, strategize and encourage. On the way home conversations were full on how to put the pedal to the metal of God confirmed strategy for LifePoint to be the church where there is no church in Thailand and East Asia.

Here are three books that are helping to shape the vision God is giving at LifePoint. They will give you greater altitude for the 30,000 foot view of your life and organization while adding to your runway view of making it happen. They are new so new to me that I  read and reread them on the trip. All three are targeted at church leader, church staffer types. But, if you have any desire for the Kingdom, leadership, discipleship or just how to make our world a better place go and grab one…or all three.

  1. Exponential by Dave and Jon Ferguson: I am a big fan of these guys as leaders, of their church, of their first book and now this one. I have read much of the book three times. I have bought it multiple times to share with some of our staff. I can’t wait to see how the principles in this book will shape the months and years ahead.
  2. Real-Life Discipleship by Jim Putnam- Eddie shared this book with me just last week. It is timely—being in conversations of how to make disciples in places like Tennessee, Thailand, and East Asia. Many of the core leadership principles I believe in are echoed in this book: Systems Create Behavior, Context Creates Culture, It’s All about Relationships, Put the Priority on Process and Intentional Leadership.
  3. Cracking Your Church’s Culture by Samuel Chand – For me, this is the perfect blend of topics for my wiring and passion. The book challenges many of our assumed leadership assumptions. Then,  it develops seven keys for organizational life to unleash its vision. There is even an online assessment tool that is pretty remarkable and free.

What are you reading that is shaping your runway view or 30,000 foot view of life and leadership?

3 for Thursday: Christmas Tunes

December 2, 2010 in 3 for Thursday, Blog with 1 Comment

Some new and good tunes to help get you in the Christmas spirit.

  1. North Point Christmas — just got this last week and love it. Great blend of modern and traditional tunes with a worship feel. You can get a free download of one of the songs, too.
  2. Songs for Christmas by Phil Wickham — These are mostly traditional songs with the Phil Wickham sound. He does have one original, that has a great worship vibe. This could grow to be one of my favorites.
  3. Glory in the Highest: Christmas Songs for Worship by Chris Tomlin. This isn’t his newest album but he does have a new one here that is great. His Christmas album is my go to when I want to hear some Christmas tunes.

These are three great options to have playing during this Christmas season. Something about Christmas songs…they can sound familiar, yet new, and can help us focus on worshiping the Savior during this hectic holiday season.

Try them out and let me know what you think!

3 for Thanksgiving

November 25, 2010 in 3 for Thursday with 0 Comments

With my attempt to write a regular “3 for Thursday” and today’s Thursday being Thanksgiving, I thought I would go ahead with 3 things for our holiday. 3 things that today I give thanks. 3 things that I am pondering on today.

  1. Truth — I am thankful for the Truth that I rest my eternity, my life and my everyday. Gives direction and hope for my future, my present and my past. It helps me be a better husband, dad, son, friend, employee and leader. I love to know the width, depth and relevance of God’s Word…His Truth for all the world, all men and women for all time.
  2. Teachers — I am thankful for the men and women along with the circumstances– both opportunities and tests–that have have been great teachers. I am who I am because of the teachers my Heavenly Father has weaved into my life over the years. It began with my mother and father, two people that I will never be able to say thank you enough to. Of course, I had some good teachers as a ‘school boy’. Along with my parents and family, there have been amazing people over the last two decades who have invested in me. Some have been people I have never met. Some I get to stay in contact with, others I get to serve along side, work with, play with and share a home with. Then, there are the many “teachers” in life—experiences good and bad that have shaped me, toughened me, humbled me and encouraged me…significantly, because of #1, the Truth that filters it all.
  3. Time — Time to live, love, dream, succeed, fail, learn… I am thankful for every moment I have had this past year to play with my kids. I am thankful that I get to dream with with Kelly and see God do great things in our family. I am grateful for the time to be on mission with my family, my church and my friends. I am blown away for the time to serve alongside passionate people in work and ministry; specifically, to serve for the cause of Christ in places like West Africa, China and Thailand. I am thankful for the small moments of time to laugh, to rest, to jump out there where I probably shouldn’t. I am thankful for the time I have each day given by our Sovereign Lord.

I am sure you have amazing things to be thankful for today, too! I would love to hear them, even if that don’t begin with a ‘T’.

3 for Thursday

November 11, 2010 in 3 for Thursday, Blog with 1 Comment

There are some things I don’t do well:

  • sending birthday gifts to family on time
  • eat vegetables
  • string more than 3 good ping-pong points together
  • dealing with consistent negative attitudes
  • manage

There are actually a few things I am discovering I have decent success at, or at least I love to do. Some of those things fall under the categories of:

  • connecting
  • sharing
  • new
  • change

So, enjoying being somewhat of an early adopter & having the love discover and share new things…I am beginning what hopes to be some routine posts called “3 for Thursday”. Three things delivered to you that I are new to me, that have caught my attention and that I am excited to connect you to. My desire is that these things will help you and your organization go further faster. I also hope to discover new things from you. The “3″ will sometimes be focused, sometimes random.

So, in my world there are some Big Things (adoption, Family Muscle, loser, trip) wrestling around. So, productivity has become a huge chase for me so I can accomplish all that is in front of me and stay focused on the important and not the urgent. Here are 3 Things that I am using to help develop great systems for productivity in my life:

  1. Getting Things Done by David Allen — Popular book and author on personal productivity, fascinating system to help leaders download all of the To Dos so they can be released to dream and think
  2. Evernote — Incredible capture and access system that allows me to capture content on the web, on my computer and on my mobile phone; and, it is all synced together. I am still discovering all of the “add-ons” that go with this great application. The free version is super powerful but I have upgraded to premium to take full advantage of features. I also love the clipping functions integrated into your browser.
  3. Producteev — I have been on the search for years take good productivity principles including those I learned from Getting Things Done and leverage technology to keep me on top of To Dos, lists, plans, etc. I have discovered many but the one I am learning and implementing currently is a web-based app called Producteev. I am also using the Android App Astrid Tasks to sync and Fluid to make Producteev desktop app. Pretty slick interface for managing To Dos with teams, iPhone app is available and Android App on the way.

What new things have you come across lately?