Earlier this month, I wrote about Leaders Book Summaries.  The company summarizes books for busy leaders.  Each month, they review a couple of books and then send subscribers helpful 10-20 page summaries and a detailed 2-page super summary.

This week, I checked out their free sample summary and was really impressed.  The free sample was a summary of the book Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath.  The actual summary was a PDF document with a very professional layout.

The writing was clear, concise and easy to follow.  I really enjoyed reading the “Pastor’s Perspective.”  This section shared specific ideas for applying the book in a Christian organization.

The company issues thirty (30) summaries of leadership books each year.  The books are written by secular and religious authors.  Recent examples include…

• Integrity by Henry Cloud
• Talent is Never Enough by John Maxwell
• The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive by Patrick Lencioni
• On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis

A subscription is only about $6 a month (cheaper if you pay for an entire year in advance). For the price of three hard-back books, you can receive 30 high quality book summaries.

Leaders Book Summaries is currently offering a free one-month trial for our blog readers. Save time and money as you grow your leadership skills!

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This is a sponsored post from Leaders Book Summaries, one of my ministry partners on TonyMorganLive.com

At the encouragement of one of my good friends and with the help of Ben Stroup, three of the eBooks that I released several months ago are now available on Kindle. The two most recent were added just last week. Now, you can immediately download these resources directly to your Kindle reader. And, if you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can borrow all three eBooks for free. (I’m still a fan of free.)

Each of the eBooks is straight to the point. You’ll be able to read each one in about 20 minutes. They also are designed to read with your teammates. Each of them contain discussion questions for you to use with your staff or volunteer ministry leaders. Wondering what to do at your next staffing meeting? I just did the homework and preparation for you. (You can thank me later.)

Here are the three eBooks in the order that I would review them with your team:

1. Developing a Theology of Leadership – There’s a lot of conversation about leadership within the church, but very little of it is based on what the Scripture has to say. This resource was designed to help you begin begin to consider what a leadership development culture might look like in your ministry. It includes simple steps to begin a mentoring relationship.
2. Big Churches Getting Bigger – Surprise! This really isn’t about big churches. Rather, the eBook challenges church leaders to consider strategic barriers to growth. Big churches may not be healthy churches. No matter what the size, though, healthy churches should be growing churches.
3. The New Traditional Church – You may not say it, but internally you tend to mock the church down the street that’s stuck in the 1950s. Their methods have never changed. They’re a traditional church. Unfortunately, any ministry strategy that once was effective can become a tradition. Whether your church is 20 years old or 20 months old, you may have some new traditions that are limiting the impact of your ministry.

Speaking of staff meetings, I just spent the day with the staff team at Vineyard Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Great church!) That’s part of what I do to resource churches. I spent a couple of hours with the staff leadership team talking about trends. Then I presented a very interactive three-hour session with the entire staff on building and equipping volunteer teams. And, finally, I spoke to over 500 volunteer leaders in the evening and encouraged them to take their next steps in their leadership. I’d love to do the same thing at your church. Let’s chat.

What are the resources you’ve recently used with your staff and volunteer leaders to help equip them to take their next steps? Join the conversation by sharing your comment.

On one of my recent trips, I finished reading EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey. The book offers practical wisdom from Dave based on his years of experience building a business from scratch. It offers insights on both entrepreneurship and leadership — it’s not an either or proposition when you’re launching a business.

As a leader launching a church consulting business, this book really resonated with me. However, most of the principles Dave outlines also apply to church planters and other church leaders. With that in mind, here are some highlights from my reading:

• “If you want employees, then boss them around; if you want team members, explain why you do what you do. If they won’t do what you ask, explain it again and again. Then, if they are simply contrary, they have to work somewhere else. But don’t lead with threats and fear.”
• “Just because an idea is a good idea does not mean it is good for you or your company to take it on.”
• “President John F. Kennedy said, ‘There are costs and risks to a program of action, but they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.’”
• “Marketing has to have energy. Logic, while factual, is flat and moves no one to action.”
• “You can’t lead, market, and/ or run a company successfully without drawing fire from people who don’t understand. So as you win prepare to be misunderstood and lied about.”
• “The fact that someone got on your team who should never have been allowed in the building is your fault.”
• “There are some people you don’t need to hire—simply because you don’t like them. That is good enough.” (more…)

Last week was pretty typical. Once again, I received several “must read” books in the mail. They are sitting on my desk with some other books that I’m trying to find time to read. You have probably found yourself in a similar situation. It wouldn’t surprise me to discover that you have ten to twenty unfinished books on your Kindle. We all want to read more. Unfortunately, we live in a fast-paced world with limited time.

Recently, I heard about a group called Leaders Book Summaries. They summarize books for busy leaders. The group was started by Dave Frederick.  Dave is a pastor who believes in the church and leadership. He knows that your time is very limited so he reviews a couple of books every month and then sends subscribers helpful 10-20 page summaries.  He also provides 2-page super summaries.

Dave’s team makes it easy for you to stay relevant and up-to-date in a timely manner. Leaders Book Summaries also helps you stop wasting time reading marginal books. Instead, they carefully sort through page after page of content to ensure that you receive the most beneficial information from each book.

Dave issues thirty (30) summaries of leadership books each year.  The books are written by secular and religious authors. Recent examples include…

• Integrity by Henry Cloud
• Talent is Never Enough by John Maxwell
• The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive by Patrick Lencioni
• On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis

A subscription is only about $6 a month (cheaper if you pay for an entire year in advance). For the price of three hard-back books, you can receive 30 high quality book summaries.

Leaders Book Summaries is currently offering a free one-month trial for our blog readers. Save time and money as you grow your leadership skills!

________________________

This is a sponsored post from Leaders Book Summaries, one of my ministry partners on TonyMorganLive.com

This made me chuckle. But thanks to everyone who has purchased the new Kindle version of Developing a Theology of Leadership.

I have some good news for all of you who received Kindles for Christmas. One of my most popular eBooks from 2011, Developing a Theology of Leadership, was just released on Amazon in the Kindle version.

It’s been downloaded and viewed over 24,000 times, and now it’s available as an easy download for anyone with a Kindle or using the Kindle app on their tablets, phones or computers. For those of you who have Amazon Prime memberships, you can borrow it for free. Otherwise, it’s only $2.99 to download the eBook.

Like my other eBooks, this will take you about 20 minutes to read. It includes discussion questions to process with your team. The sections hit these topics:

• Building a Leadership Theology Foundation
• Servant Leadership
• Empowerment
• Character
• Putting It into Action

If you’re looking for a good resource to read and discuss with your staff or volunteer leadership team, this may be a great place to start the new year. I hope you’ll download a copy and share this with a friend.

I recently finished reading We Are All Weird by Seth Godin. Here are some of the highlights from my reading:

• “The epic battle of our generation is between the status quo of mass and the never-ceasing tide of weird.”
• “The ability to reach and change those around you has been changed forever by the connections of the Internet and the fact that anyone, anywhere can publish to the world.”
• “When you don’t feel alone, it’s easier to be weird, which sort of flies in the face of our expectation that the weird individual is also a loner.”
• “If you persist in trying to be all things to all people, you will fail. The only alternative, then, is to be something important to a few people.” (Tony’s note: We need focused vision and strategy.)
• “If you cater to the normal, you will disappoint the weird. And as the world gets weirder, that’s a dumb strategy.” (more…)

In 2011, I took a non-traditional approach to publishing. Through my partnership with Church Community Builder and Engage Burkina, I launched “The Leisure Suit Series” with a focus on helping churches get unstuck. Apparently that was a strong felt need for church leaders, because this post introducing the second eBook in the series was the #7 most popular article in 2011:

New FREE eBook Available Today: How to Get Unstuck

Big news today! We’re launching the second eBook in the Leisure Suit series. This one is called Hanging Up the Leisure Suit: How to Get Unstuck. Among other things, this resource includes strategies and practical steps for:

• making the necessary changes to get different results
• bridging the gap between vision and execution
• following God’s blueprint for fulfilling his purposes
• avoiding over-reliance on teaching to produce change, and
• creating healthy systems in your church

Like my previous eBooks, this one is FREE. (You can share it with your teammates.) It’s short. (You won’t have to invest much time reading it.) It includes exercises and discussion questions. (My goal is for you to have healthy conversations that lead to positive change.) And, you’ll get to start those conversations immediately–no need to visit the bookstore or wait for the Amazon box to show up on your doorstep. (Do people still read hardback books?)

[Read the entire article.]

I released several eBooks in 2011. This has by far been the most popular. It’s been downloaded or read online by over 22,000 people. Here’s the post that started it all. The #8 most popular article on my website in 2011 was all about helping people consider their theology of leadership.

Have you developed a theology of leadership?

Today is the official launch of my new eBook, Developing a Theology of Leadership. Amazingly, the stats indicate over 1,300 people have already read it since I leaked out the link before the weekend. I’m hoping you’ll find this resource helpful as you begin to consider who you are as a leader.

This eBook is based on a series of articles I wrote about two years ago. Thanks to the help of Ben Stroup, we’ve refreshed the content and added some new features to help you take your next steps in your leadership.

What I love about this and the next few resources I’m about ready to release is that you can’t just read them and put them on a shelf. (They’re eBooks. That would literally be impossible.) Aside from that, each eBook includes a discussion guide for you to begin a conversation with your ministry team. I’ve also included some recommended steps to take the content and “put it into action.” I’m challenging you to do that. Remember, teaching (or reading) shifts thinking, but systems shift behaviors.

[Read the entire article.]

1. Read This Before Our Next Meeting by Al Pittampalli
2. Quitter by Jon Acuff
3. Necessary Endings by Dr. Henry Cloud
4. Today We Are Rich by Tim Sanders
5. Poke the Box by Seth Godin