Category: Books
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Blaising and Bock on the Mosaic Covenant
In the early 90s, Dallas Theological Seminary professors Darrell Bock and Craig Blaising helped to formulate a new version of dispensationalism called progressive dispensationalism. Progressive dispensationalism differed from earlier versions of dispensationalism (classic and revised) by advocating for more continuity in God’s plan of redemption. Like every bibilical-theological system, the covenants place an important role […]
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How to Figure Out What to Write (And Do) Next
What should I do next? Have you ever asked that question of yourself? If so, you’re not alone. Pretty much every writer, or really any kind of knowledge worker, has faced that problem says Paul Silvia in his book, How to Write Alot. He writes, “We rarely get to write only one thing … While […]
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The Betrayal of Busyness
Quotes from Eugene Peterson in The Contemplative Pastor: The word busy is the symptom not of commitment but of betrayal. It is not devotion but defection. The adjective busy set as a modifier to pastor should sound to our ears like adulterous to characterize a wife or embezzling to describe a banker. It is an […]
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Team of Teams for LBC
Here are some scattered thoughts about how the book Team of Teams applies to LBC. 1. Focus on structure and culture of the church. Don’t worry about creating a “top down” org chart, those are terrible anyway. Try to visualize the “web” of relationships between the ministry. Leaders must be “crafters of culture.” What kind of […]
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Wildly Important Goals
People waste a lot time at work. Too often, they end up doing things which don’t really matter. The authors of 4DX wants leaders to reclaim their time and and purpose by focusing on Wildly Important Goals (WIGs). WIGs are the one or two things which really drive results for an organization. However, leaders often give in […]
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Team of Teams by Stanley McChrystal
General Stanley McChrystal wrote Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World to recount how the Joint Special Operation Task Force evolved into a new kind of organization. In 2003, McChrystal came to a startling revelation: they were losing. Even though the US forces were better trained, better resourced, and far more expansive, […]
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4 Disciplines of Execution
Why do some great ideas fail? Simply put: there’s too much talk and not enough walk. Some organizations are really good at writing down a strategy but much less effective at actually implementing it. The greatest plans in the world mean nothing unless there’s execution: actually getting the work done. But what keeps organizations from […]
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A New Testament Biblical Theology
G.K. Beale displays his understanding of the New Testament’s storyline in his book, A New Testament Biblical Theology. Biblical scholars regularly dispute what the exact nature of “biblical theology” actually is. For example, is biblical theology an attempt to find the “center” of the Bible or the tracing of certain themes from beginning to end? Beale […]
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Bill Walsh’s Standard of Performance
Bill Walsh was the legendary coach of the San Fransisco 49ers in the 1980s. He took over a team that was previously 1-15 and in three years won a Super Bowl. The backbone of Walsh’s success was his “Standard of Performance,” his leadership principles. Bill Walsh assembled his leadership principles into 17 bullet points which […]
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Thriving Youth Groups
Jeanne Mayo wrote Thriving Youth Groups to record her process for establishing a friendship culture in the various Youth Ministries she has run in her career. She believes that building a culture of friendship is the key to growing a youth ministry. Students will not come back to the Youth Group if they are not accepted […]