Category Archives: Leadership

Leadership, Leadership Axioms

Change Equation

Yesterday I teased a new weekly feature here for the blog where I plan on writing about some of my favorite Leadership Axioms that have impacted me personally and professionally over the years. I define a Leadership Axiom as a short, concise phrase that conveys a leadership truth or principle. These axioms also need to be memorable and applicable to everyone. The first Leadership Axiom comes from Pastor Mark Batterson from National Community Church in Waschington, DC.

Pastor Mark believes that from time to time a leader and/or the leadership team should get away from the hustle and bustle of day-to-day ministry for a time of reevaluation. In fact, if it is possible step away from the office, get out, and get away. Or as he says it:

Change of Pace + Change of Place = Change of Perspective


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What a great equation! I love it because I have benefitted from it time and time again. Without fail when I unplug from my normal surroundings and schedule I see a huge benefit all the way around. Getting outside of the normal routine does wonders for my creativity, my focus, and my productivity.

Examples of how I put this axiom to work:

  • Going to the coffeehouse. As you can see from the picture above, I never go to the coffeehouse alone. Sometimes, I just have to get away from my email, Twitter, and phone calls to spend sometime reading or taking notes. I strap on my headphones and start up my study playlist and get to work. 30 minutes in a coffeehouse equals at least 1 hour of uninterrupted focus.
  • Attending conferences. Attending conferences offer both a change of pace and a change of place. Next Wednesday, we are piling into Edna, the church van, and hitting up the Catalyst Conference in sunny Atlanta, GA- or the ATL as I like to call it. This will be my 9th Catalyst ATL appearance and my first as a lead minister. The normal routine will be thrown out the window in order to make room for a couple of days of being challenged and pushed with new ideas and fresh thoughts. Love, love, love it!
  • Longer lunches. Much like my coffeehouse trips, I never go to lunch empty handed. I always take a book or my Moleskine with me to capture new thoughts and notes. Sometimes I just need to sit with my thoughts and big ole soda to get unstuck or experience a creative break through.
  • Bookstore Crawl. Remember Borders Bookstores? (Too soon?) I get some of my best ideas while “wandering” up and down the aisles of my local bookstore. The pictures on the covers, the titles, philosophies, display stands, you name it feed my creative juices and help me clarify my thoughts.
  • Retreats Nothing helps you change your perspective like getting away from it all on an extended retreat. I am actually working on scheduling some time away before the end of the year. In fact, in the next 3-6 months, it is my hope that I can take a personal retreat, a ministry staff retreat, and a church leadership team retreat. These don’t need to be a week long excursions into the woods where you forage for berries armed with only a flashlight and your Bible. You just need to get away for a set period of time (usually 24-48hrs), unplug your phone, and spend an extended period of time focused on listening to God. That’s it.

Change of Pace + Change of Place = Change of Perspective

I’d encourage you to incorporate this great Leadership Axiom into your routine and it is my hope that you will benefit from this truth as much as I have.

Next week’s axiom will be about Vision. You won’t want to miss this one.

Leadership, Leadership Axioms, Personal Leadership, Resources

Truth Bombs

Leadership Axioms are short, concise phrases that convey a leadership truth or principle. Over the years I have collected quite a few of these little sayings and tried to incorporate these concepts into my leadership philosophy and practice. Often times I wish that I had come up with some of these myself. After talking with a friend about some of these Leadership Axioms, I’ve decided to write about a few of the ones that I have benefited from the most. It is my hope that these leadership concepts will help you as you lead yourself and the people God has entrusted into your care.

There are 2 great things about Leadership Axioms:

First, they are short and memorable. In his book, Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs, Bill Hybels compares these short statements on leadership to many of the proverbs found within scripture in that they can serve up “a truckload of weighty wisdom in bite-size chunks.” If something is going to make it’s way into my busy schedule it has to be short, sweet, and deliver maximum life-change goodness. Leadership Axioms fit that bill.

Secondly, these truths are transferable. You don’t have to lead 1000 people or work in a mega-church to learn from and incorporate these truths into your leadership. They work because they are true not because you have a huge budget or a giant platform. That’s the great thing about values and principles- everyone can afford them.

To kick off this series, I’ve chosen one of my favorite Leadership Axioms from Pastor Mark Batterson. I’ll be posting these on Tuesdays from now on so please check back tomorrow for the Greatest Leadership Equation Ever. (Math and Leadership rarely overlap so this axiom is extra special.)

What are some of your favorite Leadership sayings or truths? Join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter.

Experience, Family Ministry, I Love My Church, Leadership, Ministry, Mission

I (Heart) My Church

IHEARTCHURCHbumper Starting this week, I am sending out a personal email message to the men and woman of our church. Here is a glimpse at this week’s email message:

1) I really do LOVE my CHURCH! I don’t want you to think I’m being corny or clichéd. I get FIRED UP when I think about what God is doing there and what he will do as we seek to follow Him and lift up the name of Jesus to those around us. God created the church to be the vehicle where the Good News of Jesus is SPOKEN ABOUT and DEMONSTRATED to every generation of people. And WE GET TO BE A PART OF THAT TOGETHER!!! What’s not to love about that? I LOVE THIS CHURCH and my prayer is that YOU LOVE THIS CHURCH TOO!

2) In an effort to communicate with you about what is happening at here, the plan will be to send out 2 emails each week.

Each week I want to send a letter to you recapping the weekend and casting vision for what is coming up for us. Consider this email a personal letter from me sharing with you what’s on my heart. One of the reasons for this is because I REALLY want to invest some time in being focused on some things that we’re going to be doing this fall. It is my prayer that this coming season will be one of THE most fruitful seasons of ministry we’ve EVER had!

The other email will be a newsletter and will include announcements, prayer requests, and event information. You should have received this email already this week. Think of that email as an extension of our Sunday bulletin.

The whole point of this is not to flood your inbox with a ton of information but we want to make sure we are COMMUNICATING with you on a regular basis. These two weekly email, I believe, will help us do just that.

3) This Sunday, we will continue the “I (Heart) Church” series. We will be talking about what real biblical COMMUNITY looks like and I don’t want you to miss it! In preparation for this Sunday’s message, take some time to read through some of Jesus’ words concerning his church…

Matthew 5:13-16
Matthew 11:28-30
Matthew 16:15-19
Matthew 18:19-20
Matthew 22:36-40
Matthew 25: 34-40
Matthew 28:18-20

4) School starts back next week and I want to challenge you to be praying for our STUDENTS and for our TEACHERS. The pressure on our students can be pretty overwhelming for them- the pressure to perform and excel can leave them believing that their IDENTITY is wrapped up in WHAT THEY DO not WHO THEY ARE IN CHRIST. I want everyone in our church to PRAY that God will COVER these students with his blessings this school year, that He will STRENGTHEN them to stand tall in their FAITH, and He will PROTECT them from a culture that wants to destroy them.

I also want all of you to PRAY FOR OUR TEACHERS. As the school year begins, many people of Lakeside will be in the classroom or on the field GUIDING and LEADING students. They are on the FRONT LINE of helping to lead the next generation. They need your prayers for ENCOURAGEMENT, STRENGTH, and PASSION. Please pray for the teachers at Lakeside AND I want to challenge you to daily PRAY FOR YOUR CHILD’S TEACHER BY NAME for the entire school year!

5) I am so proud of those of you who have been reaching out and serving the residents of the retirement community next door. I heard that the Bible study last night was a PACKED HOUSE! The time spent loving on and caring for our neighbors has not gone unnoticed. I appreciate your desire and heart for service! Many thanks Ladies!!! Keep up the great work!

Discipleship, Heroes, Jesus is the Christ, Leadership

Who Are You For?

While reading through the book of Joshua yesterday I was challenged once again to answer this question:

Am I going to live my life concerned with who is FOR ME or AGAINST ME or Am I going to be consumed with who I AM FOR?

In Joshua 5:13-15, Joshua encounters a man who has his sword drawn standing in front of him. God has revealed to Joshua that they will take the heavily fortified city of Jericho captive but it seems that this man is standing in Joshua way.

Joshua asks the man, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

The man quickly replies, “Neither. As Commander of the Army of the Lord I have now come.”

Joshua falls to the ground and with humility in his voice asks, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”

Joshua initial posture towards the man was a defensive one. He wanted to know who was for him or against him.

Isn’t this the age-old  question for those of us who lead people?

Do you trust me or them?
Am I your man or not?
Who’s side are you on, anyway?!?!

These questions breed a sense of fear into the heart of a leader. As as Master Yoda says, “Fear leads to suffering.” He couldn’t me more right. When a leader begins to make decisions and lead out of a sense of fear everyone suffers. Worrying and always looking over your shoulder wondering who likes you or who is after you is no way to live or lead.

The Commander of the Lord’s Army challenges Joshua by telling him that he doesn’t serve the big city, the mighty king, or even Joshua. The Commander is for Yahweh and Yahweh alone.

It is obvious from this point on Joshua was no longer concerned with who was for him or against him. Joshua had settled in his heart once and for all who he was for.

“Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:14–15

What about you? Today, will you be more concerned about who is for you or against you? Or, will you decided to be concerned with The One you are for?

Books, Discipleship, Leadership, Resources

Vacation Reading List

Last month, Jon Acuff posted a picture of the 15 books that he was taking with him on vacation to the beach. I loved looking at his

I also wanted to share a picture of all the books that I will  taking with me on our vaction. I”m only bringing 11. I guess that’s what separates me from a best selling author. 4 measly books.

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As you can see, my picture isn’t as interesting as Jon’s. One hardcover book and my Kindle don’t really engage the imagination but the picture does tell a larger story. It seems that over the past two years I have been making the switch to digital. I love the convenience, the price, and the extra shelf space. The down side is that I miss out on some really beautiful covers like the book on the left. The real upside for this week will be that I won’t need a separate bag at the airport to carry all my books.

So which books am I taking with me to California? Let’s take a look:

Supergods: What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants, and a Sun God from Smallville Can Teach Us About Being Human by Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is one of the premiere comic book writers out there today. I don’t always like his stories or his particular take on certain characters but he understand the medium. I saw Morrison interviewed for a documentary about All-Star Superman (his voice sounds like Uncle Argyle and he looks like Lex Luthor) and have been interested to hear him talk more about storytelling and the Man of Steel. I am also looking forward to getting into this book since I just finished re-reading Campbell’s Hero With a Thousand Faces earlier this year. I love reading about mythology, story, and culture- I am hoping Morrison delivers.

Untitled: Thoughts on the Creative Process by Blaine Hogan
Sundays come once a week. Every 7 days, another one arrives. In Untitled, Hogan offers hope and encouragement for those of us who have to turn out new content on a regular basis. The cover features a blank notebook- the bane of many writers and the thing that scares many of us from producing anything. I like the description from the book’s ad: Blaine Hogan “walks you through the creative process of attacking the blank page, executing vision, finding the importance of contemplation, fighting the battle with resistance, and learning from your failures.

Buy-In: Saving Your Good Idea from Getting Shot Down by John P. Kotter
I’ve had my eye on this book for a while now. One of the biggest tools I have to use as a leader is communication. If there are any insights I can learn in order to communicate better I am listening. I am hoping this book will help me learn to anticipate questions and push-back while giving me the knowledge to communicate vision and my thoughts in ways that invite people to come alongside me.

Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip Heath & Dan Heath
Re-reading Switch in conjuction with Buy-In.

Move: What 1,000 Churches REVEAL about Spiritual Growth by Greg L. Hawkins & Cally Parkinson
The 3rd book in the REVEAL study promises to help church leaders understand what spiritual growth looks like in the hearts of their people so they can maximize their efforts behind things that are actually leaving a lasting impact. I really enjoyed Reveal and Follow Me and I am very much looking forward to Move.

Small Groups With Purpose by Steve Gladen
I have some high hopes and big plans for the Small Group ministry at our church so I’m taking along a few books on the subject to help me think through what steps we need to take in order to impact our people and the community around us.

Creating Community: Five Keys to Building a Small Group Culture by Andy Stanley & Bill Willits
Re-reading Creating Community in conjunction with Small Groups With Purpose

Creating a Tech Sabbath Habit by Bryan Brooks
Can I read about creating a Tech Sabbath on Tech itself? Will this cause a hole in the Space-Time Continuum? Great Scott, this is heavy!

Hell, Rob Bell, and What Happens When People Die by Bobby Conway
So I’ve learned that Love Wins. I then went about Erasing Hell. Now, I’m onto a couple more books about Hell and the Afterlife. In case I thought I was escaping the heat of Texas (110 today!!!), a little light reading on the subject of eternity should set me straight.

Is Hell for Real or Does Everyone Go To Heaven? by Various Authors
Reading in conjunction with the above.

Leadership Prayers by Richard Kriegbaum
I desire to be a leader who depends on prayer.

So, there you go. I have been looking forward to this week for quite sometime. Beach, here we come!!!

Leadership, Personal Leadership

Join Me @ #CatOneDay HOU

Catalyst One Day Preview Video from Catalyst on Vimeo.

Catalyst is bringing their One Day event to Houston, TX on August 25. Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel will be teaching on Creating a Healthy Organizational Culture. Having made the transition to my new leadership role I can’t think of a better topic or more talented teachers to spend the day with.

Catalyst events are in a league all their own so if you are on the fence about attending you can have confidence that the return on investment is incalculable. It doesn’t get much better than this.

Check out the video, look at the Catalyst One Day website, and then register for this awesome opportunity to raise your leadership capacity.

Books, Leadership, Resources, What I'm Reading

My Summer Reading List

I have a ton of books sitting on my shelves or my Kindle that I have been way too busy to really start reading. I hate that I have not been able to read as much as I would like or am used to. With summer 1/3 of the way over and with some upcoming books on the horizon, it is time to read these bad boys that I have procrastinated on. I have a small window this week where I believe I can read at least 2 of these 5. Check out the goodness that is My Summer Reading List.

The Surge: Churches Catching the Wave of Christ’s Love for the Nations
by Pete Briscoe

Pete is the pastor at Bent Tree Bible Fellowship in Dallas, TX. I have visited Bent Tree a few times and have been impressed with everything I’ve experienced from facilities (they have the best baptistry I’ve ever seen) to their awesome people. Pete has an incredible gift for teaching and The Surge is about God’s Spirit flooding into the North American church to bring healing to a “dry and weary land.” I have had this book for a little over 8 months and now it is time to dive in.

Dangerous Church: Risking Everything to Reach Everyone by John Bishop

Check out this description on Dangerous Church: “Dangerous churches are willing to put everything on the line for the one thing that matters most; reaching lost people. Through probing questions and amazing stories of God’s grace, John Bishop confronts church leaders to embrace what matters most to the heart of God, whatever the cost. Most churches naturally gravitate to what is safe and familiar. Church leaders who take risks are bound to fail, and fear drives us to continue in our comfortable, but ineffective patterns. But reaching out to a lost world was never meant to be easy. Jesus promised his followers that they would have trouble in this world. Dangerous churches are churches that are willing to risk everything—comfort, safety, and the security of the familiar—for the sake of the one thing that matters most: reaching out to people who may spend eternity separated from the God who created them.” Boom! Who wouldn’t want to read this book?!?!?! I pre-ordered this book and it has sat unread on my Kindle since the day it was released. Time to get Dangerous!!!

The Other 80 Percent: Turning Your Church’s Spectators into Active Participants by Scott Thuma & Warren Bird

“20% of the people do 80% of the work.” You’re familiar with this old maxim right? Well, this book wants to help you reach out and motivate the 80% in your church that are passive observers, pew potatoes, or chronically absent from the life of your church. I am a big fan of Leadership Network and the resources they provide church leaders. This book promises to be highly practical- at least 80% practical.

Veneer: Living Deeply in a Surface Society by Timothy Willard & Jason Locy

I think this book is about culture and it’s ability to convince us to live shallow lives. I think that is what it is about- I haven’t really gone very deep in it. Maybe I’ll just skim it. Kidding!

Parenting Beyond Your Capacity: Connect Your Family to a Wider Community (The Orange Series) by Reggie Joiner & Carey Nieuwhof

This is the second parenting book I’m tackling since becoming a parent. I have a huge respect for Reggie Joiner and I am a big believer in the Orange strategy of parents and the church partnering together to raise the spiritual bar for the next generation.

Best Practices, Leadership, Planning, Preaching, Sermons, Study

Sermon Prep

Over the last few years I have been experimenting with my weekly schedule in order to maximize my time studying, ministering, teaching, and planning so I can then make sure that I am growing personally and relationally in my own faith and with my family. I have to stay on top of things organizationally because, frankly, organization doesn’t come naturally to me. I get a real kick when people tell me they think I am “really good at organization.” Any semblance of order has come from many hours of trial and error, flexibility and expiermentation.

Now that I am having to present a message in the form of a sermon each week, I’ve been playing around with my schedule again trying to figure out how I can adequately prepare for the weekly message and do everything else I need to do. Nelson Searcy says, “Someone pays the price for the sermon preparation. Either the pastor pays the price during the week or the people pay the price on Sunday!” I firmly believe that!

One goal I have set is to have everything for Sunday- outline, presentation, notes, full sermon- ready to go by Thursday afternoon. For the most part, this has happened and I have felt like my schedule and crazy life has really benefitted from this goal.

Having the message finished by Thursday allows for a few thing:

1. Friday is my day off. The last thing I want to do is worry about, fiddle with, and obsess over my message for the weekend. My day off is for me to abide with the Father and spend time with my family. Fridays are Hewson and Daddy days. I owe the Father and my family my attention for the day. Having my message finished by Thursday actually helps me be present where I need to be on Fridays.

2. Everything is ready for the bulletin. Each week, I provide a fill in the blank outline for people to follow along with on Sunday morning. It is my responsibility to make sure that I’m not throwing something together at the last minute.

3. After spending the whole week on my message, stepping away for a few hours helps me internalize the message. This is a personal conviction I have: I believe that standing and reading a script (not-so)subtly communicates to people that “This message didn’t impact my heart enough to make much of a difference in my own life so… yeah.” How sad.  If I can’t remember the message to deliver it, no one who hears it will remember it or apply it tho their life either.

4. I’m not staying up late on Saturday putting together a PowerPoint presentation. When I was a campus minister I had to put together a ppt presentation almost every single day so I’m pretty proficient. Still, that last thing that I want to do is mess with my slides. I want to be running through my message, memorizing, cutting unnecessary tangents, and praying over the words I’ll be saying. Visuals are super important to me but they aren’t what I want to spend the bulk of my time on when the pressure is on.

There have been other benefits to getting everything together by Thursday but these are the ones that I have seen week in and week out. Sure, life gets in the way and the Spirit has challenged me to stray from my outline late Saturday night. However, I have found that when I am prepared I am much more flexible and in a position to react with an open heart and open mind because I’m not rushed and frantic.

This has worked for me. Maybe it will inspire you to find what works for you.

Bible Study, Discipleship, Leadership, Ministry, Mission, Personal Leadership, Questions, The Word

Leadership Tuesday

Each Tuesday, I’ll be posting thoughts, resources, and challenges to help develop our Leadership muscles. Today I wanted to share with you some of the questions I began wrestling with after reading Philippians yesterday.

As I read, I noticed that Paul is pleading with the church in Philippi to live in unity, have one mind, and to be singular in focus. As leaders, Paul is speaking directly to us. If you have some time today, please read Philippians before you read the rest of this post.

Here are 9 Leadership Questions that we each need to think about and pray through if we are going to be all that God desires us to be:

1) Am I praying with joy for those I lead? Philippians 1:3-5 – Paul prays with joy for those he considered partners in the gospel. You and I have to do the same if we want to be a true spiritual leaders of the people God has entrusted us with.

2) Am I praying for an increase of love and knowledge and depth in my own life and in the lives of those I lead? Philippians 1:9-11

3) Am I living in such a way that those closest to me will know that whatever happens to me- good or bad- Jesus Christ will be praised? Philippians 1:12-26

4) Am I looking to Jesus as my model of service and unity or am I simply trying to keep everyone around me happy and cordial? Philippians 2:1-4 – Jesus shows us what love looks like in public.

5) What am I complaining about? Philippians 2:14-16 – If we want to be different than the world around us, let’s start by putting the KIBOSH on complaining. In Inception, Leo DiCaprio’s character has a great line where he tells his team that he believes “positive emotion trumps negative emotion every time.” As a leader I have the responsibility to serve as an ANTIBODY within my sphere of influence to STOP INFECTION and DECAY (complaining, divisiveness) IMMEDIATELY. This starts with stopping the infection in myself.

6) Am I committed to the mission of following Jesus? Philippians 3:7-11 – As I read this passage I was reminded of Dallas Willard’s quote about THE COST OF NON-DISCIPLESHIP, He says, “Nondiscipleship costs abiding peace, a life penetrated throughout by love, faith that sees everything in the light of God’s overriding governance for good, hopefulness that stands firm in the most discouraging of circumstances, power to do what is right and withstand the forces of evil. In short, it costs exactly the abundance of life Jesus said he came to bring (John 10:10)” Failing to commit to Jesus is a bigger risk than following Him.

7) What am I holding on to in my past that is keeping me from experiencing NEW LIFE in Jesus? Philippians 3:12-14 – What ever this is, I must lay it down and move on toward who Jesus is call me to be.

8. What is something I can rejoice in today, right now? Philippians 4:4-6 – One thing that you can rejoice in is that what ever you are worried about- that thing that kept you up all night- you can take that to the Father in prayer. Let this truth give you peace and guard your hearts and minds. Praise Jesus!

9) Do I spend more time thinking about these things or do I spend more time focused on the junk that the world sends my way? Philippians 4:8-9 – Last week, the world spent too much time praising, laughing with/at, and deconstructing Charlie Sheen. Admit it, you gawked at the train wreck. Your neck got sore from staring at the flaming wreckage. Mine did too. This week, let’s do the opposite. Let’s spend time meditating on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy.

Thanks to Perry Noble for inspiring today’s post with his 21 Questions Leaders MUST Wrestle With from the Book of James.
2010, Best of..., Book Review, Books, Discipleship, Leadership, Ministry, Mission

Top 10: Books of 2010 pt. 1

1) Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick
This was, without a doubt, my favorite book of 2010. I received an advanced copy over the summer and quickly read it twice. If you need a message to kick you in the pants, if you need something to stir up your faith and desperation for a holy and mighty God, then this is the message you’ve been looking for.

“This book is not a Snuggie. The words on these pages will not go down like Ambien.
I’m not writing to calm or coddle you. With God’s help, I intend to incite a riot in your mind. Trip your breakers and turn out the lights in your favorite hiding places of insecurity and fear. Then flip the switch back on so that God’s truth can illuminate the divine destiny that may have been lying dormant inside you for years. In short, I’m out to activate your audacious faith. To inspire you to ask God for the impossible. And in the process, to reconnect you with your God-sized purpose and potential.”

“If you’re not daring to believe God for the impossible, you’re sleeping through some of the best parts of your Christian life. And further still: if the size of your vision for your life isn’t intimidating to you, there’s a good chance it’s insulting to God.”

“There’s nothing our world needs more desperately today—in individuals, families, businesses, churches, and communities—than God’s saving, supernatural acts. And he’s ready to act if we will be bold enough to ask, not just for a good day or a better life, but for the impossible. Then step forward to act in audacious faith. Each of us is called to be a Joshua—each in our own way, in our own circumstances, with our own God-given personality. As you’ll see in the pages ahead, you and I are called not just to have faith but also to regularly activate our faith by asking God for giant outcomes, taking giant steps. If we have the audacity to ask, God has the ability to perform. That’s how God turns his amazing promises into everyday reality in every generation—for Joshua’s and for ours. You and I may not see the same miracles Joshua did, but we serve the same God. His nature never changes. The same power that stopped the sun and raised Christ from the grave lives in every believer. God still demonstrates his power and supplies his provision in direct proportion to the faith of his children.“

Audacious faith isn’t some newfangled, extrabiblical variety of faith. It’s a return to the core of Christianity: trusting Jesus completely in every area of your life and setting out to devote your life wholly to revealing his glory in this world. Critical clarification: We are saved by grace through faith in Christ—period. Don’t look at the challenge to act in audacious faith as an add-on to this saving faith. It’s a call to press deeper into that faith, until it becomes more and more effective in your everyday life. The opposite of audacious faith: passive unbelief.

2) Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas
The number 2 book of 2010 goes to an incredible story of discipleship and dedication to Jesus! You may know part of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s story but this book gives you the rest of the legend behind this amazing young pastor and his battle against the rise of the Third Reich. I want my son to read this book with me one day.

3) Rework by Jason Fried and David Hansson
This was probably the most practical book of the year as it helped me change some habits that kept me from getting everything done that I needed to do. The book is one part instruction manual and two parts inspiration. Check out these two highlights:

Imagine you’re standing in a rental-car office. The room’s cold. The carpet is dirty. There’s no one at the counter. And then you see a tattered piece of paper with some clip art at the top of it pinned to a bulletin board. It’s a mission statement: Our mission is to fulfill the automotive and commercial truck rental, leasing, car sales and related needs of our customers and, in doing so, exceed their expectations for service, quality and value. We will strive to earn our customers’ long-term loyalty by working to deliver more than promised, being honest and fair and “going the extra mile” to provide exceptional personalized service that creates a pleasing business experience. We must motivate our employees to provide exceptional service to our customers by supporting their development, providing opportunities for personal growth and fairly compensating them for their successes and achievements … * And it drones on. And you’re sitting there reading this crap and wondering, “What kind of idiot do they take me for?” The words on the paper are clearly disconnected from the reality of the experience. It’s like when you’re on hold and a recorded voice comes on telling you how much the company values you as a customer. Really? Then maybe you should hire some more support people so I don’t have to wait thirty minutes to get help. Standing for something isn’t just about writing it down. It’s about believing it and living it.

Whenever you can, swap “Let’s think about it” for “Let’s decide on it.” Commit to making decisions. Don’t wait for the perfect solution. Decide and move forward. Decisions are progress.

4) Leaders Who Last by Dave Kraft
Read this book and avoid being in the 70% of leaders who burn-out and fail to leave a meaningful legacy for anyone. Simple as that.

5) Church Planter by Darrin Patrick
Want to know what this book is about? Watch this video. Now, go change the world.