Three Book Weekend

I’ve noticed this summer that I didn’t end up doing quite as much reading as I did last summer and quite honestly, I’ve missed it! I’ve had several projects to work on for school and my seminary class required more writing than reading this time around.

So…I had a chance to catch up this weekend on three books that I’ve been wanting to read. I read Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars by Patrick Lencioni; I Was Broke and Now I’m Not by Joe Sangl; and Speaking to Teenagers by Duffy Robbins and Doug Fields. All three lived up to the hype and I’m glad I read them. I am posting just a few thoughts below about each one.

I have read Pat Lencioni’s other 4 leadership fables and posted reviews on here. It has been interesting to see how each one book has landed in my stack to read just about the time that we are dealing with that situation at work or in other organizations that I am involved in. “Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars” is a great one for me to read heading into this year. We have made some changes at the school I work at and I am so excited about the direction we are going! We have a wonderful Head of School and a top-notch staff and a lot of great families to work with. Our leadership structure has changed some over the summer, but I think we are moving more towards having people lead out of their skill set more than they ever had before. However, being a private Christian school, we also have been hit by the reality of the economy and have had to make some changes. We come back a little leaner than last year, but I believe that we will be stronger than ever because of the responses people have had to the changes that were made.

Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars is all about recognizing office politics and doing something about it. Lencioni talks about how easy it is for all of us to stay within our “departments” and build kingdoms of our own. In a Christian school, we are always having to ask if we are building kingdoms or Kingdom building…harsh reality sometimes! However, the book points out that in an emergency/crisis you never have that happen. In a crisis, people naturally band together to do what has to be done. Do you want to constantly be in a crisis situation? No…I hope not…or you are a sick person 🙂 However, the things that you learn in that situation should carry over into our day to day leadership. We have to be willing to take off our “functional hats” in favor of making choices that are going to best benefit the organization and lead to growth amongst our staff.

I really see this happening at school as well as at the church Clint and I have been a part of for the past 6 months. It is contagious! Clint and I are both trying some new things and have had an opportunity to function in some new roles and are learning a lot. We look forward to see what God has in store as we continue to look for opportunities to destroy Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars.

This next one “I Was Broke But Now I’m Not” comes from a guy that serves on staff at NewSpring Church in Anderson, South Carolina as their Financial Counseling Pastor. I have been reading Joe’s blog for several months and have enjoyed learning more about the practical tools he has developed to help people get out of debt. Several weeks ago, Clint had lunch with 2 of our pastors and they told him about a series we are getting ready to do at Freedom called Debt Free Acworth that I posted about here and here. J.R. and Todd started telling Clint about Joe Sangl and how they were going to have him come down and do one of his Financial Counseling Experiences (think Dave Ramsey: Total Money Makeover Live Event). Clint said he’d love to help by volunteering to help people get their finances in order so that they wouldn’t be in slavery to their debt anymore, but could use their money to glorify God. The guys told Clint about Joe’s training coming up in Anderson, so he went up there yesterday all day and met Joe and heard the whole story. While he was gone, I read Joe’s book. His book is his testimony about how he and his wife got out of debt and why they feel led to help others do the same. It is very well written and is a quick read. Check it out…but only if you are ready to jump in and quit letting debt control you.

This last one, Speaking to Teenagers, really hit me where I’m at. I have the opportunity to speak to students all the time in my role as Assistant Principal/Dean of Student Life at our school. I have been in full time youth-ministry for 8 years. I never want to fall in the trap of just talking to be talking. I recognize that God has given me a unique platform that comes with a high degree of accountability. Doug Fields and Duffy Robbins are two guys who have been in youth ministry for a long time, but are still wanting to learn.

This book takes you through the process of how to think about a message, how to create a message, and how to deliver a message. There are tons of great tips about how to gather material, how to stay fresh in your own reading of God’s Word, and how critical it is to learn from and share with others.

I have a feeling that I will read this one again soon as I get further into the school year. It is a great reference book and ranks up there with some of the most useful I’ve read about youth ministry. A lot of times churches hire youth ministers just straight out of college because they are good at putting lock-ins together. The only downfall is that most of the time, once they are hired, there is never any further training. I am glad that I have worked at both a church and a school that give me opportunities to learn from others and encourage me to read books and attend conferences that will help me get better at what God has called me to do.

Overall, all three books were great reads. I have two more on my list that I want to read before our students come back next Monday. Pray for our staff as we gather for the first time corporately this year at 8am tomorrow morning. Our theme verse for the year is Philippians 2:2 and our theme is “We are One”. I am believing God for some amazing things this year and look forward to sharing them as the year unfolds.