Michael's Notes - Thoughts On Worship, Leadership & Fitness

A Book Review: From Peanuts to the Pressbox

If you are a true sports fan then you will love From Peanuts to the Pressbox by Eli Gold. The pages are filled with an inside look at both the stars and sportscasters of a variety of sports. From minor league hockey to Nascar, from SEC football to the AFL and many things in between. Eli Gold, the radio voice of the University of Alabama football team for the last 20 years, relates his life long quest to be where he is, working in the pressbox of major sporting events. It is the story of a young boy dreaming, a young man working to achieve the dream and a man realizing the dream.

Mr. Gold shares stories of the bigger than life personalities are involved in sports. I often found myself laughing out loud at the life that was communicated. I even found myself remembering where I was during the events.

From Peanuts to the Pressbox is an easy read, very entertaining and was a great way to pass the time on a rainy day.

The Hole In Our Gospel; a book review

“What should I do?”

Long before the author posed the question for its readers, in the last pages of The Hole In Our Gospel, I had already written it in the margins. Another question that surfaced for me throughout my read of this book was: “what is a proper balance between evangelism and social action?”

 

Richard Stearns, President of World Vision U.S. and author of this book, presents the argument that before the message of Christ can be presented to suffering people groups you must first meet their immediate needs, whether that is clean water or medicines for HIV, in so doing we then demonstrate Christ love to them.

 

I was challenged by this book; however, I was concerned that some people who read its pages could move to the extreme of taking care of persons physical needs without ever making a point to share the message of Christ. The message of Christ is the ultimate goal.

 

There does need to be a balance in missions work between meeting the immediate needs of those we are trying to minister to and presenting the gospel message. The Hole in Our Gospel is a great way to be reminded of that need and also be reminded of just how blessed we are in this country and a response to our blessing should be to share with those less fortunate.

 

Take the time to get a copy of this book and be challenged as I was and will continue to be.

Related Posts:

Book Review: Mad Church Disease, Overcoming the burnout epidemic

Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by A Relentless God

Three Ways to Read A Book

 Over the last year I have read between 20 and 25 books, however they are not all read the same way. I have realized that I read books, depending on their topic in three distinct ways: without highlighter, with highlighter and taking notes.

Without Highlighter
These are the novels I read just for pure enjoyment. Starting at page one and read till the last page.

With Highlighter
Reading with a highlighter close by ready to underline things that grab my attention

Taking Notes
This is highlighting at a whole different level. These are books that are filled with good stuff that I will want to have easy access to.  So, I go through the book again, this time in front of a computer keyboard, typing out all the highlighted sections. Or my wonderful assistant types out the notes. The notes are then filed in a folder on my computer “book notes,” under the title of the book.

At any point during the year I could be reading two or more books at a time; however they are not all read the same way.

 P.S. There is one book I continue to read over and over again and each time I am amazed at what I learn…The Bible.

Quiet Strength

On my last day at the beach I read Quiet Strength the story of Tony Dungy, the former coach of the Indianapolis Colts, told in his own words with the help of co-writer Nathan Whitaker. It is a story of leadership and dependence on God.

From the Foreword, written by Paulette and Denzel Washington, you sense the book is going to be much more than a story of a football coach. One of the last lines of the Foreward sums up much of the book: “The reward of remaining patient and obedient to the will of God is that life becomes fulfilling and satisfying…complete.”

A huge influence on Dungy was his parents, who modeled a relationship with Christ, who stressed the importance of education and who insisted on excellence in every endeavor. Here are two quotes from Dungy’s mother that are passed along to us in the book:

“Its always easier to do things the wrong way, but it’s always best to do them the right way.”

“Excellence that feels it has to be proclaimed, by the mere fact of its proclamation admits the doubt of its existence.”

As the football stories are told, Dungy, unashamedly repeats often his reliance on God for the ‘quiet strength.’ He also speaks plainly that winning isn’t necessarily God’s idea of success.  Here is how Dungy states this:

“God’s definition of success is really one of significance – the significant difference our lives can make in the lives of others. This significance doesn’t show up in win-loss records, long resumes, or the trophies gathering dust on our mantels. It’s found in the hearts and lives of those we’ve come across who are in some way better because of the way we lived.”

It is refreshing to see someone who lives his life in professional sports circles so grounded as a follower of Christ, husband and family man.

Dungy concludes the book revealing to the readers his life goal: “My purpose in life is simply to glorify God.” It might only be stated near the end of the book; however, it is perfectly clear through every page.

Elements of Style

The author Ann Patchett wrote: “The Elements of Style remains an unwavering beacon of light in the grammatically troubled times. I would be lost without it.”

Just recently I was talking to a proficient and popular blogger. During the conversation he mentioned the more blog followers he had the more he was criticized for grammatical and writing style errors. (I know none of my kind readers would ever do this.) To combat this he is making it a habit of reading one section from the classic “Elements of Style” everyday. Now this has become my habit also.

One of my life core values is to be a lifetime learner, so I am always trying to gather knowledge that will help me in leading others, ministry and life. I have a greater appetite for new and deeper things now than I ever did when I was younger. And just think I am not even being given grades to read.

Many of the things in this book I do not remember being taught, so it looks like I will be referencing this book often and probably should have done so before uploading this post.

Worship A Definition

In the book Mad Church Disease by Anne Jackson, she gives this definition of worship:

‘expressing our dependence on the Holy Spirit by reflecting on and celebrating all of the things God has done for us and is to us.”  She then states: “we do this both individually in our day-to-day living and corporately with other believers.”

 

What do you think about this definition of worship?

 

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Leaders Must Not Live By Quotes Alone

Every conference you attend, no matter the subject, is filled with the presenter’s best stuff and much of it is ‘one-liners.’ When you read books for study, it is the good stuff you underline, the one-liners.  

However the one-liners are only that unless they are backed up with wisdom or carried out with conviction.  When I underline something in a book, it is so I can go back to it quickly or as has been the case lately; go back through the book and write down notes later.  

Here are some things I have recently underlined:

From Chasing Francis, by Ian Morgan Cron
‘(people in Medival times) built huge, ornate churches so that people walking into them would feel like they had left one world and entered another reality, the Kingdom of God.’
‘Simple elegance of Francis’s strategy of ministry – simply read the gospel text and live the life you find on its pages.’
“It’s no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching’

From The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make, by Hans Finzel
‘There is nothing in my organization that anyone does that I should not be willing to do myself if it promotes the good of us all.’
‘Work can be enjoyable and workers can do their best when trusted to motivate themselves in their work.’
‘The privilege of leadership is a high calling and adventure.’
‘The greatest ideas bubble up from the workers.’
‘The older an organization, the less room for the truly creative.’
‘Don’t allow your policies and procedures to stifle your brightest stars.’

In a recent blog post Tony Morgan dedicated the entire post to recording ‘one-liners’ of Andy Stanley as he presented at a conference.  It is an interesting post, you ought to take a look.

There is no way to build an agenda for a meeting, plan for the future or motivate your team with just the quotes.  It takes an understanding of the philosophy behind the quotes. Really it takes a lot of hard work and the desire to continue on a journey of study to be the best you can be. It takes weeding out the superficial from the substantial. For me it also takes a reliance on the Holy Spirit to guide my next step.

I will keep reading and underling things to quote. However, quotes are just the icing on the cake and you know man cannot live on icing alone.

Surviving and Thriving After Losing Your Job: a book review

Little did David F. Jones realize when he was asked to share his experiences about his recent job transition that Americans would be facing the toughest job market in many decades. In the book Surviving and Thriving after Losing Your Job, Jones shares of being transitioned out of an upper leadership management position; after almost 30 years in the same industry with the same company.  Throughout the book we are invited into the personal journey that Jones was forced to take. We get a glimpse of the emotions that filled the days right after receiving the news and the intentional decision to let the ‘past be the past’ and quickly move on.

 

There is much more to the book than just a personal story because most of it is filled with practical advice that could help anyone with a job search, whether you are recently unemployed or seeking a job for the first time. Included in this advice is: how to prepare a resume, building a network of business relationships, discovering you passions and purpose, and developing a game plan toward your next position.

 

Practical suggestions for a positive job future run throughout the pages. One that is not business related but repeated often is the author’s dependence on God.  It is very clear in this book that Jones understands and knows he has a personal relationship with God.  So here is a business book that gives practical advice, yet  doesn’t sell the reader on the fact that it is an all up to ‘me’ approach; but that there is a higher power we can place our trust.

Book Review: Mad Church Disease, Overcoming the burnout epidemic

From personal experience and evidence of a heart bathed in God’s grace, Anne Jackson takes us on a journey through the life of one called to ministry. In her book Mad Church Disease, Anne relates personal stories of how a life called to minister can be weighted so much toward doing good for God and others that life becomes out of balance and very unhealthy.

Early in the book, p 37, we see a diagram of four circles, each representing a part of life: physical, social, mental and spiritual. The object of the diagram is to show that life is not balanced unless attention is given to each area. Anne’s frankness about her own struggles made me want to continue reading and see how she brought and continues to strive for balance in her life.

Part two of the book is a more practical way to look at risk factors of burnout and a challenge to examine our own lives for lack of balance. It is in this part that we also find some short interviews with other ministry leaders which reveal their struggles and success as they seek balance.

Throughout the book Anne demonstrates her sense of call to ministry, desire to minister and totally relying on God helps her accomplish what she is called to do. It is in the last pages, the epilogue where she places strong emphasis on the source of strength and balance: relying on God. This is not taken as cliché, but as a fact.

Anne Jackson continues in ministry today and continues to write.  You can follow her journey of faith and ministry at www.flowerdust.net.

Mad Church Disease is not a book just for those in ministry as a vocation, but for anyone who is seeking true balance in their lives.

Moving Books from one list to another

In the last two days I have been able to finally finish two books that had been on my 'currently reading list': The Management Methods of Jesus: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Business and The Root of the Righteous.

Just recently I was having lunch with a friend and former executive pastor of a local church and who has just accepted a position with Compassion International. During this conversation we begin to discuss leadership methods and I asked what had influenced his leadership style, without hesitating he recommended the book The Management Methods of Jesus. The writer takes a look at the life of Jesus and uses examples of how Christ lived and lead people as examples for business leaders to lead companies and their employees.  It is a very easy read and I would recommend this book.

The second book The Root of the Righteous is another in my journey reading some of the writings of A.W. Tozer. I am still amazed at the insight this author can bring to the year 2008 when the words first hit the page in the 1940s and 1950s.