So here is what I am currently reading…
“The Bible…English Standard Version“…Primarily as of late the books of 1st & 2nd Timothy –God
“The Acts of the Apostles” —Ellen G. White
“Evangelism” –Ellen G. White
“How to Grow An Adventist Church” –Russell Burrill
“The Art of the Start” –Guy Kawasaki
“Church Planter” –Darrin Patrick
“Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.” –Ron Chernow
“Poke the Box” –Seth Godin
“Necessary Endings” –Henry Cloud
“Reality Check” –Guy Kawasaki
“Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream” –David Platt
…Don’t be impressed I’m a really slow reader so I probably will be reading these same books for the rest of the year:)
Oh and I am also listening to…
“Four Obsessions of An Extraordinary Executive” –Patrick Lencioni
All but the first 4 titles and the Lencioni audio book, I am reading on my Kindle, which I love! Thank you Christina!
Is this the only blog you read? Most blogs I read I have discovered through the testimony of friends and or people I respect. You may not consider me a friend and you may not respect me, but I hope you will at least for curiosity sake check out some blogs I am going to introduce you to today:
on a wild horse | doing my best to blend in : This blog is actually written by my little sister, Erin. Erin received her degree in “Writing” I believe, yeah I didn’t know they had a degree in that either…yeah you’re right that limits the job field:) But all of that is okay because my little sister is the greatest stay-at-home mom ever! She writes about her experiences as a mom of two and surrogate mom for my two. Even if you cannot relate to this type of life, that is okay, because she is a gifted writer and I think just in general you will enjoy her caustic wit and self-deprecation (if you can get over the fact that she writes everything in lower case, still bugs me a little, but it is her trademark). So check it out and subscribe if you like it.
gastrobro | GI wannabe : This blog is the blog of my brother-in-law, Chad, yes we share the same name.
Quick story about that: A lady in church comes up to me, “Pastor Chad I met your brother.” Me: “I don’t have a brother.” Lady: “Yes your brother Chad.” Me: “Oh yeah my brother-in-law.” Lady: “NO your brother.” Me: “He’s actually my brother-in-law.” Lady: “He said he was your brother.” Me: *Confused stare* as I ponder how to deal with a member that A.) Thinks I don’t know whether or not I actually have a brother B.) A member that thinks my parents would actually name both of their sons, “CHAD.”
Sidebar over: Chad’s blog are the ramblings of a Medical Resident. Chad is a resident in Fresno, soon to be chief resident, and he is working on his writing skills through blogging…or maybe he is just wanting to share his brilliance with the world! Either way I am not medical at all and I enjoy his blog, probably because it is more about him and his outlook on things than pure medicine. He also throws in experience of his life as a dad and husband to the crazy sister you will read about above.
Modern Ekklesia | Some thoughs on the intersection of church, leadership, and technology : This blog is written by my friend, Rodlie Ortiz. In my opinion Rodlie is one of the most gifted young pastors in our denomination! I hope that one day I get to work with him or for him. Rodlie’s blog is beneficial to anyone in leadership whether you are a pastor or not. It is beneficial to anyone interested in technology.
Thoughts from The White Board : This blog I have mentioned before. It is written by Jason Lombard. Jason owns a marketing and design agency, Anagram Design Werks her in the Central Valley and he is also one of the Elders at Visalia Seventh-day Adventist Church (a site he built and designed). I read Jason’s blog because I sit with him each and every week and learn from him, so I figure I should read what he writes as well!
Seth’s Blog : If you read my blog you will read quotes from Seth Godin a lot. I believe he is brilliant!
Michael Hyatt | Intentional Leadership : The first blog I ever read with any consistency was, Modern Ekklesia, there Rodlie introduced me to Michael Hyatt and I have been hooked ever since. I believe ALL leaders should read Michael Hyatt and then folk that just have a curiosity about doing things well, should be reading Hyatt’s blog as well!
running: the dawn : My friend Gina Creek in this blog writes about her experiences as a runner. She is writes with great honesty and her growth as a runner is inspiring to me! She went from being a well over 4:30 marathoner to a Boston Qualifier!
Well those are some of the blogs I read. I hope you will check them out. Please share with me the blogs you think I should read, I am always open to reading and learning more!
Seth Godin is a genius voice for our time. Anyone that leads or wants to be a person of influence should spend some time gleaning insights from the things that come out of Godin’s brain.
<p>Exclusive interview with Seth Godin from GiANT Impact on Vimeo.</p>
I love that last line: “That is your opportunity to say what you believe and see who follows.” –Godin
The North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists has come out with a new initiative, “REACH North America” I believe the foci of this initiative are spot on, that said I am concerned. I am concerned because while the language is new and well focused, I worry that the methods are going to be the “same ‘ole same ‘ole”. Why do I have this worry? Because the first major event related to REACH is a Net Evangelism event. This event is taking place in the Fall of 2011 and already I have received a number of things in the mail (both snail mail and e-mail) promoting this event. It seems this is the major thrust of the NAD’s strategy for this year. I believe in evangelism, I have no problem with Net events, but I am challenged by the reality that our rate of growth has been in decline for the last couple of decades and yet we seem to be going back to the same well over and over again. In the mid to late 90’s and into the early ’00’s we had numerous Net events. I personally was blessed by two of these events tremendously, Net ’96 and Net ’98, that said my blessing doesn’t negate the reality that these were the major evangelistic events of the last couple decades and yet here we are in 2010 trying to figure out how to stem the decline of our church in North America. So we are in decline even though we had Net Events throughout the last two decades, and what are we pushing with great might this year again? Another Net event! The definition of stupidity according to Albert Einstein is, “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” Please hear me, I am not saying Net events should be eliminated, I just believe if we think a Net event is going to play a major role in stemming our decreased growth, and I hope I am wrong, but I am afraid we’re just being “stupid.” I believe Seth Godin’s counsel is key here, “If it’s a new problem, perhaps it demands a new approach. If it’s an old problem, it certainly does.” Folks after 15-20 years of this struggle to reach North America the problem is an old problem, it definitely demands a new approach not the same ‘ole same ‘ole!