Leaders Who Last by Dave Kraft is probably the most useful book that I’ve read this year. This could be because I’m in the middle of planting a church and it was an extremely timely read, but I think it’s more than that. This is simply an amazingly accessible, smart, time-tested manual on godly leadership. Every single chapter of this book is good. There is nothing in here that’s throw-away. I intentionally read through this book slowly, trying to apply each chapter’s contents before I moved on. Truthfully I could have breezed through it in a day, but I needed to drink in these thoughts deeply. There’s not much in Leader’s Who Last that’s amazingly original, but there are a thousand things that I need to apply to become a better leader. I’ve heard it said of some books, “this book is a companion for life, to be read again and again,” and I’ve often wondered how such a statement could be made about any book other than the Bible. But in my opinion, it’s true of Leaders Who Last. This book should be read again and again and I hope to make it my lifelong companion.
One Caveat…the book cover design says “only 30% of leaders last” but the picture on the cover shows a percentage that is equal to only 16%. Check it out for yourself…kinda funny.
I’m in the midst of preparing a set of talks for middle schoolers that will cover the overarching meta-narrative of Scripture. These talks will walk through the Bible’s grand story and act as a sort of telescope to more clearly bring to light the world’s story from creation to new creation. I’m excited about these talks, and have been reading quite a bit to prepare giving them. A few of the sources I’ve been using are: God’s Big Picture by Vaughan Roberts, The Drama of Scripture by Bartholomew and Goheen, Living at the Crossroads by Bartholomew and Goheen, a set of lectures by Keith Whitfield, and a set of lectures by Jonathan Pennington. All excellent resources.
I just finished reading Living at the Crossroads by Bartholomew and Goheen. It’s a book about developing a Christian worldview that is based upon a proper understanding of the Biblical narrative of Scripture. This is the follow-up book to The Drama of Scripture, which Bart and Go wrote previously about the meta-narrative of Scripture. Living at the Crossroads begins by walking through the basics of a Christian worldview and then examines how this worldview is in constant conflict with the various worldviews that are alive and well in the Western World. The Western world is filled with people who are simultaneously operating out of both a modern and a postmodern worldview. Bart and Go do a rather excellent job of explaining these alternate worldviews and the problems that have developed in the West as a result of them. The last few chapters in the book deal with how Christians can obediently live in a world that is operating out of a false worldview and yet faithfully embody the Christian worldview in the midst of that culture. I probably found these last few chapters of the book the most helpful, but the middle of the book which offered explanations of modernity, postmodernity, consumerism, and global free-market capitalism were also extremely helpful.
I appreciate this book because it’s thought-provoking and even-handed in its approach. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in issues of worldview, meta-narrative, or biblical theology.
This is recent sermon series logo I designed for the (sola)s college ministry. I don’t know if any of you (the readers of this blog) have ever lived in the Southern United States before, but it’s littered with church signs that sometimes contain questionable / confusing messages to say the least. (sola)s is taking some of the most popular church-sign-slogans, deconstructing them, and asking “is this really what we believe.” It’s a good series. You should check it out fo sho.
This is a recent sermon I preached at 24church about service & greatness in the kingdom of God. One of the insights that I received from the Holy Spirit while studying this text is still amazing to me. God is good.
Service is Greatness – by Ben Adkison – 10/17/10 – download audio
This is a banner (actually 1 of 4 banners) that I designed for the (sola)s college ministry a while back. Andy, the college minister (& my brother) needed a set of 4 banners to help communicate the vision of the ministry. I’m a little late posting this (like 5 months late), but it’s actually one of my favorite designs. One of these days I’m going to visit Andy and see what these look like in person.
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