Review: Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence For Every Believer

Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence For Every Believer by J. Oswald Sanders
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This title provides for a refreshing, enriching and encouraging read. Sanders writes brilliantly - with clarity, insight and wisdom from being an elder statesman of theology. My guess is that it is a condensation of a lifetime of work - given the broad scope of topics and range of aptly chosen quotations from notable theologians sprinkled generously across the title (adding a welcome dose of added comprehension and intelligibility to oft theoretical propositions).

This is a masterpiece and wonderful labour of love - meticulously arranged and concise enough for readers to devour chapters at a time. Be careful not to rush though, as the material provides plenty of reflective opportunities. I especially appreciated the fine balance between brevity and depth - no extra ink was split in establishing the substantives of each chapter. Only in very rare segments of the book did I feel that more elaboration or illustrations would be rehired.

While I did not read the earlier editions of this title (and therefore cannot comment on the utility of editorial changes made), I found that the content highly comprehensible. I also note the effort (and added cost) to add a whiff of blue colour to the book. The contrast provided by the blue headings broke the monotony of otherwise black walls of text - I hope that more publishers would invest in such (seemingly) minor yet effective formatting decision. The unique texture of the book’s cover is another nice touch - adding an element of durability and quality to a book that would invariably be lent to others.

I heartily recommend this title to all Christians (not just leaders) and give it the 6 stars it utterly deserves.

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Review: Leading Across Cultures: Effective Ministry and Mission in the Global Church

Leading Across Cultures: Effective Ministry and Mission in the Global Church by James Plueddemann
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Although Plueddemann's CV would lead one to infer his great depth of experience, it somehow does not translate to how he writes. I felt that if Plueddemann could have injected a large dose of brevity into the book, it could potentially provide an engaging read. However, many substantives were repeated more than necessary, and the second chapter about his own lengthy leadership journey would not appeal to or interest readers who do not know him.

Having different contributors at the end of each chapter to provide their own commentary on the topic was a nice touch, but not enough to save the rather mediocre content of the book. The many case studies and personal accounts shared in the book were simply not as intense/gripping or insightful as those in the other excellent books I've reviewed on cross-cultural missions (namely Sherwood Lingenfelter's Ministering Cross-Culturally and Duane Elmer's Cross-Cultural Servanthood).

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Review: Developing Emotionally Mature Leaders: How Emotional Intelligence Can Help Transform Your Ministry

Developing Emotionally Mature Leaders: How Emotional Intelligence Can Help Transform Your Ministry by Aubrey Malphurs
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This is a rather mediocre book, especially when you compare it to Aubrey Malphurs' other titles. After all, he is one of my favourite authors when it comes to Ecclesiology and Church Growth. At first, I thought it was because of my academic background in Psychology that made me feel that the book lacked substance and depth, but it seems that my gut feel was affirmed by the other reviewers on good reads as well. This book would appeal only to the extremely novice readers, for example, missionary teams made up of teenagers. Adults would probably be frustrated at the content.

The opening story caught my attention, but it promised too much of a magical solution to self-combusting missionary teams. The content was strangely unengaging and a chore to go through; I had to force myself to keep reading. It felt like he was harping on the same point over and over again, and I was hoping that Malphurs would "get on with it!" The nail in the coffin was how it seemed rather weak on theology (even though he had two chapters about the "biblical theology" of emotions") and if I were blunt, seemed more of a proof text approach. I can only hope that this is a rushed piece of work and that subsequent revisions would be thoroughly edited, and not that he has exhausted all ideas and can now only produce a subpar material. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this book.

I received this book from Baker Publishing Group for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.

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Review: The Cross and Christian Ministry: Leadership Lessons from 1 Corinthians

The Cross and Christian Ministry: Leadership Lessons from 1 Corinthians by D.A. Carson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Don Carson is my go-to guy when I'm looking to purchase NT commentaries (I consult his New Testament Commentary Survey) and I also enjoy listening to his expositional sermons. But why does this fanboy not give a 5 star rating? In short, the book was great but not exceptional.

While overall the content is classic Carson - relatively easy to follow, engaging, faithful to Scripture, thoroughly insightful and the stories/background explanations being ever so apt to illustrate archaic concepts - I felt that it would have been great for him to revise the content slightly. Being first published in 1993, the 2018 edition comes with a new cover but identical content. Carson would probably have been able to update a couple of illustrations or beef up the material with new nuggets of insight or a varied explanation to which he has since picked up... The lack of pictorial graphics or diagrams also make it a slight challenge to read for today's attention deficit readers.

The bite-sized expositions are still a great resource for sermon preparation and academic research, but I'll be sure to go to my digital edition rather than the print copy for easy cross-referencing to the biblical text!

I received this book from Baker Publishing Group's Blogger Review Program for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.

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Review: After 50 Years of Ministry: 7 Things I'd Do Differently and 7 Things I'd Do the Same

After 50 Years of Ministry: 7 Things I'd Do Differently and 7 Things I'd Do the Same by Bob Russell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I requested for a review copy as I had read Russell's excellent "When God Builds a Church" - if you have yet to read it, I'd highly recommend it! However, I had half expected that as with most megachurch pastors, Russell could only have authored only one good book (with the others being of a so-so standard). I am most happy to admit that I could not be more wrong, this book has very much cemented its place on the rare never-to-be-sold-away 6 star (out of 5) gem.

As a senior minister/preacher who has retired for slightly over a decade, Russell writes earnestly, honestly and authentically; I did not send that he had anything to prove nor axe to grind - he simply wanted to bless the next generation of pastors/preachers. What with? With the vastamount of wisdom and experience he had accumulated - which often shared with an engaging, self-depreciating sense of humour. The appeal of and winsomeness of the illustrations alone would be worth the price of the book's retail value; I found myself to be genuinely interested whenever a real-world example was coming up and savoured every bite of it! I'd be hard pressed to pick which section of the book I preferred; I found both his regrets and best practices to be immensely handy.

As a seminary student with little ministry experience, this most wonderful labour of love has provided me with a glimpse of what forty years of faithful service would look like - warts and all - and provide endless food for thought! I could possibly spend a couple of months journeying a chapter of two on a weekly basis with a trusted friend in reflection, making plans and self-evaluation, and perhaps 5 years later, look back at this book and still find that it is still going to be incredibly useful! What I found exceptionally helpful was how Russell often shared about the temptation for self-glorification and how he sought to combat it - for good measure, Russell would add in a humourous story of how ordinary (or second rate) he truly was in reality when compared to his compatriots and staff.

In summary, this book was incredibly practical, highly inspirational and very realistic. I did not close the covers with a sense of how great a man Russell was - I went away with a sense of awe for the God Russell lovingly served for four decades. That perhaps, if a guy as ordinary and oddball as Russell could go the distance in the Lord's service, maybe I too, can also!

I received this book from the Moody Publishers Newsroom program for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.

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Review: Leadership Axioms: Powerful Leadership Proverbs

Leadership Axioms: Powerful Leadership Proverbs by Bill Hybels
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Simply brilliant. This is a book worth many times its retail price; the many many gems gleamed from years of experience (and the related tears and pain) are now available through an extremely engaging presentation. Why make the mistakes and go through the painful experiences when we can learn from our elders that have served faithfully in Christ's service for so long?

Perhaps designed to be read one at a time, I could not stop myself from putting the book down. If you would like to bless a leader or pastor for a special occasion, you cannot go too wrong with a twin gift set of Hybel's Leadership Axioms and Courageous Leadership.

I highly recommend this book. It is going to be worthwhile to periodically re-read it.

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Practical Advice for Service Leading and Annoucements

Mark Ashton and C. J. Davis reflect on Archbishop Thomas Cranmer's impactful contribution of the "Book of Common Prayer," and how the Anglican church today should apply the principles which sanctioned its writing.

Their helpful advise is applicable beyond their denomination (Anglian), as their heart of service unto the Lord and their fellow believers is something we all can learn from.

Ashton and Davis highlight the importance of planning for the service leader. That person would have to, as an offering unto the Lord, spend effort and time deliberating how to strike a balance between "gripping the interest and attention of the congregation, and communicating the seriousness of what is happening." The affirm the helpfulness of involving new individuals into the role, so as not to fall into having the role "restricted to some priestly caste." For them, training of new service leaders would require a balance of "encouragement and criticism."

With regard to announcements, they reiterate the importance of planning. They affirm that saints are not to be so involved within the church activities that they are unable to interact with the social world "outside," and that guilt should not be the main motivator to force congregants to attend activities/events. The authors suggest notice sheets and information desks as ways to further improve the communicating of announcements.


From Pages 95-8 of Worship by the Book

Leading the Service
The role of the service leader becomes more significant as more careful planning goes into the service itself. Well-prepared leading can make the difference between outsiders feeling welcome or not. It can help the congregation to grasp the theme of the service. But over-preparation can lead to dullness, and there is a place for spontaneity, impromptu humor, and off-the-cuff remarks as well.

The person leading the service must seek to achieve a balance between gripping the interest and attention of the congregation, and communicating the seriousness of what is happening. Some service leading is good at holding attention but communicates a sense of superficiality. It may be characterized by humor and quick wit but convey the flippancy of a TV chat show. Another style of leading is minimalist (often the refuge of the person who has spent little or no time in preparation). It may be justified on grounds of "not drawing attention to the personality of the leader," but it misses a valuable opportunity to edify the congregation. The bare announcement of a hymn or song number with no reference to the meaning of the words we are about to sing usually indicates that this is one part of the service that the service leader has not bothered to prepare. Recall David's "I will not offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing" (2 Sam 24:24). All too often Anglican church services have amounted to "sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving" that cost very little, certainly in terms of time spent in preparation by the person who leads them. No wonder they have been so ineffective for edification and evangelism and so monstrously dull for those who come (or prefer, perhaps wisely, not to come)!

If service leading is kept mainly in the hands of one person, it has the advantages of continuity, familiarity, and (so long as that person is suitably gifted) a uniformly high standard of leading. If the service leader is also the main Bible teacher in the church, the service leading will be another way he is able to teach doctrine to the congregation.

On the other hand, where service leading is a team ministry, the individuals involved may be able to prepare their own (smaller) part of the service in greater detail, with closer attention to its different aspects. A team ministry also publicly displays the corporate nature of the church's ministry and provides an opportunity for new individuals to be drawn into the role. Wherever possible, we should avoid giving the impression that Christian ministry is a one-man show.

In this matter it is probably best to try to have our cake and eat it, hard though that may be to achieve! We need the example of strong, theologically astute service leading to set the standard, but we also need to make clear that this role is not restricted to some priestly caste. It is healthy to see a new face and to hear a new voice fulfilling this ministry from time to time. But it must be done as well as possible, and that will mean training people to draw the best out of them by encouragement and criticism. Good leading draws less attention to the personality of the leader and focuses more attention on the purpose of the service.

The Notices (or "Announcements" in much of the English-speaking world)
These are often one of the dullest parts of a church service. But while the weekly services are the hub of the church's structured life, there will be other meetings radiating out like spokes from that hub, and the life of a church fellowship during the rest of the week is important. Ideally the church leadership will be checking very carefully that church activities do not grow and grow so as to invade and monopolize the leisure time of the congregation members and thus remove them from all normal social intercourse with the non-Christian world. But there will be some midweek meetings of the church that need to be advertised in the notices on Sundays.

So we should not be ashamed of the notices or try to stick them away in some corner of the service where they will do least damage. But neither should we let them become the opportunity for the minister to "have a go" at the congregation, heaping guilt onto them for past and possible future sins of omission, like failing to book for the Parish Weekend. No church should run on guilt, and the notice about an important meeting (like a monthly prayer meeting) must be carefully worded.

Once again, preparation is the key. The notices must be carefully prepared. They will not be well delivered if they are drawn from scraps of paper hastily assembled in the vestry just before the service begins. Careful preparation enables us to convey important information in the most efficient and concise way. Notices have a notorious tendency to fill more and more time. They need to be pruned of all excess verbiage. Where a notice sheet can be provided, it will save valuable service time. Or attention may be directed to a notice board, where further details of an event are available for those interested. Larger churches will sooner or later discover the value of an Information Desk, where inquiries of all sorts can be dealt with individually and sensitively, and where publicity handouts and fliers can be available in quantity.

Hybels on a leader's need to turn a vision into action

From Page 51 of Courageous Leadership

I run across an alarming number of leaders who would rather cast vision than to roll up their sleeves and attempt, with the Spirit's power, to achieve it!

Such leaders eventually lose credibility. I've never known a leader who could keep the vision hot and the team motivated indefinitely without eventually being able to say to the troops, "we're making progress. That dream we've been dreaming, that prayer we've been praying, that picture of the future that's fired us up--well, it's happening. We're not just blowing smoke."

A leader who can't point to actual progress will eventually have to answer an awkward question from someone on the team: "oh great Visionary One, when might we get some indication that we're getting closer to the destination?" A question like that should tip off a leader that teammates will not ensure mere vision casting indefinitely. They need to see results.

Carson on theologians and administrators in church leadership

In local churches (and in institutions which claim to be confessionally biblical)... you must have at their head, people who are not only theologically trained but who have been tested in matters of discernment, who have an ultimate say.

And under them they need a wide battery of capable administrators. (Far be it for me to criticise administrators, they are blessings sent from God. Administration is a charasmatic gift, do you remember that? Thank God for administrators!)

But at the same time, administrators are rarely the most discerning regarding the pattern of sound teaching, rarely.


From (Time: 40:51 to 41:36) of
Motivation for Ministry

You may agree or disagree with D A Carson, but ignore his warning at great peril.

Review: Boundaries for Leaders: Results, Relationships, and Being Ridiculously in Charge

Boundaries for Leaders: Results, Relationships, and Being Ridiculously in Charge by Henry Cloud
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After having read so so many books, am so glad that Cloud delivers one that I like so so very much! He draws from a lifetime of psychological study and experience in consulting with CEOs in writing this book. Real life stories are used to great effect to illustrate complicated or abstract principles. Sometimes he gets lost in retelling the stories that he forgets to reinforce the point (and we have to refer to the subtitle to figure out what he is trying to say).

Nevertheless, I highly recommend this book! Alongside Hybel's Courageous Leadership and McIntosh & Rima's Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership, this book would feature in my must-give book list to any leader I care about.

Here's a quick summary of the gems in the book (spoiler warning!):

Leaders can motivate or demotivate their people (xiv) and one of the aspects of a leader's behaviour that make everything work is his/her "boundaries," which is a structure that determines what will exist and what will not (xv).

A leader is always going to get a combination of two things; what you create and what you allow (p15).

In the language of Apple, 'who is the DRI, the directly responsible individual? (who is over and allows the 'problem' employee to be difficult or not perform; if that employee is confused about the strategy or direction, who is it that sets them; p15).

The central principle of boundaries is ownership. Leaders are the one who define and create the boundaries that drive the behaviour that forms the identity of teams and culture and sets the standards of performance (p16).

Highlighted how returning Apple CEO Steve Jobs diagnosed the problem as a lack of focus and pruned 70% of models and products with a much-needed clarity through setting a positive boundary. The employees were to just make four great products: "consumer," "pro", "desktop" and "portable" (p19).

People dont leave jobs - they leave bosses (p56).

The importance that there is no relational consequences to making a mistake. That is what people need from their leaders, the knowledge that their leader is for their success, and if a mistake is made, that leader will stand beside them and help them learn and improve, not punish them... a "getting better" orientation goes much further than a "being perfect" orientation (p71).

Our brains need positive relationships to grow and function well (p83).

Most leaders are "meeting'ed to death" ... most of these meetings are not doing much to build connection and unity. The answer is usually not more but different meetings of a certain type and more connection as a result of whatever meeting do occur (p86).

In chapter 6 (p103-108), through a real life scenario, Cloud highlights the far reaching effects a leader with negative thinking can have on an entire organisation. This is in contrast to another company's founder who started it with an ingenious plan while still in bankruptcy (p103); this guy does not suffer from such negative thinking.

In contrast to learned helplessness (p108-116), a leader can focus his team's energy on working on controllable factors that directly affects the desired outcomes of the organisation (p126).

In chapter 8 (p153-166), Cloud illustrates the term "dead fish" with a real life scenario, which means something like the elephant in the room that needs to be addressed, in order for the team to accomplish a specific vision and mission.

The job of the leader is to form a team around a common purpose or goal, and then work with the team to figure out what that team is going to have to value and behave like to reach that goal (p165-6). It does not belong to a person, but to the person as a whole. As a result, it is going to take the entire team to make it happen. That is the essence of a team (p170).

The entertaining accounts of how people wanted feedback given to them demonstrated how important it was to get to know each individual's communication style and vulnerabilities. The needed feedback and difficult-to-hear truths prevented future hiccups, as they knew better how to deal with each other (p175).

We make investments when we feel trust, (p186-7) which grows when:
-we feel understood (p173-180)
-we display credibility and character (p180-3)
-we believe in someone's capacity and ability (p183-4)
-someone has a built a good track record (p184-6)

While internal advisers are essential, outside ones are different. They protect you by having no conflict of interest; they are only there to help you, not to serve themselves, if they are good ones (p203).

Set very, very strong boundaries with yourself against any tendency you might have toward defensiveness, blame, or denial when given feedback. the weakest leaders are threatened by feedback, and often completely closed off to insights that are so easily seen by others. Strong leaders embrace feedback, seek to understand it, and put it to use. Even when they may disagree, they dont become defensive; instead they engage in dialogue and honest inquiry to figure out where the gaps between their intentions and others' perceptions come from. The feedback may be wrong, but they embrace it to understand it nevertheless. You can embrace and not agree at the same time. Move toward it (p208-9).

Dont be ruled by fear (p212-3) or put off change (p214-6): take steps toward overcoming the fear rather put off something indefinitely.

Set boundaries on your weaknesses (p219-221) and confine yourself to do what you are gifted at, don't meddle in affairs that would result in operational chaos.

It is of utmost importance to do a time audit to identify gaps between stated priorities and time/effort spent. What is vital to achieve your vision? Are those getting on the schedule first? Give them first priority but assign them a time and place, so that they actually get done (p221-6).

There is only so much time available and if one says yes to something, that means no to something else. (p224)

Give yourself time to refuel after an energy sapping activity, eg. high-conflict situations (p225) or draining people (p226).

When you realise that you are ridiculously in charge, it does not mean you are in charge of others or in charge of what goes on in the organization. It also means that you are ridiculously in charge of yourself (p230-1).

There are two kinds of high level leaders. One is defined by the work. The other is in a process of actively defining hte work, and they do that by first defining themselves and taking charge of who they are going to be and how they are going to work. They have good self-leadership boundaries (p231).

Far too many leaders fail because they think plenty about the plan and not enough about the people (p234). Do all of these things, and you will have science on your side. More important, you will have the people on your side, people who want to work for and with a leader who engenders an environment that attends to our strongest human desires: to connect, create and grow (p236).

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Review: Practicing Greatness: 7 Disciplines of Extraordinary Spiritual Leaders

Practicing Greatness: 7 Disciplines of Extraordinary Spiritual Leaders by Reggie McNeal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thankfully, this book was a compulsory course reading requirement and proved to be a joy to read! It made me consider wanting to purchase other titles from the same author. The book consists of some thoughts and processes that (as I observe how my new church functions), I could possibly highlight for consideration to the pastoral team. As an instinctive problem-solver, I unconsciously seek out more efficient methods and processes of my surroundings. I thought that the notion of benchmarking was brilliant, with its potential for vision, modelling and affirmation to be caught from a posture of rest from service.

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Review: Courageous Leadership

Courageous Leadership by Bill Hybels
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thankfully I read the book without knowing the identity of this certain Bill Hybels. If I knew, I would most probably not have even picked up the book! I would have missed the opportunity to get a glimpse of the inner workings of this man of God (because of my negative perception of Willow Creek and the visitor-friendly church model).

In the introduction, Hybels claims that he waited thirty years to write this book, and that Courageous leadership is the one he feels most strongly about. Some great advice for idealistic and naive seminary students like myself, who understand and affirm deep concepts but have not yet tried to apply them to the real world: "the words and ideas that fill the pages to follow are not abstract concepts to me; they represent the activity and passion of my life" (p11) and "this is not a book on leadership theories, but rather on proven leadership practice" (p12).

I first read this book when I chanced upon it two years ago (then 2013), and I was so blessed that I purchased one to keep (as a bible school student, we have to be extremely selective in the books we choose to buy/keep - otherwise we would end up with many books that we would never pick up again, and that we would have a big headache trying to figure out what to do with them if we were to pursue further studies overseas or go for missions). And to write this review, I'm reading it again.

I recall an exchange I had with two of my seminary classmates yesterday (9 Oct 2015). The topic was on whether we preferred to pastor a small (about 200 people strong) or a larger (about 2000 people strong) church. One of them joked that I would lead a megamega church of two million (to put that in perspective, here in Singapore we have 5.5million people). I searched my heart for a reply, and this is what I come up with, "I think I'm a better teacher than I am a pastor. I truly do not know how, because I have never had a good pastor until about I met my first about three years ago. I need somebody to teach me or else I would never know." The reason I share the exchange, is because I thoroughly believe that we need good leaders and good pastors. Or else the younger generation simply will regard the term good pastor-leader as an oxymoron.

Courageous Leadership is one of top two leadership books I would recommend (the other being Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership by McIntosh & Rima - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...). If you would like to bless a leader or pastor for a special occasion (maybe the ones who you do not like, need to read these more than the ones you do like), you will not go too wrong with a twin gift set of pairing up Courageous leadership with his other book titled Leadership Axioms (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...). They are often found in a bundle of three, together with the Call to Lead, but I am not as fond of this as much as I am about the former two.

This labour of love is the fruit of after he concluded that his "thirty-year graduate class on leadership-fleshed out in the real-life laboratory of a local church-had finally prepared [him] to write about the strategic importance of the spiritual gift of leadership" (p12). Hybels asks of us this profound call to action: "will the men and women who have been entrusted with leadership gifts take their gifts seriously, develop them fully, and deploy them courageously, so that the willing and gifted believers in their churches can work together to make a difference in the world?" (p27).

It could be argued that the Crazy Busy (cf. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...) Singaporean believer and the Church he attends may tend toward being more inward than outward looking; the Singapore church exists for itself and efforts to bring forth the gospel of Jesus Christ may not be the primary personal responsibility of every member. To this problem, we have one-trick response - events and events and more events.


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