Follow The Leader

     The Life Giving Leader by Tyler Reagin, is about learning to lead from yourself as opposed to imitating others.  It is about finding yourself and your leadership style.  Reagin does a decent job at explaining what I call, "corporate leadership".   The different personality/leadership type test that he mentions are useful.  I have taken a few and they will reveal the true leader in you.  But to lean on them more than trusting God to make you the leader He wants you to be will counter productive.

     I personally do not feel the "corporate leadership" mentality is a good thing in churches, but I understand Reagin is trying to reach a wide audience.  The Bible list some great qualities for leaders, and in my opinion Reagin missed the mark on those issues.

     Leadership should be life given, it should lift up, encourage, and reproduce good leaders. On those points I agree with the book.  To learn to lead from your truest self, yes you must discover your strengths and weaknesses, but you must first learn to lean on God for wisdom.

     As with most leadership books there are some good things to be taken from The Life Giving Leader, I just didn't find that many.  Our leadership needs to get back to the biblical qualities of a leader and leave the "corporate leadership" to Walmart, Amazon, and Facebook.

"I received this book from the publisher through their book launch program."

#PRHpartner  

Let There Bee Light

 "I received this book from the publisher through their book launch program."


Let me state from the beginning if you are a babylonbee.com follower, you will probably
enjoy "How to be a Perfect Christian."  It is written in the true satire of the website.  The book is meant to entertain you.  If you have a sense of humor and love satire then this book is for you. 


If on the other hand, you would rather get your theology from serious writers and main stream books, I recommend you pass on this one.  While I will admit, I am not a fan or follower of babylonbee.com, I can see where some like their website.  This book takes a humorous, albeit, some will say, irreverent look at what it takes to be a perfect christian in today's world.

The book is not, and I can not stress this enough, meant to be taken seriously.  If you are the the type who feels humor and satire have no place in the church or religion, then order "Just As I Am" by Billy Graham.

#PRHpartner 



 

The Prayer Wheel

I selected this book with some hesitation and reservation.  First let me say, my background in religion was one that never taught on the subject of how to pray.  While I was taught the prayer most refer to as the "Lord's Prayer" I was not taught to pray it daily.  So when I started "The Prayer Wheel" it took some change in my theology.
I read through the book in  a week just to get a feel for the premise.  At first it was a little difficult for me to follow.  But after the fourth I was starting to understand the idea better.  The Prayer Wheel is a simple guide to lead you into prayer.  One of the main concepts you need to remember as stated on page 14, "Feel free to adapt the language for what feels most comfortable to you."  That is key, make the prayer wheel your guide but make it personal.
Broken into 7 weeks of daily prayer the wheel will take you into a deep, closer relationship, with God.  I have already started to go back through the book and incorporate the daily prayers into my current prayer time.  While I can not say with certainty that I have experienced any great change in my prayer life, the subject of prayer is some what subjective.  After all, we don't always get an answer as soon as we pray.
But for those who desire a great prayer life,and that should be all of us, this book may be the answer to your prayers.

“I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review"

Shaken by Tim Tebow

I had no idea what to expect when I read Tim Tebow's book, "Shaken".   Too many times with celebrity authors, the book is more about THEM and less about anything that relates to me.  Tim's book is nothing like that.  Oh sure he talks about some of the high points in his career, but he deals more with what it is like to have it all and then loose it all.  And then he takes you on this incredible journey about his work off the field.
I knew Tim was a true Christian in every sense of the word, but I never knew how much ministry he actually does.  He uses his fame to advance the Kingdom of Christ and he shares some amazing stories of how special needs kids are helping him to find purpose and understanding when they share a common bond, that he like them has been shaken at times.
Tim's book is well written and easy to read.  And the personal stories he shares gives the reader a small glimpse into what his life really is.  Leaving the fame, the glory, and the game on the field, Tim walks into prisons, hospitals, and home to reach out to people most would shun or choose to forget.

“I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review"  

Open To The Spirit

Scot McKnight brings back to the Christian debate is Glossolalia, (speaking in tongues) still for us today.  Long has been the debate that this Acts Chapter 2 experience was only for the Apostles and the church at that time.  I think Scot does a good job at not pushing too hard in either directions of for or against.  He does however at times leaving me to wonder just what his opinion is.  But maybe that is a good thing. After all the title is "Open to the Spirit."
There are many examples from people who have told in their own words how they received the gift of glossolalia.  And Scot's intentions seem to be, at least to this reader, to just lay out the experiences of everyday people, who by being open to the Spirit, received a great infilling of the Holy Spirit.
While the debate will rage on and those who believe in the tongues will adamantly claim that their is a separate, distinct, gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, their will be just as many who say that their is only one baptism.  That is where Scot's book will simply lead you to a place to make your choice.  His desire is to just lay out both sides of the argument and ask you to pray a simple pray and be open to the Spirit.  

“I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review" 

Whisper by Mark Batterson

Mark Batterson just can't write a bad book!  Like his previous books, once I started reading "Whisper" I could not put it down.  I always enjoy Mark's personal stories that he weaves into his books.  Mark gives solid biblical principles on how to hear the voice of God.

Wonderfully written, Mark lays the foundation needed to understand the power of the whisper and why the whisper is so powerful.
Then, Mark shares how to discover the Seven Languages of God.  Like a radio station, the sound waves are being broadcast, but we do not hear them.  Why?  Because the receiver has to be tuned to the proper frequency.  And the same is true if we want to hear the voice of God.  God is always speaking, but we must be tuned to Gods' frequency in order to hear Him.

Of particular interest to me was the  very first chapter, "The Bravest Prayer".  If you have ever faced a serious health issue this chapter will encourage you to rise up and pray your greatest prayer yet.  What are you afraid that God can't do?  After reading just the first chapter my life was profoundly changed.  God still speaks, we just need to tune out the noise and learn how to hear the voice of God.

“I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review"

The Satisfied Soul

I thought I would give John Piper's book, "The Satisfied Soul" a second chance to impress me.  Having read some others by him that were not my cup of tea, I found this one was produced from three previous books Pierced by the Word, Life as a Vapor, and A Godward Heart.  There are 120 days of devotionals, two-four pages, each dealing with different topics in which we find our selves dealing with today.  
My issue with this book as well as the others by Mr. Piper, is I do not agree with his Calvinist views.   Having said that there is still some good things to take away from "The Saisfied Soul"   The book can lead you to a deeper study of Gods' word.
I will say this is the first devotional I have read that actually dealt with current world issues including terrorism, racism, mental health, marital challenges, politics, and the media.  While I do not agree with some of the view points, it is still part of the society we live in and we must contend for the faith.
“I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review"