First ever Wordless Wednesday post

Transforming Church in Rural America

I got a free copy of “Transforming Church in Rural America” by Shannon O’Dell from Booksneeze.com for review.
It took me awhile to review it, as I was unsure about how I felt about what he had to say. In some circles, Shannon O’Dell is a ‘divisive’ character, to put it mildly. His book is part how-to, part self-help for church leaders in rural churches. As such, I’d recommend it as reading for any member of a rural church, whether you agree with how O’Dell grew the church he pastored, or not, reading this book will give you insight into how it was done.
While much of what Brand New Church has done is laudable, I don’t feel it would have been possible without some potentially unethical political maneuvering early in his tenure there. I have attended churches which use the ‘congregationally-led system’ where most of the votes can not pass with out a majority of the congregation’s assent. And, yes, in a small, rural church this majority can be hard won. But, O’Dell freely admits to asking the deacons to let him pick a “research team” to examine the church’s bylaws to see what would be needed to “allow us to work most efficiently and (most importantly) most biblically”, which he then, by his own admission, filled with like-minded people. When he says that he did not let on that he “knew where this process would take [them]“, it gives the impression that the end result was a foregone conclusion. That the “research team” was simply a formality to give an air of legitimacy to his proposed changes in the church’s structure. It all sounded a little too Machiavellian, for me. The next linchpin in getting the new bylaws approved was that, in spite of being available for a month before the vote, few (if any) actually read the proposed changes until (according to the book) the night before the vote.
Aside from all that, the book does offer some valuable insight into ways small churches can do much with limited resources.

The King’s Christmas List by Eldon Johnson

Product Detail ISBN: 1400316456 ISBN-13: 9781400316458 Format: Hardcover Trim Size:9.10 x 11.20 x 0.20 Style#: 9781400316458 Page Count: 32 Carton Qty: 36

I got a free copy of “The King’s Christmas List” by Eldon Johnson from Tommy Nelson Publishing for review. I picked this one mostly because my 3 year-old son loves books, and lately he’d been having me read the Christmas book that got last year to him at bedtime. So, we read “The King’s Christmas List” tonight.

Inspired

Earlier this week, the lovely and talented Kerri over at Damn You, Little Rock wrote a post about her life’s soundtrack that resonated with me a bit. I started thinking about music, story and life. Music is a mnemonic. In our associative memory strong connections get built between a song and our reaction to it. It can be tied to a moment, an emotion, a person, anything and once that connection is made it can be hard to shake. That’s what mnemonics are for. If they were easy to forget, they wouldn’t be very useful.
So, what songs would be in my soundtrack? Which songs have strong associations for me? What music would underscore the scenes of my life?

Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado

Product Detail ISBN: 0849920698 ISBN-13: 9780849920691 Format: Jacketed Hardcover Trim Size:6.30 x 9.30 x 0.80 Style#: 9780849920691 Page Count: 240 Carton Qty: 24

A free copy of Max Lucado’s new book, “Outlive Your Life” was provided to me by the publisher,Thomas Nelson, via their BookSneeze book review program.
100% of the proceeds from this books sales are being given to World Vision and “other ministries of faith-based compassion.”
Max’s new book is challenging and encouraging. Using the early church as an example, he encourages us to “do more than read about the book of Acts”, to have a positive impact on the world that can continue long after we’re gone. He expresses this well in the book’s subtitle, “You Were Made to Make a Difference”.