Books We Recommend
Leadership
The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything
by Stephen M.R. Covey
…this book has an important and true message about just how vital trust really is to getting anything done.
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Lead Like Jesus: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time
by Ken Blanchard, Phil Hodges
"The more I read the Bible, the more evident it becomes that everything I have ever taught or written about effective leadership over the past 25 years, Jesus did to perfection. He is simply the greatest leadership role model of all time." -Ken Blanchard
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The Leader's Journey: Accepting the Call to Personal and Congregational Transformation
by Jim Herrington, Robert Creech, Trisha L. Taylor
Many books describe elements of church leadership-- what it is and how to do it-- but very few focus on the process of personal transformation that is central to being able to lead well. The Leader's Journey provides a blueprint and the practical tools needed to transform the lives of pastors and congregational lay leaders so that they can become truly effective leaders.
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A Guide for Women in Religion: Making Your Way from A to Z
by Mary E. Hunt, editor
Mary E. Hunt is the founder of the Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER).
…an indispensable resource for everyone from undergraduate students to emeritae professors involved in the field of religion.
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The Power of Story: Rewrite Your Destiny in Business and in Life
by Jim Loehr
"This epic contribution from Jim Loehr is fully compatible with the prevailing science of human flourishing: More than actual events, people's interpretations of those events -- their stories -- determine their emotional states, and in turn their actions, health, and success in life. If you'd like to re-sculpt your life, the accessible synthesis of science and practice offered here can be a welcomed road map."
-- Barbara L. Fredrickson, PhD, Kenan Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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Religion and Sexuality in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Stephen Ellingson, M. Christian Green
Issues of sexuality and gender are hotly contested in both religious communities and national cultures around the world. In the social sciences, religious traditions are often depicted as inherently conservative or even reactionary in their commitments to powerful patriarchal and pronatalist sexual norms and gender categories. In illuminating the practices of religious traditions in various cultures, the essays collected here expose the diversity of religious rituals and mythologies pertaining to sexuality. In the process the contributors challenge conventional notions of what is normative in our sexual lives.
The scope of the collection is truly global, with essays covering Nigeria, Japan, India, Mexico, Sudan, South Africa, and Newark, New Jersey. Contributors examine an array of sexual practices in a wide range of traditions, including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and indigenous religions in Mesoamerica and other locales. Taken together, these essays illuminate the function of religions as systems of meaning and ethics for individuals and communities struggling to make sense of human embodiment and sexual difference.
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Not Without a Struggle: Leadership Development for African American Women in Ministry
by Vashti M. McKenzie
This is a groundbreaking book written by one of the nation's leading African American clergywomen, Reverend Vashti McKenzie, who provides a cogent historical, theological, and biblical overview of female leadership in the church. McKenzie provides a model based on the "Women Surviving in Ministry" project that promotes fellowship, support and an environment conducive to learning and dialogue among peers and mentors.
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SIGNS OF EMERGENCE is a pick for serious ministry and spirituality holdings, covering the basic of how to organize a church of believers and how to make it a decentralized body with more flexibility than the usual church structure.
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