Earlier this Spring, I was reading through one of Michael Hyatt’s blog posts and found a link to a free eBook download (It’s still available!). Ever the bookworm, I couldn’t withstand the temptation. I clicked the link, downloaded the book and got started as soon as I could.

The eBook, Fired Up or Burned Out by Michael Lee Stallard, challenged me on so many levels in how I lead Tabernacle of Praise, that I made it required reading for my elders. After some intitial grumbling over how life is too busy for another book (I had already assigned one months prior.), they reluctantly took the print out and agreed to read it when they had the chance. I’m looking forward to the discussion we are going to have and the transformation that will occur as we implement the ideas of the book into our leadership and church culture.

The premise of the book is that volunteers, employees–people–get burned out when they work in environments that are void of human connection.

In the book, Stallard proves this through numerous case studies of historical and modern leaders and the cultures they created. In the second part of the book, he shares how a leader can create a culture of connection in their organization. The third part of the book speaks to directly to the leader’s character and how that affects the culture of connection or disconnect. The fourth part is a litany of more case studies meant to be read like a devotional, one per day.

I highly recommend this book. Download it today!

Got another book review here for you! Booksneeze let me have two books to read this past month, and I loved the books they sent me. Today’s book is for all of you ladies out there looking for the divine purpose in your femininity (and for all the guys trying to figure it out.)

John and Stasi Eldridge’s book Captivating is a landmark book, in my opinion, on the female soul. In poetic, flowing style, the Eldridges unravel the complex design of a woman. I’ve read numerous tomes on the characteristics of males and females, yet never have I encountered a book that treated the subject so well that I ended it with a passionate admiration of my wife and all the women in my life.

John and Stasi show how society and the Church has tried to regulate the role of a woman to simplistic terms and chores, thereby limiting her. By revealing the core desires of every woman–every personality and kind–they prove that women are much more than what they have come to believe about themselves.

Every woman wants to be fought for or romanced, to share in an adventure and to have their own, unique beauty to unveil. These desires cannot and should be delegated to social stereotypes, but should be liberated and allowed to be expressed. Than, we will see women as God intended for them to be–captivating.

The mission statement of Tabernacle of Praise (TOP) is simple. Anyone can can see at a glance who we are and what we do. Strangely, such simplicity has had me working full time for the past two and a half years struggling to do it.

Tabernacle of Praise exists as a team to reconcile the lost and disciple believers here in Crawford County and beyond.

Easier said than done, right? I wouldn’t have it any other way.

All of my responsibilities as a pastor center around this small sentence, but this year I believe that God is wanting to focus on one phrase within that statement: “TOP exists as a team…” To me, this is the most difficult mandate ever given to a leader. Imagine God giving a pep talk to a new leadership recruit with the following:

“Alright, son. Just wait until you see what I’ve got in mind for you. It’s great! You are going to do amazing things–things that will change the world. You are going to heal the brokenhearted, bring justice to the poor and reconcile people who are lost to me. Don’t worry. I know that you’re not perfect. You don’t know everything, but that’s okay. I’ll lead you. To help you I’ve assembled a group of flawed, immature people just like yourself to help along the way. Make them a team, son. Have fun!”

Umm. Where’s the A Team? Why can’t we just fulfill the mission on our own? Most leaders would rather herd cats then build a ministry team. It’s tough. Beyond the fact that we are all flawed human beings who constantly rub each other the wrong way, there is the blaring challenge of producing a singular vision for the entire team to buy in to and follow. After a singular vision, then we have to produce an inclusive strategy to bring each team member (and potential new members) on board. This year, TOP is one step closer in our work of team building.

We have a strategy at TOP in which everyone can be a part: Prayer, Witness, Community, Worship and Service. This strategy will work, but we must have everyone involved or it will fail. Each year, we try to recruit more members to work with us in this strategy. Last year, the elders and I noticed that church projects involving performing arts received a lot of support from all of the members. Many volunteers, many contributions, and many compliments. We realized that this is because the sense of accomplishment in our team was immediate and strong when we hosted a performing arts outreach.

So, this year we are focusing our planning efforts on performing art outreaches. We are already seeing a large, positive response from our team members. In the last two weeks alone, we have recruited a volunteer team of actors and tech crew to help me preach a six week series called Romance God’s Way. Tomorrow is the kickoff for the series with the message entitled “Dating 101.” By merging performing arts with the series, we are able to involve a team of artists in the work of preaching.

This is what you can expect at TOP in 2010–more art, more music, more team work. There will be opportunities like never before to get involved for both artists and non-artists. Actually, I believe everyone is an artist. We exist as a team, and we are going to fulfill the mission together.

How do you encourage team work and participation in your organization?

An economist speaking on National Public Radio about three months ago said that the problem with the economy today is lack of trust, that people are afraid to invest or spend their money. People hold on to their money due to anxiety over a failing market. It didn’t seem that the economist believed these fears to be substantial because nothing significant had changed in the way of things in the market, but this general feeling of wariness was killing the life blood of the world–cash flow. Fear caused the world of commerce to almost stop. When asked for a solution to the problem, the economist could offer no reply. How could he? He’s just an economist, trained in numbers and charts. It would take another professional to approach the situation with an answer, and I believe that Max Lucado has done so beautifully in his book Fearless.

Using his eloquent writing style, Lucado has taken the broad topic of fear and distilled it into tiny, edible pieces. In each chapter, he describes a universal fear, explains it’s complexity and effect, then gives the Biblical antidote. These fears include that of not mattering, disappointing God, running out, not protecting my kids, the final moments of life, and God not being real. Each treatment of these anxieties is full of humorous anecdotes and stirring true stories of faith in the face of fear.

Truthfully, I’ve never been a fan of the gentle voice in Max Lucado’s writing. Lucado wrote Fearless no different than his other books, yet something in this one kept my interest all the way through. I enjoyed his candor, satire and accurate solutions to fear. He’s one of the few who have spoken out on the issue with any form of clarity. I’m sure that you will find this book both inspirational and timely.