Farr, Renovate or Die

by Farr

Abingdon 2011

This is a decidedly United Methodist book, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t learn a good bit from their work … and if you happen to be a Methodist, all the better.

The crux of the book is that when it comes to transformation, most churches focus on redecorating rather […]

Edington, Howard with Lyle Schaller, The Heat of the City

(Abingdon Press: 1996, 157 pgs. paperback. Available thru Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN 800-251-3320.

Few books cause me to cry, but this one did in several places. It is written with “practical passion.” It not only tells the story of the turnaround of a dying, grand old downtown church, but it records the intense passion and […]

Easum, William M.The Complete Ministry Audit

(Abingdon Press, 1996)160 pages, plus bonus Spreadsheet Disk, $29.95, Paperback. Obtain thru Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN 800-251-3320 or thru 21st Century Strategies, 361/749-5364.

This is one of the most complete tools a church leader can use to see where the church has been the past ten years, see where the church is this year, and […]

Durall, Michael, Beyond the Collection Plate

(Nashville, TN, Abingdon Press, 2003), 152 pages, paperback, $16.00.  (Obtain from Abingdon Press, PO Box 801, 201 Eighth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37202 or www.abingdonpress.com.)

This book offers a very practical look into a biblical approach to stewardship and money. This is not a book about fundraising. You will not find any helpful tactics or gimmicks […]

Driscoll, Mark, Confessions of a Reformission Rev

Driscoll’s best book to date. Matter of fact; yet brilliantly written.  Brutally honest; but full of compassion. You’ll either love it or hate it.

Donahue and Robinson, Walking the Small Group Tightrope

Walking the Small Group TightropeBill Donahue & Russ Robinson

(Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan, 2003), 203 pages, paperback, $12.99. (Obtain from Zondervan, 5300 Patterson SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49530.)

This has to be one of the top five best books on small groups ever written. Its practicality is amazing.  I found myself saying “yes” more times than I […]

Cymbala and Merrill, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire

Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire: What Happens When God’s Spirit Invades the Heart of His People, by Jim Cymbala with Dean Merrill (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997)188 pages, hardback, $16.99. Obtain from Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

This book should be required reading for every pastor. It is a powerful testimony to the […]

Reverse Mentoring

By Earl Creps

I enjoyed reading Earl Creps’ Off Road Disciplines, but I was enthralled by Reverse Mentoring. The book is packed with so many transparent personal experiences it is like an intimate look not only into the emerging world, but also into his private life. Through these extremely personal and detailed stories Creps gives the reader […]

Off-Road Disciplines

Earl Creps 2007

This is one of the most practical books on personal disciples I’ve read.  If you’re like me and aren’t contemplative you will find this book helpful in your spiritual development.  It’s an on-the-job approach to spiritual disciplines.