WOW! Those were my first words when I finished reading Communicating for a Change by Andy Stanley and Lane Jones. This book is an absolute must-read for anyone who communicates on a regular basis. Let me be totally honest and say that I’m a bit bias because I believe Andy is the best preacher in America. Andy gives an honest, practical look at preaching, but he challenges us to ask the question, “What are we trying to do with our messages?” Are we trying we just “Get through the material?” or “Trying to tell them everything about the text?” or … Read More

I just finished Choosing to Cheat by Andy Stanley. This book is an absolute must-read! It is an important book especially for those in ministry, because the lines of ministry and God get blurred sometimes for us. I was talking to someone recently and telling him about how Pastors’ kids are sometimes the most out of control kids in the church. He asked why. I said, “Because dad isn’t ever home. He’s always counseling other people and fixing their families.” All the while, the Pastor’s family is waiting for him to come home. Guys, this may seem basic to some, … Read More

I just finished reading “The Multi-Site Church Revolution” by Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon, and Warren Bird. I really enjoyed it. I think what I enjoyed the most was that the book fired me up to go multi-site. In a city like Miami, the idea of buying a huge piece of property and building a big building isn’t really reality. Plus, the traffic isolates sections of the city, so I think this is a vision of the future for us. How and when I have no idea. But I will say this, when I decide to go multi-site, I will read … Read More

I just finished reading Chazown: A Different Way to See Your Life by Craig Groeschel from Life Church and let me say: Awesome! This book was so needed. As I was reading it, I said to myself, “I need to buy a copy of this book for every person in our church!” That’s how good this book is. The main idea is that God has a very specific Chazown (Vision) for your life. The brilliance of this book is in Craig’s ability to walk you though a process of discovery, so when you finish the book you have a real … Read More

I finished reading “Why Men Hate Going to Church” by David Murrow. I bought this book because several people recommended it to me. Honestly, it took me about a 100 pages to get into it. But I really enjoyed the book. Funny enough, the emotion I felt while reading the book was freedom! There was always a part of me that thought I wasn’t spiritual because I despise holding hands with people (other than my wife) when I pray. So when Christians want to get into a circle and have men hold hands just creeps me out. I have not … Read More

I started reading Frequently Avoided Questions by Chuck Smith Jr. and Matt Whitlock a few months ago. I was so impressed by the first 75 pages that I bought a copy for my entire staff. We started reading a chapter a week and discussing the thoughts that Chuck and Matt brought up. What transpired was some meaningful dialogue that stretched our faith and inspired new ideas. While I didn’t agree with everything that as written, that’s not the point of the book. The point was to start looking at the questions with a new perspective. While I think Chuck and … Read More

I just finished “Breaking the Missional Code” by Ed Stetzer and David Putman. It was a really good book. I got several good ideas, but most importantly I got several questions that I need to ask myself and my staff. These guys are doing it, having planted churches and leading growing churches in their respective communities. I have to tell you, I’m over it with guys writing books on how to do church who have never done it. These guys are doing it, so this isn’t theory. It’s experience form the blood, sweat, and tears of planting missional communities of … Read More

Tally and I traded for Confessions of a Reformission Rev. by Mark Driscoll because I couldn’t find a copy of it in all of Miami. I searched high and low for it and no stores had it (The 2 Christian bookstores in Miami didn’t carry it and none of the big chains did either). Anyway, this book I purposely read slow because I wanted to milk it for all it’s worth. The book was amazing. I loved the raw tone in which Driscoll speaks. I appreciated the sarcasm probably a little too much! But I loved the book because it … Read More

I think the highest compliment I can give The Radical Reformission is the same thing I think when I hear a great song: “I wish I had written that.” The book is that good! Driscoll is insightful, witty, and like me, he probably TiVo’s “The Best Week Ever” so he can OD on pop culture. I don’t know if I’ve connected with a book as much as I connected with this one in quite a while. It was amazing to read a book about ministry and to look at what you’re doing and realize that intuitively you’re doing a majority … Read More

I just taught a message on Sunday about sex and intimacy, so I picked up “Sheet Music” by Dr. Kevin Leman to do some research. What a great book! I have recommended it to several friends and folks in our church. Sex is such an important part of any marriage and yet it’s a subject that’s rarely talked about. I was amazed at how open Dr. Leman is about his own sex life and how frank he is in answering some questions that would make some people blush. This is not a book just for couples who have lame sex … Read More