Books I have read: Leading on Empty

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Chris

This week I’ve been reading Leading on Empty by Wayne Cordeiro. I was recommended this book by one of my previous colleagues who had been really encouraged by Cordeiro’s honesty and attitude. The book starts by reflecting on his experience of burnout and how he realised that his life was not sustainable and needed to change.

For me the most helpful aspect of the book was his honesty both as he reflected with what he needed to change – that it ran deep within himself; and the depth at which Cordeiro explained practically how he managed this – especially with the Personal Retreat Days – something I will certainly be taking on board as we move into 2014.

The concept of a dashboard which helps to measure vital systems essential for health and success was interesting, he used: Faith life; marriage life; family life; office life; computer life; ministry life; financial life; social life; attitudinal life; author’s life; speaker’s life and physical life. I found Cordeiro’s thoughts on the different questions we ask ourselves in our 20s, our 30s, our 40s, our 50s, our 60s and our 70s helpful to realise that after ten years in ministry who I am, and the questions I ask of myself have changed during this period.

With recommendations such as “This is a must-read for all leaders” by Bill Hybels it certainly isn’t one to ignore, and whilst there is nothing that you probably haven’t heard before, it will certainly encourage you and challenge you to make your life more sustainable instead of constantly leading on empty.

Books I have read: Between the Lines by Victoria Pendleton

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Chris

Over the last few months I’ve been reading Between the Lines: My Autobiography by Victoria Pendleton. Over the last few years she’s been the heroine of British cycling leading the shift from an amateur second class sport to one that rightly stands alongside the likes of Sir Chris Hoy and Sir Bradley Wiggins.

The book covers the highs – including the numerous world, Olympic, European and national championships that she won – but also some of the lows. As a child she caught the cycling bug from her dad who was a well known amateur cyclist. He was uncompromising in his training, and he encouraged and pushed her to chase him up and down the hills. From here she was spotted by national talent coaches but time and time again she struggled because she wasn’t seen to have the body fit of a cyclist, being too skinny, one official in British Cycling even told her “Miss Victoria….I’m going to find you very annoying “. Like many sports people (just think of Marcus Trescothick and Jonathan Trott to name two) Victoria has often struggled with self-doubt, depression and at times this has sadly led to self-harm.

What was most surprising to me was the difficult politics within British Cycling, especially concerning her relationship with Dr. Scott Gardner, a sprint specialist coach, who was forced out when his relationship with Victoria became public, to the annoyance of much of the squad who blamed her for his departure. She also talks candidly of the sexism rife in the sport, the way in which Sir Chris Hoy had so many more opportunities to win medals purely because he was a man.

In the end Victoria Pendleton had fallen out of love with the sport that defined her and had to be persuaded to stay on for an extra two years in order to compete in London 2012 after deciding to quit in 2010. She ended her career with gold in the Keirin and was robbed of at least a silver in the team sprint by yet another officious unfair ruling before her eventual silver in the sprint.

Between the Lines affords us a rare, behind-the-scenes account of the relationships that consume the most private corners of professional athletes, telling a deeply human story of pain and glory, love and doubt, failure and triumph.

Books I have read: Sabbatical Journey

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Chris

Over the last few years I’ve become a fan of Henri Nouwen’s writings, so I was pleased to pick up a second-hand copy of Sabbatical Journey in the last few months. The book is a diary of September 1995 to August 1996, when Nouwen had been given a sabbatical from l’Arche Daybreak, the community in which he worked and lived. His final entry in the journal was on 30th August 1996, only three weeks before his death.

Nouwen’s diary reminds me of a Bill Bryson styled travel book, but instead of a focus on the geography, history etc., his focus is on the relationships, the conversations, the mood of the people he met with. His travels take him to California and New Mexico, Holland and Ireland, Watertown and Peapack, Freiburg and Toronto to mention a few. Alongside this we see more detail in the relationship with people like his ageing father

The main thing that struck me was the importance that Nouwen placed on celebrating Holy Communion regularly, and by that I don’t mean each Sunday, but nearly every day, be it in The Daybreak Community, with family and friends, or in a hotel room. His reflections as he celebrates this are a source of spiritual food that sustains not only his community of friends (and he has many!) but his readers as well. He also writes about the tug of war he feels between wanting to write more, yet wanting to be available as a pastor for his friends, to preside over their weddings and baptisms and funerals.

If you enjoy reading Henri Nouwen, then it’s well worth your time to sit and read snippets of this.

Books I have read: Pioneer Youth Ministry

Posted on September 28, 2013 by Chris

Following some conversations around Pioneer Ministry I read the Grove book on Pioneer Youth Ministry by Jo Dolby and Richard Passmore.

The start of the book focuses on the context of change in society and therefore church – especially the issue that “young people are no longer brought up in church. They have not been to Sunday school, they do not know the Biblical narrative and, for most, Jesus is no more than a swear word.” Rightly in my opinion they argue that something needs to change, and they define that as being at the core of the pioneer spirit.

The next section attempts to define pioneer ministry, and it is at this point that I begin to struggle with understanding what it actually is. The chapter starts with definitions that focus on how pioneering is about those who are “the first to explore or settle a new country or area” and draws links with the Pioneer Corps and their role in the army. This definition makes a lot of sense to me and I can see that the modal version of church, e.g. the Parish system, has its limitations and so there is a need for sodal approaches to church. Theologically the Trinity is a model of a pioneering ministry that Jo and Richard highlight as helping us to understand pioneering.

For me the tension comes when we move from the theory of the pioneering process which is really just the process of discernment, practice and evaluation that should take place with any good ministry. What was helpful was the chapter on how to manage a pioneer which challenged me to reflect on being still and yet still moving on.

The booklet concludes with two case-studies: “Bushcraft Church” and “Graff”.

If you’re wanting a great introduction to one of the recent big shifts in youth ministry in the UK then this is for you.

Books I have read: Chronicles of a Desperate Dad

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Chris

I picked up the Chronicles of a Desperate Dad by Mark Richards in a charity shop and I’m glad I didn’t pay full price for this book.

It attempts to be a humorous take on being a dad with Mark recording his attempts at parenting Tom, Ben and Jessica. At the start this works, but after a while it should comes across as as a little dry and boring, and in the end I just gave up with this book – it will now be going back to a charity shop.

Books I have read: One Generation from Extinction: How The Church Connects With The Unchurched Child

Posted on September 22, 2013 by Chris

I’m a big fan of Mark Griffiths’ work around children having used Fusion, Impact, and Detonate several times, and so recently grabbed hold of a copy of One Generation from Extinction: How The Church Connects With The Unchurched Child.

Mark’s PhD thesis for the University of Nottingham was focussed on examining child evangelism in the UK trying to understand both what theology and best practice is needed for successful children’s evangelism and ministry to take place. To do this Griffiths takes Robert Raikes model of child evangelism through the formation of the Sunday School movement in the 1780s and compares that with examples from the 20th and 21st centuries.

Griffiths then examines four key projects from Fraserburgh, Leeds, Hastings and Liverpool before going on to look in more detail at the Slough and Windsor Project – focussed on what they do on a Saturday morning, how they support that ministry through home visits, schools visits and small groups. None of this section is revolutionary, it highlights best practice, and shows with the right vision and volunteer resources what can be done.

Part 2 focusses on the theory – the theology, the sociology and the practice of connecting with the unchurched child. Here the book can be a little academic at times for the average volunteer, or sadly, even children’s minister, but these findings are critical to helping us think how we shape church and children’s activities for outreach. There are ideas and concepts, insights and nuggets of truth on almost every page in this section. In Mark’s conclusion, there are recommendations that deserve more notice than a quick read of my review – they deserve close attention and prayerful action – if we are to grow the church and make sure the title of this book is not prophetic.

If you’re reaching out to under 11s in the UK you MUST read this book – it will give you a great overview and really get you thinking about how you connect with those children.

Books I have read: A Life Too Short

Posted on September 22, 2013 by Chris

Even though I’d count myself as a knowledgable football fan I wasn’t too aware of who Robert Enke was until he sadly took his own life on the 10th November 2009 by stepping in front of a passing train. Enke was a German goalkeeper who played for Barcelona, Benefica, and a number of other top European clubs. As a fellow struggler of depression I was interested to read Robert Reng’s award-winning account of Enke’s life, A Life Too Short.

Robert Reng was a close friend who spent a lot of time using his own memories of time with Robert Enke, his wife Teresa, and Robert Enke’s personal diaries. The book follows Enke’s life and career, sharing the highs and lows of being a professional footballer, but showing the human side of footballer’s, in this case, someone who even whilst his career was on the up, struggled with anxiety and depression. The book is challenging to read – I really felt for Enke at a couple of points in the book – the match he played for Barcelona against Novelda where he and his team imploded; the moment he and Teresa lost their first child due to a heart defect; the fear that sharing about his depression would lead to his adopted daughter being taken away.

The book highlights that regardless of outside success – in his case being the German national goalkeeper – it means nothing when the inner turmoil of depression exists. It was the well deserved winner of the William Hill Sports Book in 2011, and if you haven’t read it, do grab hold of a copy, it will certainly be one of the best football biographies you will ever read.

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