Take the Lid Off Your Church by Tony Morgan

Recently I was awarded a pre-release copy of a book written by Tony Morgan entitled, "Take the Lid Off Your Church."  I agreed to read it and offer a review, so here goes.

The general idea of book is to assist churches with some answers to questions that are generally raised concerning building a  "senior leadership team." One thing I love about this book is the length. I would compare it to the book of Philippians in that you can read the whole thing in one sitting but the principles and ideas would take a lifetime to master. Tony gets straight to the major questions and offers both biblical and first hand advice on how to address leadership team issues like who should be on the team, what the team should look like,  when to build the team and re-build the team, as well as what the role of the team should be.

Little time is spent on church models that don't include this "senior leadership team" structure but I can only assume, that would be a whole book in itself. One thing I didn't like about the book was the commercial for other products offered by the author but most books these days are doing that. I just hope the web links are timely, meaning in twenty years, will they still be there and available.

Ultimate Recommendation: If you are on a church leadership team or even in a position of authority involved in church leadership, these are truly questions you should be asking. Buy the Book! It is a great resource to look back to and offers precise knowledge that can be found quickly. Totally worth it.

Decomposing: The Rest

Tony Dungy (pre-taped interview)
Interesting. Not a lot of advice coming out of the interview and there were a lot of leading questions from his book so I guess I will have to read it some time.
Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life

Mark Sanborn
Great Material. Leadership is about affecting a persons story. The key is to not just tell another story but make the story better. To make the story better depends on where they are in the story. Here are the levels of the story and what action you can take to improve upon them.
Stuck

• re-sell them on themselves
• re-narrate their story in a positive way
• re-organize their life giving them tools necessary

Struggle

• Encourage
• re-focus them to future hopes
• re-define the failure
• failure is something that happens to people, not something you are.

Shaped

• look for the lessons
• look at the effect your story has on others

Shapers

• Catch the other persons story
• slow down and listen
• acceptance isn't approval
• Respond to it
• Ask questions
• what do you aspire to?
• what is your fear?
• Feel
• listen with your heart
• Tell your story
• the focus is on their story not your own.

Things that shape your story:

• People
• Ideas
• Experiences

The Fred Factor: How Passion in Your Work and Life Can Turn the Ordinary into the Extraordinary

Jim Goodnight/Ed Bastian (interview)
This interview was done by Collins and Jim Goodnight had him on the edge with his unexpected answers. I was laughing a lot. One thing I learned, there is no problem you can't solve with a array of blade servers. I Agree!
SAS | Delta

John C. Maxwell
I hate to say this because I have respect for the man but he reminds me of the Joel Osteen of leadership.
Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently


Steve Uzzell
Great Imagery. A picture often times speaks a thousand words. Picture are mostly given not taken and providence will generally follow persistence and analysis of any problem.
http://www.steveuzzell.com/

Ben Carson
Had to leave the conference early so I missed this one. :( I am positive he was excellent, I will be sure to share when the DVD comes out. I have watched the movie about his life, Gifted Hands, a must see if you haven't already. Be sure to watch the bonus features on the DVD of the movie.
Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story

EMCEES

• Sachi Koto- Great Anchor abilities and talent, keep up the good work.
• Tripp Crosby- Very funny, I can't wait to fly on TNT Air.. I hear it is the bomb!

Finally, the greatest thing about the whole thing. A "NO PURCHASE NECESSARY" coupon for a FREE Spicy Chicken Sandwich when they debut on June 7, 2010! 


UPDATE: You want one too? http://www.getspicychicken.com/

Decomposing: Jim Collins

Jim Collins- Great Insight, I even took notes. All of his words are backed up by many years of data. It is hard to argue against things that really happened. What is the one characteristic that makes a company consistently great, A Humble Leader. Jim goes on to share some information from his book "How the Mighty Fall."  He says a company goes from great to gone in five stages. The good news is it is a staged approach and you can recover from most of them and each stage of the fall is self inflicted. So here are the stages and what they mean:


Stages of the Fall

1. Hubris born of success -- Be humble, no one knows it all
2. Undisciplined pursuit of more -- Have discipline and a tested process
3. Denial of risk and peril -- Do risk and potential problem analysis
4. Grasping for salvation -- Don’t panic and constantly restructure
5. Capitulation to irrelevance or death -- Avoid stages 1-4 and don’t capitulate!

Something for New Companies

• Focus on the 'Who' first and not the 'What' -- get the right people on the bus before you start it moving, don't decide on the destination and ask them to join in invite them in and let them help decide where you should go.
• Many overnight success companies were about 20 years in the making.

He had a lot more to offer but I don't want to keep you reading all night.

Decomposing: Connie Podesta

Connie Podesta - Hilarious! and great insight. Professional and Personal decisions can't be separated. The people you hang out with personally determines your leadership professionally. Material decisions are based on need and personal decisions are based on want. Four characteristics of a great leader or being  "The One:"

• Be Respectful
• Work Hard
• Be Selfless
• Have Compassion

Decomposing: Intro

Last Friday I attended the Chick-fil-A LeaderCast with a few great leaders and co-laborers for Christ. I had a great time and learned a lot from the speakers. The focus of the event was about being "The One."  The statement was, "the world needs more leaders." Anytime you listen to the top leaders of a modern area all in one day, it sort of explodes your head. It takes time to wrap your mind around new concepts, ideologies, and theologies. I think I can decompose my opinion of the most memorable moment from each speaker.