Religion Books

I lead a Sunday School group of 20- and 30-somethings. While the book is set up primarily as an individual, daily devotional, it works wonderously in a group setting. The ideas collected under each discipline led to some thoughtful discussions. I only devoted 3 Sunday's to the book; but, we could have spent three times that many discussing the issues presented.

Taken as a whole (now that's I've read the book a second time) the WAY in which I approach worship and my faith in general, has been GREATLY enhanced. This is one of those books that reveals something new every time I read from it.

Our study group "The Enquiring Minds" finds this book ideal for group study. Especially helpful is the wide range of diversity both in content and contributors. Each chapter provides stimulating discussion material that is varied enough to remain interesting over an extended period.

I read this as supplemental reading for "The Celebration of Discipline." It is very powerful on its own, and great for a study group, but comes so much more alive when done in combination. There is so much wisdom in these classic Christian writers. The corresponding scriptures, questions and comments from Foster are very thought provoking, and invite you to personally experience the spiritual disciplines, bringing you to a more personal relationship with God.

In the case of Richard Foster, more is a very good thing. Once again Foster gives us a glimpse of spiritual disciplines through the lenses of the greatest Christian authors of history. This time he tackles the following subjects:
. INWARD DISCIPLINES
. meditation, prayer, fasting, study
. OUTWARD DISCIPLINES
. simplicity, solitude, submission, service
. CORPORATE DISCIPLINES
. confession, worship, guidance, celebration

If you liked any of Foster's other books, you will like this one.

Foster and Griffin have put together an excellent book for group or personal use. Readings are arranged according to spiritual disciplines, such as meditations, prayer or fasting. A brief selection of text from famous writers is followed by a Bible reading, questions to be used to understand the readings, exercises, reflections and a bibliography for those who want to delve deeper the topic. It took me a year to get through Foster's first book, Devotional Classics, doing a reading a week. In other words, it's a long term resource to enhance your spiritual life. I really loved this book.

I highly recommend this book. It is such an easy read, and chock full of insights that every married couple or wanna-be married couple should read.

Chapman is known for his perennial best seller, The Five Love Languages. He now looks at what he calls the four seasons of marriage. We don't progress through these seasons in a steady progression, like the literal four seasons we experience over the course of a year. Instead, he takes characteristics of each season and applies them to where we might be, or where we've been in our journey together as a couple.

Summer is obviously the time of warmth and closeness; winter is the time of trouble, discouraged and even dissatisfied. But the main point Chapman makes is that each season presents us with opportunities for emotional growth and for strengthening our marital relationship.

Chapman provides a "Marital Seasons Profile" with a copy for each spouse to take and interpret. The profile helps tell which season each partner sees their marriage in at this time.

Then building on this, he describes seven strategies a couple can work on to strengthen their marriage, regardless of which season they might be in. He looks at dealing with past failures, working on our attitude, speaking our partners love language, becoming a better listener, helping your spouse succeed, dealing with our differences, and working on developing a positive outlook together.

He has an interesting section at the back of the book where he asks a number of questions that he thinks would be in the mind of the reader, and then answers then for us. He also provides a section that looks at how a couple can use the book, even when only one partner is interested.

Final Note: Telephone and Online Counseling may be a great way to help struggling couples. Learn to Provide Telephone and Online Counseling with this book: The Therapist's Clinical Guide to Online Counseling and Telephone Counseling: The Definitive Training Guide for Clinical Practice

Ever wonder why sometimes you have a love/hate relationship with the person you took the wedding vow with? You have done "everything" to make your partner happy but he/she still "thinks" that it wasn't good enough for them. Then, this is the book for you.

If you're living in a place where there are seasonal changes, you would understand already how spring, summer, autumn and summer feels. Anticipation, depression, joy, and the many feelings that comes along with the warm or very cold weather. In this book, it explains that your relationship is going through all the emotional roller coaster ride as well.

Author Gary Chapman also included ways to understand your partner's love language. Regardless of which season your relationship is in, I highly recommended this book, for all seasons. :)

"My experience both in my own marriage and in counseling couples for more than thirty years, suggests that marriages are perpetually in a state of transition, continually moving from one season to another..." ~ Gary Chapman

While "The Four Seasons of Marriage" can be read in a matter of hours, the lessons learned are quite valuable. You can instantly put the ideas into practice because they are practical and wise. Instead of taking a complex problem and making it overwhelmingly difficult to solve, Gary makes everything more simple.

Once you have determined your season (winter, spring, summer, fall) then you can decide to try to stay in a season (summer is comfortable) or move out of a season (like winter which is harsh) more quickly and into a situation you prefer. All that is needed is a little motivation and a sense of determination.

You can experience spring after twenty years of marriage or winter in the first year. Since each relationship is totally unique some seasons may feel more familiar than others. However, Gary believes that you go through the seasons on a continual basis. I have personally found this to be very true.

After reading numerous books on marriage and relationships I think this is one of the best books on the subject. It really makes sense and is written by an author who has been married for over forty-two years. This book also contains a summary of the five love languages.

I can also recommend: The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate

~The Rebecca Review

This book is truly a blessing to I and my husband. We are always on the look out for books that will continue to enhance our marriage. We like to be pro-active and not re-active when it comes to enhancing our marriage. This book enlightened us tremdously on how to adjust to the seasons of marriage. It is helping us to do what's necessary to get the best out of each season.

Another great audio book from Gregg Braden. If your really into quantum physics and spirituality then check out this video on Youtube:

"What the bleep do we know?"

Gregg has a great ability to remind me of how and why i need these reminders in order to re-mind me and refresh me. THANKS BRO

good information, especially if you are fighting an illness or issue in your life. logical and scientific reasons to look into healing yourself for those who are looking for"proof".

The Spontaneous Healing of Belief: Shattering the Paradigm of False Limits (4 CD Set)
Your reading this because the teacher has presented himself to you. You asked and the next step is up to you. I have found that the idea has come to my mind and then the information is presented to me. This is confirmation of it's truth and the next step in my learning. As I advance my ideas change and become more refined. We are evolving physicaly and mentally but the choice is yours. Open your mind up to the possibilities and see what can happen.

clear presentation, easy to listen too. even if you have heard or read Gregg Braden before, this is a good discussion of the Laws of our Universe: how they work and how we interact with them.
you will want to listen to this many times and share with your friends.

I strongly recommend this devotional to any person that really wants to know how the devil works in our mind and the damage that he can cause if we are not aware of his evil doings, but most important it allows you to see how God works and how when we live by God's Word we can defeat the devil and achieve God's purpose in our lives. This book is a blessing to my every day walk with the Lord. Remember, our mind can be our best friend or our worst enemy!!!

Thank you Joyce for blessing me with this book, it has help me to see things in a different way. May God continue to fill you with His Holy Spirit and Wisdom.

This book was an awakening for me. Very encouraging and enlightening. Sometimes the truth hurts, but boy can it set you free! A must read for those seeking truth, freedom from "bondage", and enlightment.

This book is my favorite devotional book. I was given this book as a gift and was surprised, fantastic book. Helped me in so many ways that I bought another to give as a gift to a friend. It also has a workbook and I'm recommending it for a bible class at my Church.

Wow, what a book . To the point and the chapters are not long at all . Makes me feel like I am accomplishing something as I read . Easy to go back in the contents and look up something specific to help you just at that time .

Purchased December 2008.

Positives: Brief, interesting comments with both a relevant Bible quote and a prayer. She weaves a lot of her personal experiences into the story. I start my day with this devotional because it gives a positive start. I no longer am a Christian, but, overall, her message about God gives me a lift.

Deltas: Nothing major.

I suggest that if you haven't seen Joyce Meyers on TV get the sample first, and read that before purchasing.

In his latest book Pete Steinke addresses the growing concern in the church of chronic anxiety. He helps the reader to understand what is happening in this anxious systems and how you should seek to respond to it by remaining calm and self-differentiated. It is difficult, but necessary, to take a stand in the midst of the anxious system while remaining focused and calm. This book is highly recommended for all who are struggling in chronically anxious church systems.

Peter Steinke, ELCA pastor, author, scholar, and church consultant is currently the leading researcher in Bowen Family Systems theory. This latest book, "Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times," is written for pastors and other congregational leaders with the hope that the information contained with both enlighten and embolden them (xi). The brief book (175 pages) is divided into three sections: "The Leader's Presence," "The Leader's Functioning," and "The Leader's Challenges."

While this present book provides little new information per se on applying the Bowen Theory to religious leadership, the information is presented in an interesting, enlightening way. Steinke's style of writing is simple without being simplistic. He breaks information down into small, easily-digestible parts...yet never comes across as "talking down" to the reader.

Bowen Theory places a great deal of emphasis on strong, independent-minded-yet-connected leaders. The trick (according to Rev. Rick Foss in the foreword) is to practice excellent leadership consistently. Steinke draws upon his vast experience as a church consultant and researcher to provide examples of a leader's effect on a congregation (positive and negative), pitfalls, and the complex emotional process that can help or hinder leadership.

This book would be ideal for congregational leaders (ordained, contracted, or elected) as both a work of inspiration and a launching point for more research in the leadership genre. Indeed, this book's main contribution is that it provides and easy entry-point into the Family Systems Theory.

While it is recommended for those without much experience in Bowen Theory, those who have digested the works of Ed Friedman may not find much new...even through they might find much to inspire.

I used this book with a group of Baptist deacons in a one-day retreat. Steinke communicates clearly basic Bowen theory concepts so that laypersons can apply them to the congregation as an emotional system. This resource gave us fresh ways of looking at problems in our 100 year old church. I only wish every member could read it! I'm trying to find ways to use this material--and a companion DVD now available--with other groups within the church. It helps everyone talk about the elephant in the room with a new vocabulary.

Steinke's book saved my life and probably that of the church I pastor. His analysis of leading through crisis was invaluable to me as I found the need to confront a wayward but dynamic staff member and eventually persuade the personnel committee to be the leaders they really want to be. After 3 1/2 years of ignoring others' attempts to hold her accountable, change is finally accomplished. I knew what had to be done, but Steinke's wonderful analysis of such situations made it clearer and more defensible. It's not over yet, but the anxiety has been removed for the most part, and now we have a chance to be the Church of Jesus Christ, a church of honesty and integrity.

Will also be helpful to leaders in all kinds of organizations.

As a veteran pastor I know few books like this one which help a man think through his positions and work through the emotional processes of leading a group. This work aims beyond structural programming at the invisible emotional-spiritual dimensions of leading like Joshua, "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." I find this book insightful, challenging and encouraging for this purpose. I am sure that I will reread this one often.

Normally, I read an entire book before posting about it. But, I am over halfway through reading a fascinating new book, Saving Paradise -- subtitled, How Christianity Traded Love of This World for Crucifixion and Empire, by Rita Nakashima Brock and Rebecca Ann Parker. You need to read this book. Brock and Parker offer some of the freshest, most exciting insights into the transformation of the Christian church over the past 2,000 years.

Paradise, the authors contend, was the focus of the early church. Paradise was where humanity was created in the image of God. Paradise was the destiny of the people of God -- the land flowing with milk and honey. The psalmists wrote of paradise; and the prophets described the renewed land as paradise restored. The church was the "portal to paradise" and baptism the rite that ushered new converts back into the paradise that sin had lost.

The book overflows with first-through-fourth century historical vignettes depicting how the early church spoke of and anticipated paradise here and in eternity. One of the most fascinating chapters titled, "So Great a Cloud" describes how the early church held sacred dinners at the entrance to the burial places of Christians who had died. They placed a single lit candle in an empty chair, signifying the presence of the deceased in their midst. Based on the Hebrews 12 image of "a great cloud of witnesses" the early church believed that the dead were present with and helped those Christians still in this life. They believed that the resurrection defeated death immediately, not just in the future, and that the veil between this world and the world to come was much thinner than we believe now.

The tone of the book is positive, hopeful, and points us back to a time when the church took seriously and practically the life-giving power of the resurrection. Paradise was the narrative that gave coherence to creation, even in all its sin and short-coming. Paradise, the garden of God, is not only the goal, but the present reality of followers of Christ.

I read a lot of books, as I am sure many of you do. Most books are rehashes of old ideas, maybe with some good stories or clever twists. But, Saving Paradise presents a unique perspective, a fresh encounter with the early church. If the second half of this thick volume (over 500 pages) is as good as the first, then I'm in for a treat for the next couple of days. I'll let you know. - Amicus Dei

Images of Jesus's crucifixion did not appear in churches until the tenth century. Why not? The crucified Christ is so important to Western Christianity, how could it be that images of his suffering and death were absent from early churches? With these questions began a five year pilgrimage for the authors. They were taught that the crucifixion of Jesus Christ saved the world and that this idea was the core of Christian faith. However, during extensive searching, they found that prior to the tenth century, Christian imagery portrayed Jesus alive teaching and healing, living in the paradise that is this world. All the images were of goodness and plenty, of gentleness and love; images that reflect the belief that creation is good and blessed by God's love, especially in the person of Jesus Christ. The foundation of Christianity is grounded on love of this world and a certainty that paradise permeates all of creation. The Eucharist was a sign of paradise and celebrated in gratitude and joy with Christ.

Brock and Parker take on the history of the subversion of the Christian message beginning with Charlemagne, who instituted the death penalty for conquered people who refused to convert to Christianity. After Charlemagne, the clergy introduced the dead body of Christ into the Eucharist. Killing, suffering and dying in the name of Christ began to represent the highest honor for Christians.

At 550 pages (including extensive notes and index) this book is not for the faint of heart. But, just like their first book Proverbs of Ashes, it is written in an approachable, conversational style. Consider reading and talking about it in a small group with people taking responsibility for one or two chapters, or bring it into a classroom and/or church setting.

I LOVE Saving Paradise!! Brock and Parker provide a historical lens through Christian thought and practice that demonstrates that the earliest followers of Christ embraced a theology of hope, life, and living community as opposed to the emphasis on torture, suffering, and death. As a graduate student of church history, I found myself amazed in my own studies of even so-called `orthodox' Church Fathers including Justin Martyr, Ireneaus, and Origen that a theology of the cross was not highlighted. Instead, these thinkers, whose works are indicative of many early Christian communities, highlight the Incarnation of Christ as the crucial defining event--the coming of the Logos to the world as a human being. Even later thinkers (like Athanasius and Cyril) embroiled in the Christological controversies of Nicaea and later Constantinople, were concerned with the definition of the Logos-man--how God could come in the flesh. Again, it was the living incarnation of God in Christ that was the crucial defining event--that is, the LIFE that God brought to humanity through Christ, not the death and suffering of the crucifixion alone which is the pivotal event in Christology! Brock and Parker make this case convincingly by traveling through the annals of church history and showing that it was in the second millennium of Christian history, amidst the warring struggles of the tribes of Europe and later in the birth of the Holy Roman Empire, that the theology of the crucifixion rises to prominence. This book is a MUST for students of the bible, Christian thought, the history of Christianity, theology, or anyone interested in the way that Christian ideas and doctrine are transmitted through the church and other institutions! In addition, it is a DELIGHTFUL read! The text is comforting and enjoyable to peruse, and is very spiritual and healing in places, particularly in the description of early Christian rites and practices. There are portions of this text that I plan to read over and over again in the future for this reason. Persons who have questioned or even struggled with the focus of torture and suffering in the passion and crucifixion singly as the way to salvation in the Christian faith will find themselves blessed and encouraged by these authors' re-discovery of the beauty, light, community, and fellowship among early followers of Christ--paradise!!

It is a remarkable book! The scope and depth of the authors' research for the book and the clarity and richness of their expressions are impressive. It is not easy for me, as a Christian, to face the history of Christianity, at least part of it, which has wrought so much suffering and death to the world in the name of salvation. And yet, by the end of the book, the authors convince me of the true wonder and beauty of the world we live in as God intended. Let us rejoice in it and do our part to keep it and make it even better for all God's people.

This book cannot easily fit into any one category -- it is historical, theological, artistic, biographical, and a wonderful narrative at the same time. It probes deep into the heart of a once-vibrant, subversive faith that through time has been corrupted by Empire, thus turning from Christianity into Christendom. The core problem is really sacrificial atonement and the violence associated with this theological mistake. By reclaiming paradise and eros-love for our earth and for our generation, Brock and Parker instill hope that is not delusional, but is based (ironically enough), in "traditional" Christianity.

If you've studied Edgar Cayce, the father of holistic medicine, then you'll realize what a great, handy book this is with all the famous Cayce formulas easy to find and use. A great book, written by a physician with a great heart. A must for every medicine chest.

This book is a wealth of information for either the everyday person or avid seeker of holistic remedies. There is a remedy for almost everything in here and they all work!

Heated castor oil packs (worked for coughing up vocal polyps and getting rid of cysts) and apple cider vinegar (cured my laryngitis fast!) are among some of the simpler ones that work miracles.

This book describes all the marvelously subtle systems of the human body, and how they interact to cause illness when any area is not in balance. You can get healing, invigorating, relaxing, regenerating tips based on general techniques Cayce recommended for specific illnesses. The advice on food and diet is as contemporary as today's headlines--such as the benefits of olive oil, red wine, less red meat, no deep fried foods, steel cut oats. This book helped save my life. I recommend it

Edgar Cayce was, and still is, a force of nature. Not being old enough to remember the man myself, I have found a lot of the information in the book was in common usage in the days of my grandparents. Perhaps his influence at that time was more widespread than I ever knew and now, with the modern medical machinery in place, his knowledge is resurfacing out of need. I found the book fascinating, educational, common-sensical, and opportunistic in it's availability to me when I needed to investigate other avenues of medicine. I would recommend this book to anyone, especially those who believe that a little TLC, some positive affirmations, and a more nature-driven potency can, and will, cure or alleviate ailments on more than one level.

This is a good book. I like that it not only describes Edgar Cayce's trance suggestions and philosophy of healing but that it is written by Dr. William McGarey who used to be one of the founding doctors of the medical clinic in Phoenix, Arizona that used the Cayce readings when appropriate to cure many illnesses, even those considered incurable.

However, because of the title of the book, I expected it to be a listing of various Cayce remedies such as herbs, lotions, foods. Instead, it lists remedies to undertake for various types of ailments. It's written in three parts. The first describes the functioning of the human body. The second sections lists various types of healing regimens suggested in the Cayce readings such as castor oil packs, prayer and meditation, and consulting dreams plus more conventional types of healing regimens such as diet and nutrition, exercise, manipulation, and massage. The third section is the best because it lists various body systems such as the digestive organs, the skin, and the heart and vascular system, and describes how to get that system healthy and keep it healthy.

I find it very helpful to get a sense of how the body works from Cayce's very holistic perspective. However, I would have preferred that when Cayce readings are mentioned, that they be quoted and the numbers of the readings listed as they are in The Edgar Cayce Handbook for Health Through Drugless Therapy.

If you are interested in listings of various healing regimens, there's Edgar Cayce Encyclopedia of Healing (Edgar Cayce) that lists various ailments and their cures and An Edgar Cayce Encyclopedia of Foods for Health and Healing, which lists foods and food combinations suggested to heal various physical incoordinations, plus Edgar Cayce on Healing Foods for Body, Mind, and Soul, another books on the foods and food combinations recommended in the Cayce readings.

A good book but I'd choose The Edgar Cayce Handbook for Health Through Drugless Therapy first because it is a "how to" of the Cayce remedies and it quotes the readings directly including their reading numbers.

By Carol Chapman, award-winning photographer of the ONLY Edgar Cayce calendar Divine in Nature: With Quotes from Edgar Cayce and author of When We Were Gods: Insights on Atlantis, Past Lives, Angelic Beings of Light and Spiritual Awakening.

The book is wonderful. It is actually a study guide that you use with your Bible. I am finding alot of great things that I am eager to share with others.

This is the first Stormie Omartian book that I read. It is such an amazing book. It really put things in a new light for me and helped me to learn to pray. Prayer was something that I had really struggled with so this book really started a life change for me. If you need help with prayer or if you just need to be uplifted then I suggest this book for you!

This is a great eyeopener on what you can do for yourself & your family.Aboveall Stormie gives you a great insight on what you can do in your on life..I would recommend this to any woman.Its a great gift....i can safely say this coz i got mine as one.Like her other books she shows us where we can make prayer filled changes in our every day life!To top it all its fully scriptural!..I love that .It just fills you with the WORD of GOD.I have found encouragement & a clearer insight in many areas to help me in my spiritual walk, after reading this book.Its definetely not a one time reading,& so ,you should have your own copy.

Valuable accompaniment to The Power of a Praying Woman. I used it for my women's Bible study group to help us focus our thoughts on prayer and what we were learning from the book. It asks probing questions to help sort out what we actually believe and see if this lines up with the Scriptures.

I bought this book after recently getting married. Once I started reading it I could not put it down. It's one I definitely plan on reading again once we have been married a few years and the "new-ness" has worn off.

I've read a lot of marriage/relationship books, including Sacred Marriage (which I also loved), but this has got to be one of the very best. Not only does Gary Thomas review important concepts about Christian wifehood, but he also gives practical examples/advice without sounding like a 5-step program. Reading it REALLY opened my eyes to ways that I was not handling situations in the best way to help/influence my husband, and also ways that I was still expecting him to think/act like a woman, which is totally unfair. Thomas also helped me understand what my husband was REALLY saying when he said certain things and what he was feeling, and why.

I've only had this book for a week, but I'm almost done with it and can already see how applying the principles is helping me and my husband's relationship. I would recommend it to any wife or engaged woman.

This book is very effective and is a great tool in the hands of God for shaping wives. Thanks much!

This book is by far the best book I have ever read for wives! Gary Thomas has an amazing ability to see marriage through the eyes of a woman. Whether you are single or married this book will have an intense impact on how you view your mate. Every woman should read this book!

Gary Thomas is the last man on earth that should be writing a book for women. Sacred Influence is SO demeaning, I actually had to stop myself from ripping up the pages as I was reading them. Generalizations all over the place - none which even remotely describe me or my experience. This is the kind of book that actually destroys marriages because it doesn't teach you how to get to know and grow with your partner. It places all men in the same category ("this is how men are, therefore X..") and does the same for women ("this is how you are/must be, and if not, you are not godly..") This is not Biblically-based teaching, it is Gary Thomas' impressions of women and what they are like. Don't waste your time or money on this one!

Very well done, great insights, author has a minimal amount of church experience but brings a wealth of wisdom and practical, applicable steps for creating clarity. Worth the price.

"Vision, mission, values, strategy"--terms that most church leaders are familiar with. Many churches have written statements to cover these important elements of ministry, but most of us struggle with putting them together for effective and God-honoring ministry.

Will Mancini has done the Church a great service in "Church Unique" to not only demonstrate the importance of each of these elements, but also how you can frame these pieces together to discover how God has created each church to serve in our local and global contexts. While I've read most of the popular books on church leadership and have understood the importance of these various pieces in leading a ministry, Will has helped me to bring them together into a vision framework that makes sense for us. While recognizing the value that WCA, Saddleback and others bring to the discussion, Will ably makes the case that God has a unique vision for your ministry--that may or may not look like the last big (or small) church seminar you attended.

As soon as I read this book, I bought one for each of our elders. The descriptions, process and exercises have been extremely helpful as we have been together, re-discovering God's vision for our next steps in ministry. It's given a framework that makes sense--giving us the confidence that God has a vision for us. While we have much to learn from Warren, Hybels, Stanley and others, Church Unique shows how we can create a vision frame that allows us to know what does and doesn't best fit us and God's vision for our church.

The final section of the book on advancing the vision is a practical tool, which I know we will be referring to regularly. Will gives practical insights in not only how we articulate and deliver the vision, but also what is often the missing piece--how we integrate the vision into our everyday ministry and mission.

If you are trying to get your staff and your church leaders onto the same page or are yourself wrestling with what God's unique movement is for your church and ministry, I would highly recommend "Church Unique" as tool in your journey.

I have been fortunate enough as a Pastor to go through the Vision To Grow process outlined in
Church Unique in the past two churches I have served. In both, the process and results have been arguably the most significant thing I've done as a Pastor. The process outlined in Church Unique helps to articulate the UNIQUE context of your local church, not just slapping on the model heard at a conference or adopted by a mega-church.

Church Leader/Pastor Friend, this is the resource you've been searching for. You can not put a price on the clarity, focus and ensuing movement you will help facilitate through this process explained in Church Unique.

This book reads like a cross between text book visioneering, story telling narrative (i.e. Patrick Lencioni's work) and inspiring coaching.

No brainer. Get this book.

It's rare to visit a church, read its mission statement and then conclude, "What a great match!" For that to happen, the church's vision must be clear, appealing, and most important, truly reflective of the unique culture demonstrated by the church.

Back in 1992, when churches were just beginning to think about vision statements, George Barna wrote a highly popular book called Power of Vision. In it he defined vision as "a clear mental image of a preferable future imparted by God."

I predict Will Mancini's Church Unique (2008, 271 pages) will succeed Barna's classic as the go-to book for church leadership discussions because it does even more than help you articulate a vision for your church. It goes further. It helps you "cast vision, capture culture, and create movement," as the subtitle forecasts. The book affirms that your church is "stunningly unique," and then helps you turn your church's one-of-a-kind potential into a model of ministry that leads to a redemptive movement. It understand that each church models a culture reflective of its particular values, thoughts, attitudes and actions. Using numerous specific-church examples, it walks you through the process of vision focus and alignment within the context of your church's unique culture.

Mancini, a former pastor and now church consultant, also explores pitfalls that often trap churches, such as adopting the latest conference technique or following a Band-aid approach to addressing deep-set issues.

CHURCH UNIQUE will benefit any type of church leader, whether megachurch or church plant, mainline or non-denominational.

The book is release #25 in Leadership Network's series with Jossey-Bass. It references in several places another excellent Leadership Network book -- Culture Shift: Transforming Your Church from the Inside Out (J-B Leadership Network Series)by Robert Lewis and Wayne Cordeiro with Warren Bird (Jossey-Bass, 2005).

Warren Bird, Ph.D., is Research Director at Leadership Network, and co-author of 19 books on various aspects of church health and innovation.

If you are trying to lead your church to effectiveness and impact, Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture, and Create Movement (J-B Leadership Network Series) by Will Mancini is a "must-have" resource! Like very few books of its kind, this one is not only packed with ideas, it is presented in a clear and purposeful manner with implementation in mind.

Based on Mancini's work with Auxano, Church Unique provides a carefully executed, step-by-step walk through the concepts and practices that build a "vision frame." Discovering and articulating a compelling vision is at the heart, but developing the missional mandate (mission), motives (values), map (strategy) and marks (measures) are what provide the frame. Each step in the process is presented in a way that begs to be implemented.

If you long for clarity and a laser focus, this is a book you will devour, mark up, and wear out. I'm frequently asked what's the best thing I'm reading. Church Unique is a book I'll be talking about for a long time.