ALSS Journal
Here are the best books of 2019 that I’ve read so far and think would benefit each of you greatly in your ministry. Any one of them would make for a terrific book club group too.
I’m sitting here in my office as we start the 2019-2020 school year. Students are in their classes, teachers are their rooms, and we are off and running. It has been quite a journey to get to this point. Over the course of the last 90 days, our school building has gone through a massive renovation, the cost of which has eclipsed $1 million.
I enjoy movies. Films which contain unnecessary and/or over the top explosions, a training montage where the protagonist prepares himself for his 6’6 Russian opponent, and perhaps most importantly, limited development of characters’ inner feelings are generally quite appealing to me in a movie.
Gene Bartow—John Wooden, Jay Leno—Johnny Carson, Tim Floyd—Phil Jackson, Harry S. Truman—Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Most likely, you have arrived at the significance of these pairs of names; they are legends in their respective worlds preceded by the people that followed them, the ones who were asked to “fill the shoes” of a legend.
Christian leaders have a good sense of timing. They know that time is a gift from God, that God’s timing is always perfect, and that the Bible talks a lot to say about time and timing. Indeed God tells us to make “the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16). He also encourages us to make the most of our time because “you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life?
OK … a bit of honesty as I begin. There was LOTS I learned in ministry. And I am still learning. And many of the things I have learned I am still relearning. I am far from perfect and have a LONG way to go. But here are a few nuggets that made a profound difference over the years.
