Posts Tagged ‘book’


30
Jan
7

A way to mentor like Jesus

by djchuang

Thanks to Chris Hornsby of Next Generation Mentoring, I got a review copy of Mentor Like Jesus, by Regi Campbell with Richard Chancy.

This book lays out a very clear mentoring process to reproduce leaders of a particular type. Regi Campbell is an entrepreneural leader and knows how to get results in the marketplace. The book unpacks his value for being strategic with time, finding what works, and adapting principles from Jesus’ process of disciple-making, in order to invest in next generation leaders who have high potential to impact the world. I can see how this book will be very useful to develop mentoring programs for churches, especially with book royalties going towards funding this purpose.

What the author means by mentoring may not be what some people mean by mentoring. This excerpt contrasts the typical commonly-held meaning of mentoring, and what Regi means by mentoring:

Traditionally, the mentoring relationship is almost always initiated by the mentoree. He has something he wants… a felt need… for guidance, wisdom, advice, or help. Most often these conversations get started around job stuff. The younger man needs advice or access to the older man’s network of contacts. Sometimes it’s a crisis at home… a breech with a wife or child; and the less experienced person wants to confide in someone who’s “been there, done that.” …

Now, is this a type of mentoring? Yes. Is it what Jesus did? No. Jesus initiated the mentoring relationship with His disciples… [p.120]

I don’t know how many people have described what Jesus did with his disciples as mentoring. I have heard of many people who describe what Jesus did as disciple-making or discipling. Certainly what Jesus did with his disciples has changed the world forever. If the goal is to change the world through intentional formative relationships, the terminology doesn’t matter.

One reviewer of Mentor Like Jesus noted the confusion of terms:

It’s no secret that the word “mentor” is a loaded term and can mean something wildly different for people. Some may think of a mentor as someone who meets with them weekly to speak about their professional lives, others may imagine someone on more of an on-call basis who gets together a few times a year. What are healthy expectations in a mentoring relationship?

And that’s what it is. Get clear expectations on both parties, the mentor and mentoree — do you want mentoring in the traditional sense or mentoring in the disciple-making sense?

This is a great book to get everyone on the same page for mentoring as disciple-making, to have a reproducible process that you can “add water and stir” and run with it to pour into leaders who change the world.

6
Nov
36

how a conflict played out in social media

by djchuang

“Conflict is something that will always be. It is neither good nor bad, it simply is.” [cf. Sam Chand]

The incident regarding Deadly Viper had set the online world ablaze, and very uncomfortable words of pain festered in the open space [cf. read this summary]. My prayer was that the key leaders at the core of the conflict would resolve it privately, walking through their respective pains together with each other. This direct conversations has since happened offline in private, and an appropriate resolution is in the works. A public statement has been issued. I commend all involved for giving of their time and energy to walk thru this via dolorosa.

There’s already quite a number of thoughtful reflections about this incident posted::

I want to offer a few more ideas in debriefing, with which I’d anticipate some people would disagree with. Conflict in the open was a good thing for 3 reasons [cf. The Necessity of Open Disagreement by Stephen Shields] ::

  • This shows us what conflict resolution can look like. Conflict is not a pretty thing. We’ve all seen how ugly it can get, how destructive it can be, how it can ruin relationships. By being in the open, via social media, we saw how the conflict surfaced and moved towards live offline discussions, apologies, forgiveness, working towards resolution. There is a better way through the conflict. After all, conflict simply is. And I for one am tired of overly-positive spin that’s all too common in evangelical circles; I think the younger generation can smell spin a mile away.
  • We heard new voices open up their heart and soul. While I did not read every single comment in the initial blog posts, a wide range of voices from new names spoke up, both Asian and non-Asian. It is not easy for anyone to share their pains, particularly Asian Americans, for fear of being misunderstood, misrepresented, or shamed. Asians tend to be a little more (or a lot more) sensitive than non-Asians because of its shame-based culture. Social media empowers anyone and everyone to speak out. This helps us to empathize with the offended much more than signing a petition. (Now, not every Asian American finds this publication offensive, granted.)
  • We’ve got a long way to go with racial sensitivities in the church. A loooong way. Conflict that arose up over a relatively minor incident, in the whole scheme of things, shows how little experience we collectively have to just start any discussion about faith and race. And, yeah, these issues are complicated and messy. They don’t sell books nor increase conference attendance nor make churches grow rapidly in size. It doesn’t fit neatly in the systematic theology section.


READ MORE …

25
Aug
5

Julie & Julia movie about a blogger

by djchuang

Would you believe they made a movie based on a blogger? Yes indeedy!

Watched a movie on a date recently. I wanted to let the movie speak for itself. I did not go read up on all the reviews and view the trailer and read the Wikipedia entry and pre-release buzz. The neighbor was kind enough to let our son hang out. The movie? Julie & Julia.

And wouldn’t you know it… a movie about a blogger! A blogger who writes (types) for an anonymous audience. Over time, the audience grows. The bloggers’ confidence grows too. The blog entries get edited and supplemented into a book. And if that book gets lots of eyeballs too, then maybe it can become a movie. Here’s a link to Julie Powell’s original blog, Julie/Julia Project. And her current blog.

It took all of my restraint from elbowing my companion, since I’ve been a blogger since 1999 myself. Not that I’d want to have a movie made about me or anything.

Aside: The people that comprise the world’s market will reward (pay) for what they find valuable (be it entertainment or service or product). And for the rest of us who have value that doesn’t quite sync up with what the market price will bear, we still have value, lots of value. Just that it doesn’t translate into cash.

real Julie Powell   photos-of-movie-julie-powell

The real Julie Powell and the movie Julie Powell. Note that the real Julie Powell loves to use a lot more colorful language: “… I really ought to warn you about the language. I happen to believe that curse words are vital parts of the language, and I write accordingly. If you are not one of those people, you’re probably not going to be thrilled with J&J: The Book …” cf. Surreal is the new normal.

When will they make a movie based on Twitter?

1
Apr
11

good books on forgiveness or anger?

by djchuang

Question: I was wondering if you knew where I could find a great list of books dealing with forgiveness and anger? I ask, simply because you seem so resourceful and hit all the good conferences and info spots out there. If you know, I’d appreciate it or being pointed in the right direction.

djchuang >> I don’t readily know of books on forgiveness or anger, not that I don’t need help in those areas, but that I haven’t read books specific on this. Like other mortals, I’d search through the amazon.com catalog and see what looks good.

Based on reputation, Total Forgiveness by R. T. Kendall, looks to be a thoughtful treatment on forgiveness. And, if you have theological latitude, The Shack by William P. Young is a great perspective on dealing with the unideals of life. The best sermons I’ve heard about forgiveness are by Tim Keller, my bias noted. Here’s a handful of sermons from the Redeemer Store about forgiveness.

Anything you would add? Know of any good books on anger and/or forgiveness?

16
Mar
8

Church can be so much simpler

by djchuang

Today’s the big day for a blog book tour on Dave Browning’s Deliberate Simplicity.

0310285674
Dave’s clear on the mission of the church, and cuts out the complexity that can so easily distract. The book takes its time to unpack how the church has gotten so complicated, filled with many stories and examples of what happens with this complication. Then proposes a simpler way to be the church, and the basic ingredients (or principles) to have a simple church that’s scalable and shifts the focus towards the people being the ministers. Having met Dave on several occasions, I can see how he lives that out, as he is very approachable like an everyday average Joe; he doesn’t come across domineering dominant as some leaders seem to project that kind of a personality.

Follow the blog book tour via Google Blog Search.

Get a copy of Deliberate Simplicity: How the Church Does More by Doing Less via amazon.com .

See the book website at deliberatesimplicity.com.

See Dave Browning’s blog at deliberatesimplicity.blogspot.com where he archives his weekly “Dmail” to leaders.

Watch video of Dave describing why he wrote the book.

[disclosure: the book is a part of the Leadership Network Innovation Series & I'm an employee of Leadership Network]

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