bobfranquiz.com

Calling All Bookworms!

So many of you know that I'm a pretty voracious reader. I usually read about 150 books a year. But at the start of 2011 I decided to not read anything except the Bible for the 1st month of the year. So I read the New Testament for the 1st 40 days of 2011. 

But over the last couple of weeks I've been able to get through some good books on a variety of subjects. I hope you find something here that piques your curiosity.

Here's the last 5 books I've read: 

- Unmarketing by Scott Stratten - I finished this book last night. I really enjoyed it. I was challenged by some of what he said. I really liked his idea that social media is more than Facebook and Twitter. It's whatever people are saying when they interact with our churches, ministries or organizations. 

- The Questions Christians Hope No One will Ask by Mark Mittleberg - I loved this book. I loved how Mark tackled some tough questions like abortion, evolution, and the reliability of the Bible. But he answered the questions in a way that it helps the reader be confident, but not offensive in his position. Great book!

- The 5 Love Needs of Men and Women by Gary and Barbara Rosburg - I read this book about 10 years ago and re-read it in preparation for our current series on marriage. I love how the book explains the needs men and women have, but the different ways we go about meeting the same need. Good stuff!

- Rocking the Roles by Robert Lewis - This book gave a good explanation of the Biblical marriage roles. It wasn't the easiest book to get into at first, but the content was very good. If you're ever read any of Robert Lewis' books, you know he's a "go to" guy on the subject Biblical masculinity. 

- The Blessed Marriage by Robert Morris - I am an uber-fan of his book 'The Blessed Life", so I picked up his book on marriage. It doesn't disappoint. It's no "The Blessed Life", but there's great marriage content to glean in this book. 

 

Happy Reading! 

Favorite Books of 2010 (so far)

I've read a lot this year (thank you iPad), but these are my personal favorites so far: 

How to be a Fierce Competitor by Jeffrey Fox - I love everything Jeffrey writes, but this book was one of his best. This was a great book on the practical stuff that makes people effective. Loved this book!

No Excuses by Brian Tracy - This was a great book about taking personal responsibility and getting things done in your life without making excuses. Very motivational. Really enjoyed this one. 

7 Lessons for Leading in a Crisis by Bill George - This is a short book, but a powerful one. If you're going through any kind of transition or difficult time in your church, this is a great one to read. 

The 5,000 year leap by Cleon Skousen - this is the best book I have ever read on the subject of the philosophy behind the constitution and the founding fathers. Absolute must read if you live in America.

Rework by Jason Fried - So practical. So helpful. I love books about getting things done and this book is one of the best on the subject. 

Church in the Making by Ben Arment - I loved the idea behind this book. Few books about church planting have a lot of original ideas. This one definitely did. I make me think about how we sent guy out in the future. 

Sticky Teams by Larry Osborne - so far this is my favorite books this year. One of the best books on staffing and team building that I have ever read. It's a must read. 

Favorite Book: May 2010

 I read a bunch of books in May, but the book that stood out to me was John Maxwell's new book, "Everyone Communicates, Few Connect."

As preachers, it's so important that we read books and listen to great communicators. This book gives the most important elements that are needed to connect with those we communicate with.  Because if we don't connect with our audience, we've wasted everyone's time.  

If you're a teacher at any level, I recommend you read this book and study its principles. 

Favorite Book: April 2010

 I read a bunch of books in April, but my favorite was Sticky Teams by Larry Osborne. I read everything Larry writes and have been challenged by his books personally and as a leader.

I thought instead of my thoughts on the book, I'd give you some quotes that particularly stood out to me: 

"I don't think it's an accident that Jesus predicted church growth but prayed for unity." 

"Rather than blasting it all at once, I drip vision and core values into every sermon I preach."

"Our primary job is to listen to, discern, and carry out God's will, not the congregation's."

"Whenever a staff member's giftedness and platform surpass their character, it eventually creates disillusionment and cynicism among those they work with." 

There's so much more wisdom in this book. I'd highly recommend that you pick up Stick Teams. I believe you'll be a better leader because of it. 

Favorite Book: March 2010

 I read a bunch of books in March, but my favorite by far was Sticky Teams by Larry Osborne. 

I read everything Larry writes and particularly liked "Ten Dumb things Smart Christians believe" and "The Unity Factor", but this was by far my favorite book that he has written. 

It's a smart, funny and quick read that give you page after page of nuggets and godly wisdom from someone who has been in ministry a long time. 

I loved several things about this book: 

- A real look at the role of a Senior Pastor

- An honest look at how a staff really works

- Great insight into manage a board of directors

- Great tips of hiring

I thought about copying and pasting a long list of quotes that I highlighted while reading the book, but I thought that would only slow you down. You need to buy this book pronto. I'm planning on working my way through this book with my entire staff. You may want to consider doing the same. 

Must Reads on the Calvary Fellowship Staff

There's several books that new staff must read in their first 90 days. I thought I'd share one of them. 

 It's called, "Be our Guest" by the Disney Institute. This book is a must read for anyone that serves people in some capacity.  

This books goes into how Disney creates a magical experience their guests and the principles that are transferable in any organization. In fact, they mention other companies that have implemented these principles and have taken their service to new levels.  

Lots of books are written about how Disney does things, but this one is Disney writing about how Disney does things. 

We want all of our staff on the same page about how we treat guests and the level of excellence we desire to maintain, that's why "Be our Guest" so is great.  

I read this book about 7 or 8 years ago and have bought at least 20 copies of it. I recommend you pick up a few as well.

Favorite Book: February 2010

 Hands down my favorite book for the month of February was Mastering the 7 Decisions by Andy Andrews.  I absolutely loved this book.  If you've read "The Noticer" or "The Traveler's Gift", then you know Andy is a powerful writer. But Mastering the 7 Decisions was about putting the principles into practice that were written about in his other books.  

This book is a must read in a world where everyone wants to blame their parents, the economy, the government, and/ or anything else as long as they don't have to take personal responsibility for their lives and actions.  

This book challenged me big time in many areas and I'm guessing that I'll be re-reading it soon.  

So pick up a copy. You'll be glad you did. (Plus, it's at a bargain price on Amazon)

The Re-reads

If you've followed this blog for any length of time, that you know that I like to read.  But most of the time I'm commenting or reviewing new books that I've read.  

Now what gets lost in the 'tyranny of the new' is the classics that need to be re-read.  

There's books that I read every year and some that I read every other year.  

So I thought I'd put together a list of a couple books that are on my regular re-read list: 

- Lectures to My Students by Charles H. Spurgeon (my favorite book of all time)

- On Being a Servant of God by Warren W. Wiersbe (In my top 5 of all time)

- Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders (one of the most important leadership books ever written)

- Leading at a Higher Level by Ken Blanchard 

- Good to Great by Jim Collins 

- The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell

There's others that are in the re-read list, but these are probably the most important ones.  

Spurgeon said, "In reading books, let your motto be 'much, not many.'" He believed in re-reading the classics over and over again. 

What's on your re-read list?

Favorite Book: January 2010

I review a book every week in the www.church-strategies.com newsletter, but I thought I'd highlight one book on the blog that was the best book I read in that month.  So here's my January pick: Talk Less, Say More by Connie Dieken. 

 I thought Talk Less, Say More was a really good book. It covered so many areas of life in which we communicate. Many books only cover communication from the platform (which is important), but let's be honest, we communicate through email, staff meetings, and individual meetings more than we do on the stage. 

The other thing I really liked about this book is that it got right to the point. I guess with a name like Talk Less, Say More you'd expect that. But these days, brevity is in short supply. 

I try to read a few books on communication every year. So I was happy to kick off the new year with a good one! I recommend it. 

Tomorrow is the last Day!

For the month of December I've been giving away copies of my book Zero to Sixty: 60 principles and practices for leading a growing church as a Christmas present to church leaders.  

However, the last day to get your free copy is tomorrow (Dec. 24th). 

So if you want a free copy, simply click here. 

(Remember, all you pay is the shipping and the book is free)

Merry Christmas!