Leader

Walter Wink has introduced a way of Bible Study that allows room for both your mind and your soul. His activities are designed to make room for the Holy Spirit in your reading, and yet does not support a literalist reading. This book should be required reading for all teachers of the Bible.

WOW! What a great book. What great Lessons. God has truly used Josh McDowell and given him a heart for children. The book grabs the very core of what children need today....an understanding that there really is an ABSOLUTE TRUTH. The children learned how to put biblical principals into action. Every week there was another testimony from one of the students. The learnd how to make right decisions using Gods Word. This will actually be our second time putting this book into action and I am even more excited than before. Truth Works is a must for anyone trying to reach the hearts and minds of our children for Christ.

This is a thoughtful, highly practical guide for health care leaders managing turnarounds of failing organizations. Highly recommended.

Not really a book about Roman history, but a book which uses brief examples from Roman history to introduce the author's commentary on the modern labor movement. Daniel De Leon was a central figure in the Socialist Labor Party of the U.S. during the very early 20th century. That party is still around today and they are Marxist but they reject Leninism, Stalinism, Maoism, and Trotskyism in favor of "Marxism-De Leonism". He was also a central figure in the founding of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or Wobblies) but broke with them over the issue of increasing anarchist influence in that union. For the curious, this book is a good example of De Leon's polemical style. He harshly criticizes the labor union leaders of his day for selling out the interests of workers. His alternative is to supplant the craft unions ("labor fakers" as he calls them) with radical industrial unions organized on a socialist basis.

This is a short book which may be of interest to those interested in American labor history or in the history of the socialist movement in this country. Those looking for books on Rome will probably be disappointed.

Madeline L'Engle's perception on life truly is unique and uplifting and after reading this book only 4 short weeks after my own wedding day, I am approaching the years with my husband and future family from a completely new angle. In a story centered around a 40 year marriage, Ms. L'Engle was at all times a model of passion, creativity, courage, faith, and self-sacrificing love. If you choose not to live by the "norm"; if your prayers come in all forms; if you live by the pulse of the city or the rhythm of nature; if family time comes at any hour of the day; if you love someone so completely that you are willing to let them die first-- read this book. I promise it will change your life.

This book will change your life and how you view authority. It helps you to realize that all authority is placed by God and there are benefits to submitting to authority. It also makes very plain that if you rebel against authoriity, you are rebelling against God. It is an awesome book!!

UnHoly Orders is an impressive volume of almost 200 pages, 8 1/2x11 format, coil bound. It reflects the author's passion for the subject in its comprehensive coverage of a topic that many people find uncomfortable to deal with. Step by step, page by page Booker (now Wiebe) takes the reader through identifying the problem to resources for recovery. She is as thorough in her description of what constitutes abuse as she is ruthless in her encouragement to individuals and congregations to find solutions. Scripture, prayer and extensive resources provide some balance to the difficult matter that groups are invited to study. There isn't room to do justice to Janet Booker's book. If this is a subject you or your group would like to tackle, or if it is an issue within your congregation, this book is for you.

This book (and its accompanying couple's guide) is an excellent marriage preparation resource. Whether religious or not, the seven-part course covers the basics and foundations for building a successful marriage. Having participated as students and instructors, we have learned, and keep learning more each time through. Well written, easy to understand and communicate, and thoroughly helpful!

What is it about mountains that draw out the leadership metaphor? Is it their majestic height, their commanding views, or simply the lure of rising by one's own power into the clouds?The authors of "Upward Bound" believe that mountain climbing combines the challenge of reaching as high as one can with opportunity to work collectively with other like-minded individuals. Therein, lies one of the book's key messages: leaders and followers need one another to succeed. In the introduction, author Jerry Useem draws a parallel between Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzig Norgay's ascent to Everest with the rise of the largest retailer in the world, Wal-Mart. The parallel? Both were and are led by men who prefer anonymity: John Hunt led the first successful climb of Everest and Lee Scott heads Wal-Mart. Neither are household names, but both are examples of leadership that draws its strength from the power of those who contribute to the endeavor, be it a mountain or a business.

"Upward Bound" is a collection of stories told by nine writers from different backgrounds united by a common love of mountain climbing. The stories are organized according to themes relevant to business situations, e.g. Peak Performers, Scaling Up, and First Mover Advantage. The stories weave personal narrative and business examples seamlessly so that lessons become as clear as crystalline mountain air... and just as invigorating.

Lead author Michael Useem provides insight into what it takes to be a guide. All of us naturally think of leaders as showing their people the way, but what about guides? In mountain climbing, they are the professionals who help others to the top. In business, guides are the strategic thinkers and doers who lead by "seeing the whole," all the while building upon the ideas and contributions of others. Of note is an epilogue by author and business researcher, Jim Collins about becoming an expert beginner. In Collins' case he hired a climbing coach, after he'd been climbing for twenty?five years. This example serves as a strong metaphor for all of us who want to find new ways to keep fresh and creative so that we remain vital and purposeful. I strongly recommend anyone interested in finding out how to become a better leader as well as a better follower to read "Upward Bound." It's well worth the trek!

In The Voice of Asia, Ishihara says that 'the day of imperial powers whose millitary might was the ultimate instrument in geopolitics is finally drawing to a close...'. That is certainly true. Now that financial witch doctors and isolated terrorist groups can wreak havoc across continents, governments have become, well, quite impotent in recent years. Neither Mahathir nor Ishihara could have predicted the overwhelming influence that rogue, scurrilous currency traders and zealous, fanatical terrorist groups now wield with horrifying strategic abandon. Their book, the Voice of Asia, was written well before the advent of Asia-centered global financial meltdown and escalating terrorism towards the leaders of industrialized nations.

In many ways, the Voice of Asia forshadows the growth of Orwellian-style regional millitary and economic trading blocks such as Europe, the Americas and East Asia. Mahathir's call for an East Asian Economic Caucus underscores the need for stability in the Asian region; however, it seems to me that there is a clear dispute as to who should provide the necessary leadership and direction for this Asian regional block. In the book, Mahathir favors an Asia for Asians stance, while Ishihara ( of the Japan That Can Say NO! fame) clearly in direct opposition to U.S. President Bill Clinton believes that Japan should lead and direct the emerging Asian economic bloc. Ishihara advances the belief that only Japan, once it has reverted fully back into the Asian sphere, can lead and speak for Asia, and should do so with a strong yen which not only supports Asian trade, but also acts as an effective countercurrency to the dollar and as a viable currency for international trade and investment. Currently, over half of Japan's international trade, and almost all of its global investment is undertaken in dollars.

Mahathir, whose unorthodox and iconoclastic views on the role of government and foreign trade and investment grabbed headlines worldwide in 1998, clearly articulated his thoughts on what he sees as the growing moral decay of the West (more than a few Christian leaders of the American religious right would have to agree with him). He goes further to stress the need for cooperation among nations in the region, especially in the area of economics and trade. Of the two individuals, however, Ishihara is clearly the more vocal (which is hard to believe, considering some of Mahathir's antics of late). Mahathir comes across as a rather subdued, sedate and erudite thinker of things geopolitical. If Ishihara were likened to America's Malcolm X, then Mahathir certainly would be akin to America's Martin Luther King.

In reading the book, one sometimes gets the feeling that these guys clearly realize that they are playing a game whose rules and structure were designed by the very individuals that they are railing against. One gets the feeling that a young, dynamic, hungry underdog (Asia) is pitted against a staid, brutish, older and bullying incumbent (the West). Armed might is useful, and in some cases effective, but now other things (such as hedge funds) play an important role in international relations. Both Mahathir and Ishihara realize that there is more to be gained from peace and economic stability. They have written an interesting and thought provoking book for the intelligent, internationally aware layperson.