Renewal

I found A Journey of Work - Life Renewal to be a real-life story of adventure, courage and discovery. For me it was also a beautiful love story.
We get to travel around the world with two people and be with them as they experience different cultures, make new friends, and discover more and more about themselves and each other.
It is written with an eye to the practical issues of day-to-day life even on such a magical journey. It is a story told with great humor and much love.

In this well-written memoir, the authors take us on their year-long journey of travel to foreign lands. But it is much more than a travelogue. Their story illustrates the power of personal transformation that can accompany the experience of foreign cultures. They share the highs and lows of having to learn new ways of communicating and living. They test themselves on levels and in ways they could not do at home. Their inner journeys are as deep and fruitful as the outer journeys. They return home renewed and forever changed by the experience.

In addition to sharing their stories, they offer the reader practical advice on how to turn the dream of extended travel into reality. This is a great book for anyone who ever dreamed of an extended trip abroad.

Excellent book for motivating people to change the pattern of their lives. No matter your age, it can be done. We're only on this planet a very short time and this book tells you to maximize the experience. They are not suggesting you do exactly what they did, but to accept the concept of taking a different slant and tack away from the everyday hum-drum and angle off for an adventure. It can be done for little or no money. All it takes is a bit of time and a willingness. It does not have to be on the scale that Bonnie and Michael did. The book is reader friendly and is written in a conversational tone. No preaching. The authors are passionate in their message for all of us to take a turn from the normal course of our lives and experience the new and different. It is a matter-of-fact message that gets one thinking...Why not?! It's a quick read and it is sure to please. Who knows, it could change your attitude towards life. Anything is possible and Michael and Bonnie proved it. Enjoy.

I have read this book once before back in 1995. Since then I have learned a lot about shadows. I am aware of my shadows and this book is helping me to be a better person.
I have a friend who is intellegent and smart. However, after reading this book second time I am beginning to know his hubris and. I do not know how to relate with this person.
Knowing my own shadows I am now less critical of others. We all have multi-selves.
The book should be read by any adult who wants to have a balanced perspectives of life and deal with others appropriately.

I first read this book when it came out, at the time of the O. J. Simpson story was breaking. It was PERFECT timing - offering insights into how highly-successful people can have darker sides show up in their lives unless they periodically renew themselves and take stock - whay might be called am "internal audit" of oneself. I've often thought the title for this book could have been "The Shadow Side of Success."

I highly recommend this book for anyone who's in a position of influence, power and responsibility (or who WANTS to be). The author has included a rich assortment of ways one can avoid the egoic pitfalls of success and fame - a real MASTERPIECE!

A MUST BOOK TO READ FOR EVERYONE Each Chapters captures the reality of life and gives insights into achievements of life.

Personally read this book several times and each time, it has help me greatly to understand HOW SUCCESS GENTLY CREEPS INTO OUR LIFES (THIS is in chapter two) and if not careful, 'eats into our minds'

I even notice the how 'the shadow' as the author describes has entangled corporate executives (man and woman) No one escapes this Paradox.

If you are looking for a book to cope in this new millenium buy THE PARADOX OF SUCCESS an investment for a life-time, with no regrets.

Happy Reading

tan

Just wanted to thank John for writing inspiring words that convey wonderful foundational thoughts and feelings. I too am a great believer in an abundance mentality and try to live and act in the "now" every day.

If the population of our world would take the time to slow down enough to contemplate and realize that we all (most?) really want the same simple things from life, what a great place this world would be.

This book created a space in my mind, body, and heart for a new lease on life. This has had tremendous spillover effects for the best results in my marriage and relationship with my children. This is a wonderful piece of non-fiction, equally as good and life-altering as the "New Sex Now" DVD and "8 Minute Abs" videos. By all means, get in on this awakening right now!

Not only did I live through Child abuse, I also lived through Domestic Violence. I found solace in books such as NIGHTMARES ECHO and COURAGE TO HEAL. They gave me hope to try and change my life. SECOND INNOCENCE has given me my soul back. A renewal of my spirit. To let the past die out and begin again..I am so thankful that the three books I mentioned were there for me to move forward with. So grateful that SECOND INNOCENCE was written.I will recommend this book highly.
Fran Dawson-Just a reader

Thank you Dr. Hedva. Your book changed my life! I had been trying to recover from a betrayal. Not a little betrayal but a life transforming betrayal. The kind of betrayal that you remember the rest of your life, that rocks your world and makes you question everything, most of all yourself. After a year of seeing a therapist and going thru the process of shock, crying, grieving, guilt, anger and depression, I still didn't feel like I was "myself". Then despair started to set in because I became afraid that the heartbreak was too big for me to heal.
One afternoon, while waiting in the dentist's office, I picked up a newspaper with a review of Dr. Hedva's book. The review was positive and the quotes resonated. Later that day I bought the book and couldn't put it down until I finished it. For the first time, I felt that someone really understood my pain. And most important in that moment, it gave me a sense of hope for a full recovery. The book reframed the experience to help me see it as part of my spiritual journey, a valuable lesson to help me become stronger, wiser, and better able to forgive others and myself.
Betrayal, Trust and Forgiveness addresses all types of betrayals (lover, mother, father, body, self and society.) It is not a "help the victim feel good" book. It is reader-friendly, clear, and direct, providing practical tools and exercises to help the reader understand and move forward.
If you have been searching for a way to heal a betrayal, you are not alone. This book is a powerful resource that can help. It was the answer to my prayers.

Emotional darkness, the nightmare of betrayal... are
these fodder for the psyche? According to Dr. Hedva,
the stage is set for a sacred initiation, moving from
one cycle of personal evolution to the next. A strong,
heart-centered case is made for the radical
transformation that moving through the experience
of betrayal can trigger.

A shocking, yet spiritually empowering argument
is put forward, defining the stages of both pain and
growth that the process of granting forgiveness
engenders.

Many aspects of betrayal are addressed. All the
significant relationship dynamics are explored,
leaving no doubt that the author knows what she's
talking about. Also, the tender area of self-betrayal
is probed, but leaving us feeling that hope and
regeneration are indeed possible.

We are guided through the death of innocence to
the rebirth of vitality and full aliveness. Using the
exercises provided, one may find that a
compassionate spirit has laid a stable path for
us to follow.

This is an excellent treatise on the spiritual meaning of
betrayal. I was very impressed with the counseling techniques
in this volume and the real understanding of the heart-
breaking experience of being betrayed. Rather than being
another "boo-hoo, I'm such a victim" sympathy book, the
author encourages us to take personal, spiritual
responsibility for our experience. A variety of archetypal
symbols are addressed that give deep insights into a much
fuller meaning of betrayal as initiation. A truly healing
discourse.

Bishop Eddie Long really came to the forefront when he wrote this book. God's anointing was all in this book. I thank God that there are still real men of God on the Battlefield. We need the unadultreated truth. God's word has been sugar-coated too long! Thank you Bishop for letting God lead you in the way he did regarding his church or lack of it.

Thanks be unto God for anointing Bishop Long to go where no preacher of God's word has dared to go to lift and expose the veil of christian mediocrity. He writes in the spirit of Martin Luther King,Jr. by challenging the Church to change. This book brings conviction and challenge to ensure that our children and grand-children can live the optimum Christian life. The "Great Commission" comes alive in the book. Bishop Long's book transcends all faiths.

Most churches are not operating based on biblical principals but on mans principles. That is not what God intended. Read this book and discover how to get your church and your personal christian walk in order before the next millennium. God isnt playing games with us anymore. It's time for us saints to come from behind the four walls of the church and do what God has called us to do. True ministry. Satan has had his way with our children, the generations to come, for too long. I cannot urge you enough, this is a MUST READ.

This book was the foundation on which a 'new' (or rather renewed) church is being built. I've had the privilege of working with Richard and Robert and am seeing wonderful changes in our church as a result. We've been able to put into words who we really are and be true to ourselves. As a result we have been able to attract those who have been seeking a church just like us. They have been able to find us now that we can say "This is who we are! Join together in our spiritual journeys toward God!" I look forward to both Book #2 AND Book #3...especially #3!

Concise, easy to read, easy to understand. A good read for any pastor or church leader who wants to get some clarity on the strengths and uniqueness of his or her congregation. The REALLY good news is that this is NOT another "How I Did It" book. To be sure, "How I Did It" books are inspiring, and you can pick up a lot of good tips and tricks. The trouble is that most of them probably won't work in YOUR situation! What Southern & Norton have done is given us a method which will help us understand and analyze our own unique settings - to discover our own congregation's values and unique giftedness - so that we can focus on doing the things that are right for us, not for somebody else! Share this one with key leaders in your congregation!

My congregation worked with Southern and Norton over the course of several months. We found their strategy for church growth and renewal to be easy to follow, highly participatory, and full of wisdom. It has totally transformed our congregation and organizational systems!

"Cracking Your Congregation's Code" is a great contribution to the church growth movement! It not only offers a theoretical framework for congregational health and vitality, but provides easy to use surveys and inventories. Their recommendations for church growth and renewal are not "one size fits all" but are easily tailored for each congregation's unique "DNA". The end result is the development of a "strategic map" that will guide one's congregation to a new place of enthusiasm and growth!

I lost my job and was at a total loss of what to do and where to go. After reading this book I now have a better idea of what I would really like to do with my life. This book is well written and easy to understand. Another great book that helped me was Rat Race Relaxer: Your Potential & The Maze of Life.

I was attracted to the title of this book since I have been in the same field for 30 years and have begun to feel burnt out. I didnt see a way out before normal retirement, until I read this book.

This book has been very helpful to me since it includes a step by step guide to identifying your passions, what you do well, your fears, your financial picture (including differentiating between needs and wants), family concerns and more. Equally encouraging are first person reports from people who actually made dramatic life style changes and are doing what they love. I have gone over the sections and am just finishing evaluating my finances and feel that I am in a better position to make a change in the next few years. I now see that some lifestyle changes, an early or normal retirement with a reduced income and a part time job could give me options that will improve the quality of life for myself and my family.

Sometimes you need a nudge or another way of seeing things differently. This book has given that to me and I highly recommend it.

When I left the corporate world in June of 1998, it was quite a difficult period -- after 14 years, I left a high-paying job at a movie company in Hollywood and moved to a small Northern California town (without a paying job waiting for me) to write plays and screenplays. It was trial and error all the way -- with the emphasis on Error. This past Christmas I was given this book as a gift. Wow! What common sense guidelines, interesting case histories, and superb advice from Mr. Griffiths! While I can't undo past mistakes, this book is STILL useful in helping me plot out my goals and do it successfully. I urge anyone who is thinking of changing careers in mid-life (or even before) TO READ THIS BOOK! It will save you a lot of grief. Take it from one who knows!

Positive Turbulence is a very practical guide to keeping your organization moving at a healthy pace and continuing to innovate in order to compete in today's ever-changing marketplace. The theories included can be easily applied and related to any organization with Positive or Negative turbulence. It's a fluid read that's over before you know it.

Positive Turbulence is helpful for leaders at all levels of an organization. With theories and examples, the author promotes the need to see the world of work with fresh eyes and to learn from unexpected situations. As a well-known authority on creativity and innovation, Dr. Gryskiewicz provides convincing information about the value of using changing, often turbulent conditions, to shape a flexible organization, open to new ideas. A good source of practical approaches and lots of resources in an easy-to-read format--this is a good book to include in your leadership library.

C.M.Steward Managing Director The Crossland Group

Stan Gryskiewicz has a gift for telling a story. This makes his book, Postive Turbulence, a pleasure to read. More important, he has years of experience in helping organizations, teams, and individuals become more innnovative. This makes Positive Turbulence truly useful.

This optimistic, upbeat book stands out because of Gryskiewicz's ability to show how his ideas can be put into action. Pragmatic and practical, he shares his ideas and experience generously. Strategies such as "Focusing on the periphery as a source for innovation and renewal" come to life as a way of spotting technology shifts and marketplace trends.

As a psychologist and consultant, I work with R & D teams and with managers who need to become more effective, forward-looking leaders. This is a book I can and will recommend to my clients and to my colleagues.

In this powerful book, Cho unlocks the secret of spiritual transport into God's throne-room. See you there...

Cho should know about the power of prayer. From a miraculous healing in a dirt-floored bungalow to becoming God's man to lead the larget Christian church in the world, Cho has been a man of prayer. At Prayer Mountain, interceeding warriors raise the needs of the body of Christ to the throne 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Cho can be found there, too, seeking God's word for a hungry, needy people (his congregation now numbers more than 800,000). Whatever else history will remember about this man's ministry, he will be called a man of prayer.

I have never been so motivated to pray before in my life! I read this book in two afternoons. It is a very readable account of Pastor Cho's prayer life, and why Korea is experiencing tremendous revival. This book should be read by every Christian who truly wants to know God.

Pastor cho shares deeply about his prayer life and explains why so many of us struggle with problems setbacks and sin. We want success and are too readily contented. His words and examples are powerful, practical but not easy. Yet his books lifts you up from where you are to a deeper clearer stronger desire for God to use you as an intercessor. It's so good I've bought a few for pastors to mull over!

This book is a "must read" for every church leader and Bible College student. If you are struggling with how to understand and communicate with those steeped in Postmodern thought this book has many answers. Its not just another mega-church "how to" book. Reinventing Your Church goes much farther. This book is a refreshing and practical look at what it will take to communicate Jesus to the world in the next generation. The chapter on missions is especially insightful.

Brian gives us a book that actually tackles the postmodern subject without losing the reader with philosophical jargon. I found that his approach is so practical because he is living it out. He writes out of experience and gives us a framework to enter this bold new world with a sense of optimism rather than fear, excitement rather than dread.

His writings on leadership and missions are a must read for every church practitioner.

REINVENTING YOUR CHURCH

By Brian D. McLaren

There are many books being written these days on the need for change in the church. This book certainly should be included among the better in this category. It is remarkable for its clarity of thought and its balance in venturing into this somewhat controversial area. The author does not hesitate to suggest bold and radical departures from "tradition", but not without good reason.

For example, he distinguishes between renewed, restored and reinvented churches. "The renewed church is an old church that, after having lost touch with its own people, goes through a process of change in order to relate to them and better meet their needs again." (p. 20).

The restored church is the result of a sincere effort to establish a "New Testament Church". Often this involves resurrecting some detail of New Testament church life, and making it the litmus test of faithfulness to the Biblical pattern. For this reason, McLaren suggests that the restored church often becomes "The Church of the Lost Detail". The "lost detail" can be almost any form that is found in the book of Acts, such as speaking in tongues, elder rule, house churches, one church per city or whatever. McLaren is not nasty about it, but he does conclude that eventually this lost detail assumes a significance beyond all sane proportions.

"By contrast, the reinvented church not only changes its style, but it changes its attitude. Change is accepted as an unchanging fact of life. The reinvented church not only catches up to the present but also corrects those tendencies that would make it keep falling behind. It removes the anti-change bias." (p. 21)

The reinvented church is characterized by "paradigm pliancy". Paradigm pliancy requires a strategy of maximizing discontinuity, "which means not trying to fix up the horse to get a few more miles out of it, but burying it and looking for a new one. The journey is the important thing, not the horse that you take to get there." (p.23)

Perhaps the most significant aspect of this book is the fact that the author has actually gone through the trauma of "re-inventing" his church. In 1982, he planted a church that grew from 11 to about a hundred in three years. He was dismayed, however, that practically all the growth had come by transfer from other churches. He therefore proposed to his church that they "maximize discontinuity" by disbanding it for a period of ten months, after which they would launch a new church with a new name in a new location with a new mission of reaching secular people. Those who like lists, especially long lists, will love this book. The chapter titles are a list of 13 strategies for reinventing your church. In addition, many of the individual strategies consist of long lists as well. For example, he lists:

a) 14 observations on system thinking

b) 6 traditions to trade up for Tradition

c) 5 characteristics of an ineffectual apologetic and 5 new apologetic themes

d) 5 hunches on learning a new rhetoric

e) 16 conclusions on abandoning structures as they are outgrown

f) 7 characteristics of the new breed of leaders

g) A long (21!) list of problems in missions and a short (6) list of solutions

h) 5 core values of postmodernism

i) 15 ways of engaging postmodernism

A major thrust of this book has to do with better equipping Christians to engage meaningfully with unbelievers. He decries the "Christian nation" myth, which breeds an "us and them" mentality and makes us hostile to those to whom we should show compassion. For example, in his second strategy of redefining our mission, he insists that we need both more Christians and better Christians. By this, he means that the key to reaching unbelievers is to be better Christians, that is Christians who better incarnate the Gospel of Him Who was a "friend of publicans and sinners". Even more than seeker-sensitive churches, we need seeker-sensitive Christians. Instead, we often find Christians that are "seeker-hostile", as parodied in a Moody Monthly cover story entitled "Sinners in the Hands of Angry Christians".

McLaren has several excellent thoughts on leadership as well. The title of the chapter on leadership: "Save the Leaders" suggests the many perils that leaders face, and he expresses his regret that many qualified leaders have left, or are considering leaving, the ministry. Perhaps his most helpful insight on leadership is a list of reasons why imitating success in leadership can guarantee failure:

He also gives some very helpful guidelines for understanding and engaging postmodernism, which he sees as a reality with which we must come to terms. He writes: "Opposing postmodernism is as futile as opposing the English language. It's here. It's reality. It's the future." (p. 69)

McLaren questions the assertion that post-moderns don't believe in absolute truth. He suggests that the real issue may be one of absolute certainty. He further argues that post-moderns may care so much about truth that they are skeptical of the ability of fallible human beings to apprehend it or communicate it accurately. Seen from this point of view, it is easy to see how our certainty about knowing absolute truth can come across not as faith but arrogance. Furthermore, many post-moderns probably question our commitment to absolute truth because we seem to have such a hard time agreeing on what it is. He writes: "We have to distinguish between genuine Christianity and our (individual and various culture-encoded) versions of it." (p. 178)

There are several other very helpful chapters on topics such as leadership, church structure, apologetics, theology, and missions that make this book well worth the reading. It will be especially enlightening and helpful for those who are seeking to "go to" the lost and engaging them with the Gospel.

John Ed Robertson

November 27, 1998