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From my library: The Five-Star Church

Card catalogue data
The Five-Star Church: Serving God and His People with Excellence by Stan Toler and Alan Nelson (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1999, 2012)
Category: Church administration
Format: Kindle
Pages: 230

This is the fourth book I read in June, and the 15th book in 2016.

Bottom line
When you go to a five-star hotel, you expect superior service and an outstanding product. What would happen if we as church leaders endeavored to raise the bar and have a five-star church?

About the authors
Stan Toler is a minister and general superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene and has written 100 books. Alan Nelson is a leadership expert, especially in identifying and developing 10-18 year olds.

Why I read this book
As someone who is interested in improving the systems that run a church, I read this book with special notice of the role of a church secret shopper and their help in improving churches.

Format of the book
Each chapter is divided into four sections: (1) a narrative fable where we follow the fictional account of a couple of ministers learning from the general manager of a five-star hotel, (2) an explanation of the principles and applications, (3) a question and answer section, and (4) a “Doers Section” with ideas for implementation.

What I’ve learned
Many of the principles in this book I was already aware of; we had implemented most of them at the church where I recently served. But there were some great reminders as well as some questions I had never thought of before. Certainly improving the church to five-star level is not the only thing our churches need, but it’s an important factor if we are to reach the unchurched and grow, not decline like most churches.

Favorite quote

A market-sensitive church need not compromise on its message, but it must change its methods if it is to meet the spiritual needs of people. Excuse my soapbox a second, but a market-oriented church gives people what they need in the way they like to receive it. Seems to me, that’s what Jesus did most of the time.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
I recommend this book to any church leader (but especially a senior leader) who is looking to improve their church. It’s also a good resource for church secret shopper ideas.

Appendices
There are some good resources in the back of the book, including surveys for secret shoppers and other forms.

Other related books
Mark Waltz has much to say on this topic in his trilogy of books First Impressions: Creating Wow Experiences in Your Church, Lasting Impressions: From Visiting to Belonging, and How to Wow Your Church Guests: 101 Ways to Make a Meaningful First Impression. From a business perspective, much of The Disney Institute’s Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service translates into the church world.

First paragraph: The Wright Brothers

From ancient times and into the middle ages, man had dreamed of taking to the sky, of soaring into the blue like the birds. One savant in Spain in the year 875 is known to have covered himself with feathers in the attempt. Others devised wings of their own design and jumped from rooftops and towers—some to their deaths—in Constantinople, Nuremberg, Perugia. Learned monks conceived schemes on paper. And starting about 1490, Leonardo da Vinci made the most serious studies. He felt predestined to study flight, he said, and related a childhood memory of a kite flying down onto his cradle.

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough (New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2015, 2016)

In case you missed it, I wrote last week in depth about this book.

From my library: The Wright Brothers

Card catalogue data
The Wright Brothers by David McCullough (New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2015, 2016)
Categories: U.S. history, biography; aeronautics
Format: Paperback
Pages: 262 (321 with end matter)

This is the third book I read in June, and the 14th book I read in 2016.

Bottom line
This engaging biography shows the tenacity, ability, and curiosity of a couple of Dayton bicycle mechanics as they begin the age of flight.

About the author/Why I read this book
I had to put these two categories together because they interweave. I love reading U.S. history and biography and there is no better writer in this genre than David McCullough. His most well-known book is John Adams, on which the 2008 HBO miniseries was based. McCullough twice received the Pulitzer Prize, for John Adams and for Truman. He also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom among many other awards and honors. He is among my top five favorite authors of any genre. He makes history read like a novel. I will read anything he has published.

By the way, years ago McCullough was the narrator voice for the PBS series American Experience. I love his voice. I find my mind reading his books in his voice. As a bonus, the audio version of the book is read by the author himself.

Beyond just the appeal to me of the author, the subject itself is fascinating. It’s hard for us now in the 21st century to imagine, but try to put yourself in the time frame, when manned, heavier-than-air flight was an impossibility. Yes, I knew about the Wright flier. I remember visiting D.C. as a seventh grade student and seeing it suspended in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. (You can also see a replica here locally at the Tellus Museum in Cartersville, Georgia. And at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan, you can see the Wright family’s home and the Wright Cycle Shop.) But beyond the flier and knowing they carried their experiments out at KItty Hawk, I knew very little about them.

What I’ve learned
Of course I already knew of the two brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright. But in this book I learned of the important roles that their sister Katharine Wright and their father Bishop Milton Wright played. I felt like I knew this family after reading this book. What was most fascinating was the brothers’ tenacity. Yes, they had abilities and intellect, but it was their dogged determination that made the difference for them. It’s a great reminder that persistence will win over talent and skill every time.

Favorite quote

No bird soars in a calm.

—Wilbur Wright

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Highly recommended.

Author’s sources
McCullough’s sources are always extensive. The greatest treasure trove can be found at the Library of Congress, where many of the Wright family papers are stored. Included in this stash are the many letters the family wrote. McCullough says the entire family wrote so clearly and expressed their thoughts so well in writing. In our 21st century world we seem to be losing that ability.

Other related books
If you would like to read further on the topic of inventions and discoveries at the turn of the 20th century, I would highly recommend McCullough’s book The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris, another fascinating book.

From my library: The 7 Rings of Marriage by Jackie Bledsoe

Card catalogue data
The 7 Rings of Marriage: Your Model for a Lasting and Fulfilling Marriage by Jackie Bledsoe (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2016)
Category: Marriage
Format: Paperback
Pages: 194 (207 with end matter)
About the author: Jackie Bledsoe is a professional blogger (jackiebledsoe.com), author, and speaker who is a young rising star in Baptist circles. He and his wife Stephana have been through the good and bad of marriage and want to pass along all the lessons they have learned.
Bottom line: Excellent marriage book that outlines seven stages of marriage in “rings”: Engagement RING, Wedding RING, DiscoveRING, PerseveRING, RestoRING, ProspeRING, and MentoRING. No matter where you are in your marriage, you will get something out of this. His emphasis, from a Christian perspective, includes prayer, communication, commitment, and many other concepts. Highly recommend.

Why I read this book
I had started this book before I left my former church position as I was considering Bledsoe as a speaker for a marriage retreat. I finished it after I left because it was so good. The author speaks form experience—not just a rose-colored glasses look at another fake perfect Christian marriage. They have been through many struggles and learned how to grow through them. He fully admits that a good marriage takes hard work, just like anything else worth having in life, but it’s totally worth it and the benefits far outweigh the costs.

What I’ve learned
One of the many things I have learned, or been reminded of, is the importance of praying together as a couple. I have let this slip in our marriage and want to restore this. Also the importance of communication in general, which takes time. I’m learning in this time of unemployment how important our communication is.

Favorite quote
“Marriage isn’t for you.” (Meaning when we live our marriage trying to please and honor each other, rather than always focusing on what pleases ourselves, we’ll have a great marriage.)

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Recommend for every couple no matter what stage you are in; also recommend to young singles looking to see what marriage should be as they plan for their futures.

Other related books:
Bledsoe also has a Bible study format of the book called The 7 Rings of Marriage: Practical Biblical Wisdom for Every Season of Your Marriage.

March 2016 Reading Challenge book: START by Jon Acuff

Our new group the 2016 Reading Challenge is off to a great start! Last week we met to discuss our February book, Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear by Max Lucado. And this week we’re starting our March book, Start: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average, Do Work That Matters by Jon Acuff.

This book ties into our theme for the year, Courage, as a guide to not just settle for average in life but to have the courage to go for awesome.

In Start, Acuff talks about the five stages of a successful life, which used to be tied to your age during a time when people tended to stick with one career their entire working life:

Learning (20s)
Editing (30s)
Mastering (40s)
Harvesting (50s)
Guiding (60s)

But now, according to Acuff, the stages are no longer tied to when you were born, but to when you decide to live. You just have to Start!

This week we’re reading chapters 1 and 2. Chapter 1, “You Are Here,” introduces the concept of the five stages of life and shows how things are different now. In chapter 2, “The Start,” he talks about the importance of not only being wildly enthusiastic about your future, but also being extremely realistic about your present—where you are now. He also says that the Start is the only part you truly control and you can’t really predict the finish.

We’ll meet at the end of the month—on Wednesday, March 30, at 7:00pm at NorthStar Church—to discuss the book together. Email me at randy dot elster at northstarchurch dot org for more information.

2016 READING CHALLENGE: The Year of Courage

I’ve always loved to read. I have a memory from my childhood of Mom bringing home boxes of books that she saved from being destroyed. She worked for the county school resource office at the time (mainly caring for and sending out films and filmstrips–remember those?), and they were getting rid of old books from school libraries to make room for new ones. To someone else, those boxes may have seemed like trash. But to me it was a treasure chest.

Later, in early adulthood, I went through a time where I said I loved to read but finally realized I wasn’t really reading. I think schooling does that to you. You have to read so much that you really don’t want to read that you don’t have time for what you do want to read, and you just get out of the habit.

That’s when I started making reading goals and began to really read. And over the years, I keep learning how to get more out of what I read.

I can truly say that reading is one of my favorite things to do. It’s a place of comfort for me, but also of challenge.

I’ve known so many people over the years that were like me years ago: a desire to read more, but they just need a little push. A little accountability.

That’s one of the reasons I’m starting a new group this semester that will be different from any other group we’ve done at NorthStar. It’s called the 2016 Reading Challenge.

Here’s the lowdown:

Day: The last WEDNESDAY of each month
Time: 7:00-8:30pm
Leader: Randy Elster
Location: NorthStar campus

We will read one book a month.
We’ll meet once a month, at the end of the month, to discuss the book.
During the month we’ll stay in touch via email, this blog, and possibly other means to encourage each other and make sure we’re on track.
This will be a year-long group focused on a theme, so that each book that year will be tied to the one-word theme. The 2016 theme will be “courage.”
Even though it’s a year-long group, the commitment is month to month. So you can drop out and back in when needed, or if you don’t like the book that month.
The books will not all be Christian books. They will include Christian and secular, fiction and nonfiction, and include many genres: history, biography, business, leadership, self-help, and more.
Though not all the books will be Christian, we will approach each book and discuss them from a biblical perspective.
The group will support a habit of lifelong learning and part of the discussions will be around how we grow personally and apply what we learn.
The group, as the name implies, is a challenge both to read more and to read more thoughtfully, taking every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5).

This group is for:

Readers who want to have a little more structure to their reading and want to discuss what they are reading with others to gain new insights and to see how what they are reading compares to a biblical worldview.
Nonreaders who want to read more but would like the discipline and accountability that a group like this would give.

And here is the tentative book list:

02/16 Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear by Max Lucado
03/16 Start: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average and Do Work That Matters by Jon Acuff
04/16 Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brene Brown
05/16 Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
06/16 Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
07/16 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
08/16 Brave: 50 Everyday Acts of Courage to Thrive in Work, Love and Life by Margie Warrell
09/16 The Courage Quotient: How Science Can Make You Braver by Robert Biswas-Diener
10/16 The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
11/16 Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality by Henry Cloud
12/16 Brave Companions: Portraits in History by David McCullough

Interested? Join us!

Register: northstarchurch.org/group
More info: randy dot elster at northstarchurch dot org

Did you know? Woodrow Wilson

I recently finished reading a looooooong biography of President Woodrow Wilson as part of my insane goal of reading a bio of each U.S president. I blogged about it Monday. Along with the history itself, the leadership insights, the other-worldliness of presidential life, I also find the trivia fascinating. Here are some fun facts:

Mottoes associated with Wilson:

After a policy of neutrality in world affairs, he led the nation into the Great War (World War I) in order to make the world “safe for democracy.”
His second election offered the motto “America First.”
“Peace without victory.”
Was attributed with the slogan “the war to end all wars.” Actually came from the title of a book by H.G. Wells called The War That Will End War.

Firsts for President Wilson:

Established the convention of a president holding a White House press conference.
Utilized the President’s Room in the U.S. Capitol more than any president before him. This is an ornate corner room just off the Senate chamber. George Washington had proposed this room so the president and senators could conduct joint business together, but it didn’t come into existence until the mid-19^th century. Wilson used the room a good deal at the beginning of his presidency but that tapered off as his relationship with Congress faltered.
Established the convention of addressing a joint session of Congress in person instead of having the annual message read. Since John Adams, no president had delivered the state of the union in person, partly to keep it from feeling like a king addressing his subjects.
His wife Edith became the first First Lady to “embrace the humanitarian potential of her position, the ability to draw attention to social injustices.”
Established a presidential tradition for historic bill signings, utilizing two or three gold pens to sign and then gifting those pens to the congressmen and senators who had most helped him get it passed.
Officially established Flag Day—June 14—to commemorate the day in 1777 on which Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes.
During the Great War, he introduced Daylight Saving Time to create an extra hour of farm work each evening and to save an hour of artificial light, thus reducing the use of electricity and coal.

Random trivia:

As president, he made time for recreational reading and asked the Librarian of Congress to keep him supplied with detective novels.
Urged citizens to pledge their allegiance to the United States of America instead of honoring the hyphen that linked every American to the country of their ancestry.
Theodore Roosevelt, while campaigning against Wilson, said, “Instead of speaking softly and carrying a big stick, President Wilson spoke bombastically and carried a dishrag.”
His incapacitating stroke while in office was one of the century’s greatest secrets. His wife Edith became the gatekeeper of information and work coming to the president during this time. Some have even referred to her as the first female president.

First paragraph

Note: This starts a new occasional feature on the blog. The first paragraph of any book should ideally set the tone of the book and whet the reader’s appetite. Some first paragraphs are even works of art in and of themselves. Others are more perfunctory but get the job effectively done. I’d like to thank Michael Wade who has been inspiring me for years with this feature on his wonderful blog Execupundit.

Dawn broke that day on a new epoch, one that would carry the name of a man whose ideas and ideals would extend well into the next century.

Wilson by A. Scott Berg (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2013)

In case you missed it, I wrote yesterday in depth about this book.

From my library: Wilson by A. Scott Berg

Card catalog data
Wilson by A. Scott Berg (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2013)
About the author: Berg is probably best known for his best-selling biographies of Charles Lindbergh (Lindbergh), Samuel Goldwyn (Goldwyn: A Biography), and Katharyn Hepburn (Kate Remembered).
Category: Biography, U.S. Presidents
Format: I started with a library copy of the hardback, but soon found the book in the bargain sections of both Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million, where I purchased it for $7.97 (original MSRP: $40.00).
Pages: 743 (818 with end matter)
Bottom line: Published 100 years after his inauguration, this book shows that Woodrow Wilson still stands as one of the most important men of the 20th century, as well as one of the most enigmatic.

Why I read this book:
I love biography and history, especially U.S. history, and most especially as it pertains to the presidents. Also I am continuing my long-term goal of reading a biography of each U.S. President in the order they served. (Next up: Warren G. Harding.) I find inspiration and courage in seeing how people handle what is arguably the toughest job in the world. This was my 22nd and last book read in 2015.

What I’ve learned:
Woodrow Wilson was our 27th president (28th if you count Grover Cleveland’s nonconsecutive terms twice), serving 1913-1921. His experience as president of Princeton University and governor of New Jersey seems scant preparation for the job of president of the United States. His nearly two terms in office began well, but his rising opposition and the resistance he faced in the peace conferences after the Great War, both from other countries and from home, took a toll on his health. His dearest objective, to form a League of Nations that would prevent war, never materialized. Nevertheless, he was beloved by the people. Wilson’s progressive ideas paved the way for the New Deal.

Personal application:
Wilson’s stubbornness on some issues and his all-consuming devotion ultimately cost him his health and his life. Sometimes the isolation of leadership positions can cloud our vision of reality and make us compromise when there should be none and be stubborn when we should compromise. And when we take on the martyr syndrome and overwork becomes the norm, we might fizzle out early and have nothing to give later in life.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
While the writing was good, the book was quite long and filled with day-by-day detail that seemed unnecessary.

Author’s sources:
In addition to hundreds of thousands of documents in the Wilson Archives, Berg was the first biographer to take advantage of newly discovered papers that had belonged to Wilson’s physician (and nearly constant companion) and to one of Wilson’s daughters, Jessie Wilson Sayre.