The Return

Review: The Conviction to Lead: 25 Principles for Leadership That Matters Albert Mohler Bethany House Publishers 2012 This seems to be Dr. Mohler’s foray into the plethora of leadership/management books available to the public. His stated goal from page 20 is to “redefine Christian leadership” related to held beliefs, and “to motivate” those with those beliefs to preparation for leadership. Worthy goal and hopefully one that has defined his twenty years as the president of a denominational seminary. His 25 principles are a list of what he thinks leaders should be. He draws heavily from those he considers to be successful leaders of the past in business, political, and military fields. Martin Luther, Francis Schaeffer, and Stephen Colbert are also mentioned. The principles here are not new or innovative if the reader has read any of the works published in the business field within the last thirty years. His presentation of the principles is brief and in some cases he m...

Review: What on Earth Am I Here For? Rick Warren Zondervan 2012 It’s been 10 years already? Yes, it has, and in that time another generation has grown up and is asking what life is all about. So it’s time for an updated edition of this book. The first thing I noticed when I received this book was the crisp clean design for the dust jacket. Much nicer, cleaner look than the earlier edition. Inside there’s a new font, paper and page setup. Then there’s those nifty little QR links. Yes, I did check them and they work just fine, as did the other links related to this study. It’s all free, too. Except the book, of course. There are even listening guides to download if you want to follow along with the discussion that accompanies each week’s focus. So far I am impressed with this anniversary edition. The original text was maintained here with the addition of a couple of new chapters at the end. Those two chapters are helpful. They cover a couple of the major pitfalls th...

Review: Jesus: Pure and Simple Wayne Cordeiro Bethany House Publishers 2012 I have to admit I had not heard of this author until I received this book for review. Judging from this list of his other titles I have been living on another planet recently. All that is corrected now. Jesus: Pure and Simple reminds the reader about what is most important in his relationship with Jesus. Jesus, Himself. The basis of this book could be from either a verse from the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 6:33) or one from Revelation 2 (the letter to the Church at Ephesus). The focus is the same. And this is serves as a good reminder of focus. Throughout the book the author speaks of different distractions that distort or blur our focus on the “things above.” Dissatisfaction really spoke volumes about the climate today. The quote that stuck with me was “staying near the door” and related to that Cordeiro’s reminder to focus more on how many are not within the Church (read “Kingdom of God”, o...