By: Jonita Fair-Payton on December 6, 2023
Most of us live two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands resistance. ~Steve Pressfield The back cover of this book asks a question that I yelled “YES” as an answer! YES, I dream about writing the Great American Novel! Now that I’ve cleared that up…how do…
By: Esther Edwards on December 6, 2023
Reading The War of Art by Steven Pressfield comes at a pivotal point in this doctoral program where the very war this book describes, tangibly shows itself for those of us who have fallen prey to the enemy throughout the semester. Yes. I confess that procrastination often becomes my unwanted friend. Though we can all…
By: Kally Elliott on December 5, 2023
“It’s about ten-thirty now. I sit down and plunge in. When I start making typos, I know I’m getting tired. That’s four hours or so. I’ve hit the point of diminishing returns. I wrap up for the day.”[1] I read this book, The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, on the heels of completing the…
By: Kim Sanford on December 5, 2023
The War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle sounds like an intense and intimidating read. The author, Steven Pressfield, is clearly passionate and experienced as a creative professional. While parts of the book felt reminiscent of Austin Kleon’s Steal Like an Artist, this book’s main idea was more clearly defined. Basically, successful artists discipline…
By: Jenny Dooley on December 4, 2023
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles, by Steven Pressfield came at just the right time. Well, maybe not. It is a curious time to unpack my own resistance when I have so little time to do so. However, I am receiving this opportunity as a timely invitation…
By: Travis Vaughn on December 4, 2023
What keeps us from getting things done is what Steven Pressfield calls “Resistance”[1] in The War of Art. Resistance. I know it well. I’ve dealt with this antagonist for years. Call it ADD. Call it too many things on my plate. Call it I’ll have plenty of time to do what I really want to…
By: John Fehlen on December 4, 2023
This is my third time reading The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. It’s a go-to book for me, and so are his other works on writing and creativity, such as Turning Pro, Do The Work, and Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants To Be. Like the writings of Austin Kleon (Steal Like An…
By: Tim Clark on December 4, 2023
Finishing a semester feels like finishing a Sunday. Every week on Sunday I get up much earlier than usual and prayerfully enter the space where for the next few hours I’m going to be in the ring and fighting for lives, sometimes my own. The battle isn’t against flesh and blood and I’m building people…
By: Jennifer Vernam on December 4, 2023
In the middle of the hubbub of getting all the final papers completed and the underlying hum of the holidays, this last blog post of the year was hard for me. While Steven Pressfield’s The Art of War [1] is a quick read, I found that I struggled with it a bit. Below I will…
By: Jana Dluehosh on November 30, 2023
Leadership by Peter Northouse is the text book I was waiting for in this Doctorate of Leadership. Not because it has the cutting edge of leadership theory, but because it gives a practical chapter on 15 styles of leadership. I have been playing around with becoming a leadership coach once this doctorate is over and…
By: Dinka Utomo on November 30, 2023
Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal -Peter G. Northouse- Every five years, our denomination holds leadership elections at the synodal level called the Synodal Assembly, which has 11 positions for Pastors, Elders, and Deacons. The 11 selected individuals will lead our denomination for five…
By: Todd E Henley on November 30, 2023
Terrorism, political upheaval, mass murders, world-wide pandemic, mass migration, racial strife, discord in global politics, depression era economy, mass poverty, the #Me too movement, financial oligarchies, and mass hunger. The years 2020-2022 have felt like our entire societal structures were crumbling beneath our very feet. We have entered an age of disruption. Yet the possibility…
By: Adam Harris on November 30, 2023
I feel like I dropped the ball with our new teenage volunteers recently, especially after reading Peter Northouse’s, Leadership Theory and Practice. To give some context, several months ago we made a big shift at our church to truly embody the value of service for our youth department. We still have youth classes on Wednesday…
By: Mathieu Yuill on November 30, 2023
Merriam-Wesbter’s 2023 word of the year is authentic[1]. There are many definitions for authentic but the specific use of it that resulted in the dictionary publisher giving it top honours is “Not false or imitation. Real.” One of the methods Merriam-Webster uses to determine its word of the year is by studying search trends and…
By: Jonita Fair-Payton on November 30, 2023
Leadership At first glance, this book seemed massive and overwhelming. I decided to take a different approach to reading this book. I will be honest, inspectional reading is my only option at this point in the semester as my leadership responsibilities are bleeding over into every aspect of my life, I feel like the role…
By: Esther Edwards on November 30, 2023
Leadership has the power to “change the way people think about what is possible.”[1] This power has given rise to much interest in leadership research over the last century at an unprecedented rate, documenting styles, processes, theories, and proposed leadership solutions.[2] Hunt counted more than “10,000 empirical studies on leadership”[3] and Northouse notes the development…
By: Jenny Dooley on November 30, 2023
I’m embarrassed to confess that I have not read many books on leadership prior to this doctoral program and I was not given to thinking of myself as a leader. I simply considered myself a good follower. Reading Leadership: Theory and Practice, Ninth Edition by Peter Northouse was fascinating and presented a thorough and broad…
By: Cathy Glei on November 29, 2023
“Both leaders and followers are involved together in the leadership process. . . . Leaders have an ethical responsibility to attend to the needs and concerns of followers.” [1] In Peter G. Northouse’s leadership textbook, “Leadership: Theory and Practice”, the author explains various leadership theories incorporated into practical applications for aspiring leaders. Each chapter includes…
By: Kally Elliott on November 29, 2023
In prepping for this blog post I asked Chatgpt to write a critique of Peter Northouse’s book, Leadership: Theory and Practice in the voice of the Reverend Kally Elliott. What follows is the introductory paragraph: Greetings, dear readers, and blessings upon your journey! Today, let us embark on a reflective journey into the realms of…
By: Tim Clark on November 29, 2023
I regularly have the opportunity to talk to others about leadership. Often this is in a discipleship context with a small group of emerging ministry leaders. During these kinds of conversations, inevitable questions arise, such as… “Are leaders made or born?” “Is leadership something people grow into naturally, or is it an assigned task?” “What…
