By: Andy Hale on February 22, 2023
For as long as Western culture can trace its history, Christianity has been at the center. Quite literally, most American towns were built with a Christian congregation in the middle of the city planning. But the centering of this religion within most Western cultures has begun to wane, wobble, and even fall in many cases.…
By: Elmarie Parker on February 21, 2023
“We are goldfish swimming in Christian [I would suggest Judeo-Christian] waters.”[1] Tom Holland’s colorful description of Christianity’s influence on the western mind left me smiling. Throughout his Theos Annual Lecture, Holland gave illustration after illustration of how the dogmas of Western, secular-humanism are implicitly rooted in the Christian narrative. What has been tacitly assumed by…
By: Mary Kamau on February 18, 2023
Critical Theory has become a buzzword common in politics and social justice academic talks and even found its way to the school curriculum, yet only a few know its sources. James Lindsay and Helen Pluckrose have delved into this topic. They have tried to demystify it in their book, Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made…
By: Troy Rappold on February 16, 2023
Another great selection for the book-of-the-week-club by Dr. Jason Clark. Cynical Theories by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsey, published in 2020, traces the historical arc of postmodern thought from its beginning, its development, and onto the modern incarnations we see today. This book, like so many others we have read for this program, spends time…
By: Kayli Hillebrand on February 11, 2023
While the contents of this weeks reading were not entirely new, the combination of the components that Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder in Rare Leadership: 4 Uncommon Habits of Increasing Trust, Joy, and Engagement in the People You Lead provided me a new lens in which to view leadership and how I choose to steward…
By: Mary Kamau on February 10, 2023
Warner is the president of Deeper Walk International. He is a former pastor and college professor who has authored several books on topics ranging from studying the Bible to spiritual warfare, emotional healing, and leadership. Wilder is a psychologist and theologian. Their book, Rare Leadership, looks at leadership from the right-brain perspective.[1] They use their…
By: Denise Johnson on February 10, 2023
The educator in me has been struggling with church practices that are so focused on the analytical understanding [1] of the word of God. Even though, most of the churches I have been in talk about the importance of relationships, how they interact with the scripture take the form of an expert talking at the…
By: Henry Gwani on February 9, 2023
Rare Leadership: 4 Uncommon Habits for Increasing Trust, Joy, and Engagement in the People You Lead is a refreshing book that focuses on emotional intelligence and fast thinking, albeit from a Christian perspective. It moves away from the popular results-driven leadership model, or one that is geared simply towards problem-solving, to one that focuses on…
By: Elmarie Parker on February 9, 2023
In “Rare Leadership: 4 Uncommon Habits for Increasing Trust, Joy, and Engagement in the People You Lead,” Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder demonstrate how the leadership habits they discuss are grounded in brain science.[1] They set out to convince the reader that by practicing the habits of 1) remaining relational, 2) acting out of your…
By: Michael Simmons on February 9, 2023
In their book, authors Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder dare to be rare in their approach to leadership development, and diagnosing common leadership issues, particularly among Christian leaders and pastors. R.A.R.E. is an acrostic which stands for Remain relational, Act like yourself, Return to joy, and Endure hardship, and these habits are said to increase…
By: Troy Rappold on February 9, 2023
Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder wrote Rare Leadership: 4 Uncommon Habits for Increasing Trust, Joy, and Engagement in the People You Love in 2016. Since that time this book has undoubtedly been a benefit to many Christian leaders wanting to improve their effectiveness and ministry. But like a key note speaker whose opening banter drags…
By: Nicole Richardson on February 9, 2023
RARE; how one may describe good leadership today. It is definitely implied by authors Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder in their book Rare Leadership: 4 Uncommon Habits For Increasing Trust, Joy, and Engagement in the People You Lead. Wilder, who holds a Ph.D. in Psychology and an M.A. in theology, and Warner, who holds a…
By: Roy Gruber on February 9, 2023
In my early years of ministry, I heard repeated ideas about the essence of leadership. “Leaders have a bias toward action” and “Leaders get things done” were common descriptions voiced about the identifying marks of strong leadership. In Rare Leadership, Doctors Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder point in a different direction than outcome-based definitions and…
By: Jonathan Lee on February 8, 2023
RARE Leadership is a leadership development book written by Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder. Dr. Marcus Warner received his seminary education from Trinity Evangelical Divinity, and he is the president of Deeper Walk International, an organization that focuses on equipping ministry leaders to help them grow in their identity and leadership. Dr. Jim Wilder has…
By: Eric Basye on February 8, 2023
Rare Leadership: 4 Uncommon Habits for Increasing Trust, Joy, and Engagement in the People You Lead is a leadership book that incorporates elements of neuroscience and psychology. Written by Jim Wilder and Marcus Warner, the combined duo provide a breadth of experience to speak to the spiritual, mental, and social elements of leadership. Dr. Wilder…
By: Andy Hale on February 8, 2023
A quick Amazon search for “leadership books” will yield over 50,000 results, so either the market is desperate for more leadership wisdom that many people struggle to lead or something else altogether. I am glad I chose to write a book for clergy and congregational leaders for my doctoral project… Don’t fact-check me on this,…
By: Elmarie Parker on February 3, 2023
In “The Ages of Globalization: Geography, Technology, and Institutions,”[1] Jeffrey Sachs deftly combines the long arc of history with policy recommendations for the here and now. His book is classified under the rubric of economic and global history, a subsection of the social sciences. Sachs, an expert in the field of sustainable development, teaches in…
By: Henry Gwani on February 2, 2023
Inspired by the five stones David uses in his fight against Goliath, Rick Warren has identified five of the most pressing challenges of our time. According to him, these are spiritual emptiness, extreme poverty, chronic disease, illiteracy, and egocentric leadership. One does not need to ponder too deeply to appreciate the truth in Warren’s thinking.…
By: Jonathan Lee on February 2, 2023
Jefferey D. Sachs is a professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. In this book, The Ages of Globalization – Geography, Technology, and Institutions, Dr. Sachs takes the readers to reflect into the world’s history behind present globalization and gaze into the economy of the seven ages of globalization. He…
By: Troy Rappold on February 2, 2023
In Jeffrey Sachs’ book, The Ages of Globalization, the entire history of globalization is traced from the Paleolithic Age up to our Digital Age in the twenty-first century. The challenges and possible solutions we face today are provided in the last two chapters. The book was published in 2020 and its subject falls in categories…
