By: Wallace Kamau on September 14, 2019
“Humble yourselves before God and you’ll be exalted[1]” is a cardinal rule for the success of the godly, coupled with diligence and could not have been a clearer advice to a wise and discerning leader than it is in Jim Collins (2017) book[2]. The title Good to great at the onset might suggest otherwise, especially…
By: Mary Mims on September 13, 2019
Children’s ministry is sometimes the stepchild of the church. Observations from a Facebook group on resources for children’s ministry show complaints of low budgets, scarce resources of all kinds, including lack of volunteers, and lack of dedicated spaces in buildings. Of course, this is not true for all churches. Many of the large churches make…
By: Rhonda Davis on September 13, 2019
There are many helpful lessons in Jim Collins’ research and writing. Good to Great offers practical help to those who are looking for ways to distinguish their organizations as thriving rather than simply surviving. However, more insight is gained when this book is paired with Collins’ companion work, How the Mighty Fall. These two books…
By: Nancy VanderRoest on September 13, 2019
I recently read a short story about leadership that intrigued me. It was thought-provoking and powerful in many ways because it helps put our role as ‘leaders’ into perspective. Judas Iscariot had… The best pastor The best leader The best advisor The best counselor …
By: Sean Dean on September 13, 2019
When I was in college my friends and I used to say, “why strive for excellence when mediocrity will do?” For the most part it was a joke deployed at something that was clearly the result of not trying hard enough. The focus, effort, and sacrifice necessary to reach excellence are things most people are…
By: Darcy Hansen on September 13, 2019
In 2 weeks, I’ll be embarking on a learning adventure for my Leadership of Global Perspectives Doctorate of Ministry program. This adventure will require full sensory attentiveness to the fast-paced cosmopolitan city of London, as well as the historically nostalgic streets Oxford. While I’m giddy to visit both, Oxford has captivated my imagination ever since…
By: Jenn Burnett on September 13, 2019
Just over a week ago I was catching up with longtime friends who are also in ministry. They are in the midst of transitioning into a new church and we were reflecting on our various congregations over the last few years. At one point I shared this comparison. (Now I want to qualify this with…
By: Karen Rouggly on September 12, 2019
Last year, the president of our University retired. He was at the university for a total of 43 years and had worked his way up from our facilities team through student life, to the VP of Student Life and then to the Presidency. While it was a long journey, it was one full of legacy…
By: Andrea Lathrop on September 12, 2019
There is an overwhelming amount of things to reflect on from Jim Collins for our leadership and ministry assimilation. It feels as if his research and concepts have been a part of all of my ministry leadership years. And it basically has been. I could start with just the title of Good to Great and dive…
By: Harry Edwards on September 12, 2019
When I first heard Jim Collins lecture on leadership back in February 20, 2002, I was immediately hooked. I still have an autographed copy of his book and refer to it often. What captivated me was not so much the content of his talk, although all of it was relevant and cutting-edge, it was something…
By: Jer Swigart on September 12, 2019
Henri Nouwen is one in a constellation of Christian mystics who speaks of the sustainable, centered, cohesive way of life that is present to and oriented around the God we can discover in Jesus. With each paragraph saturated in humility and vulnerability, Nouwen offers us permission to be nothing more than human beings who are…
By: Mario Hood on September 12, 2019
James C. “Jim” Collins is an American author, consultant, and lecturer on the subject of business management and company sustainability and growth.[1] In his classic and continuing bestseller book, Good to Great, Collins and his researchers sifted through 1,435 Fortune 500 companies to find the few that met their study’s criteria for greatness, out of these companies they…
By: Chris Pollock on September 12, 2019
In the house where I grew up I remember there was a book on a shelf in the upper hallway that had a picture on the front cover that often caught my attention. The picture was of open hands covering a woman’s face. ‘With Open Hands’ is the title of the book and, Henri Nouwen…
By: Nancy Blackman on September 12, 2019
As a fan of Henri Nouwen, I already owned “Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life.” It was fun to open it back up and re-read my highlights, pondering how they might be prevalent to where I am today. It’s hard for me to separate discernment of my travel to London without including why I…
By: Rev Jacob Bolton on September 12, 2019
I was given Jim Collins New York Times bestseller Good to Great to read by the Head of Staff at a church I used to work for back in 2007. The book was described as “the best book he had read on organizational models” and the ideas presented within were what he hoped the large…
By: Tammy Dunahoo on September 12, 2019
Becoming great and sustaining greatness is the theme of Jim Collins’ books, Good to Great and Good to Great in the Social Sectors which the author describes as prequels to his previous work Built to Last. Unfortunately, his case studies included companies such as Circuit City which filed bankruptcy just seven years after the publishing…
By: Greg Reich on September 11, 2019
How does one start to unfold the many possibilities that a book like Discernment Reading the Signs of Daily Life by Henri Nouwen conjures up? Especially when it comes to putting it into practice in a place like London and Oxford. A place of which my only experience is based on books that I have…
By: Joe Castillo on September 11, 2019
I thought it would be a great idea to take my son to Oxford and visit the house of Harry Potter. He is a fan of Harry, and it would have been an excellent experience for hin but unfortunately the trip conflict with his school. All probably know that many tourists go to visit Oxford because…
By: Steve Wingate on September 10, 2019
Henri Nouwen, a Roman Catholic priest, professor, author, and compassionate teacher teaches us to do the hard work of being transformed by God as we listen and engage by reading, prayer, and cooperating with others in their journey. Reading this text reminded me about the story an employee told me when he was in the…
By: Joe Castillo on September 10, 2019
Nouwen, Discernment (Introduction, Ch. 1-3, 5-7, 9) Discernment is a book that I would be reading entirely because of the book sensitive topics that are very close to my heart. There is no doubt that Nouwen took his time to integrate precious aspects in his approach to the issue of Discernment. In my opinion, the author takes…
