Greg's Recommended Reading: Summer 2008

Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals
Shane Claibourne
Zondervan, March 2008

Amid all the buzz of politics and elections, Jesus for President is a radical manifesto to awaken the Christian political imagination, reminding us that our ultimate hope lies not in partisan political options, but in Jesus and the incarnation of the peculiar politic of the church as a people "set apart" from this world. This book offers a perspective on politics for ordinary radicals who want to love the world into the kingdom of God.

Hope Lives: A Journey of Restoration
Amber Van Schooneveld
Group, March 2008

Compassion changes everything: how you view your world... yourself... even Jesus. This five-week exploration of compassion is aimed at both head and heart, inspiring a new way to interact with the world. These 25 daily readings address poverty of the heart, what the Bible says about poverty, prayer, discovering the causes of poverty, and becoming part of the solution to local and global poverty. Powerful--and life-changing.

The Beautiful Fight
Gary Thomas
Zondervan, November 2007

Gary Thomas, author of the bestseller Sacred Marriage, based the title for this book on the way Orthodox Christian fathers translated Paul's words in 2 Timothy 4:7: I have fought the Beautiful Fight. In his latest work, Thomas issues a passionate manifesto of faith fully alive. The Beautiful Fight calls us beyond mere sin-avoidance to a robust holiness that radiates Christ through every aspect of our being. To see with Christ’s eyes, feel with Christ’s heart, and serve with Christ’s hands—this is what Christianity is truly about.

The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations
Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom
Portfolio, October 2006

If you cut off a spider’s leg, it’s crippled; if you cut off its head, it dies. But if you cut off a starfish’s leg it grows a new one, and the old leg can grow into an entirely new starfish. The Starfish and the Spider argues that organizations fall into two categories: traditional “spiders,” which have a rigid hierarchy and top-down leadership, and revolutionary “starfish,” which rely on the power of peer relationships. The Starfish and the Spider explores what happens when starfish take on spiders (such as the music industry vs. Napster, Kazaa, and the P2P services that followed). It reveals how established companies and institutions, from IBM to Intuit to the US government, are also learning how to incorporate starfish principles to achieve success.

The Multiplying Church: The New Math for Starting New Churches
Bob Roberts, Jr.
Zondervan, March 2008

This is a must-read for pastors and lay leaders involved in, or wanting to learn about, the church multiplication groundswell in North America. It shows how multiplying churches should be a natural, regular function in the DNA of every church. Learn the principles from master multiplier Bob Roberts. Here is powerful hope for the church in America. Bob was a speaker at the 2008 Londen Institute held at RiverTree this summer.


Beyond Consequences, Logic, and Control: A Love-Based Approach to Helping Attachment-Challenged Children With Severe Behaviors
Heather T. Forbes, LCSW and B. Bryan Post, Ph. D, LCSW
Beyond Consequences Institute, February 2006

Beyond Consequences, Logic, and Control details the effects of trauma on the body-mind and how trauma alters children’s behavioral responses. While scientifically based in research, it is written in an easy-to-understand format for anyone working with or parenting children with severe behaviors such as lying, stealing, hoarding and gorging, aggression and defiance. Especially helpful are the testimonials from parents who have been able to make significant changes in their homes with the love-based model of parenting described in the book.