Stopping to Think

The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a thin, very broken up book. It reads a little like a coaching seminar. So if you're looking for a long book with lots of careful argumentation and footnotes, this isn't for you. However, if you're looking for a quick and easy read with some solid takeaways, then Stanier has written a helpful little manual for you. I personally struggle in conversation, due largely to what he calls the Advice Monster. I want to jump in and speak, rather than asking follow up questions and drilling down where the other person is coming from, in pursuit of helping them come to their own conclusions. He offers helpful tools to combat that tendency. Also, as a tool tip, all 7 questions are listed on page 200. Might want to dog-ear that page for future reference. View all my reviews

I taught 1 Peter 3:7 this morning. I think I wound up drawing a lot of the same conclusions that Piper does from this text, though I do wish I had seen it before I taught. Very worth the half hour or so of your time. http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/men-love-and-lead-your-wives

Sounds like a Pastor book Yeah, it sort of does. And it sort of is. It was written by Thabiti Anyabwile, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Grand Cayman (and blogger at The Gospel Coalition and The Front Porch ). So, the first thing I want to do in approaching Finding Faithful Elders and Deacons (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), is answer the following question: Why should you, who are probably not a pastor, read a book about finding faithful elders and deacons? This is a totally legitimate question. But the answer is pretty simple. In this book Thabiti Anyabwile walks us through the characteristics and qualities required of a man called to the offices of elder and deacon. These are qualities to which all Christian men should aspire (perhaps excepting the aptitude to teach). And while you may not be a man in the position of making decisions on these matters, or a man actively desiring a position in the eldership or deaconate, or a man at all, this is information w...