Resources : books

Creps' new book is a topic of interest both inside and outside the church as older leaders realize that they're not "getting it" when it comes to technologies (iPod, IM, blogging) or cultural issues such as the fact that younger people see the world in an entirely different way. Creps has been personally involved in reverse mentoring for several years and has spoken and written on the subject extensively. He has pastored three churches (one Boomer, one Builder, on X'er) and is currently a church planter in Berkeley, California. He has also served as a consultant and and a seminary professor and administrator, holding a PhD in Communication Studies and a D.Min. from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary.

Sticky Church tells the inspiring story of North Coast Church’s phenomenal growth and offers practical tips for launching your own sermon-based small group ministry.
Topics include:
- Why stickiness is so important
- Why most of our discipleship models don’t work very well
- Why small groups always make a church more honest and transparent
- What makes groups grow deeper and stickier over time

Sticky Church is an ideal book for church leaders who want to start or retool their small group ministry—and velcro their congregation to the Bible and each other.

Download the Tangible Kingdom Remix

Visit www.tangiblekingdom.com

"Hugh and Matt are real live heroes. Not only because they provide some original insights into the nature of the mission of incarnational ways of church, but because they courageously pave the way for the rest of us to follow. Laced with the inspirational authority that only practitioners can provide, this book deserves to be taken seriously by all concerned with mission and church in the 21st century."
~ Alan Hirsch, Author of The Forgotten Ways and The Shaping of Things To Come (with Mike Frost)

"Plunging deeper and deeper with Jesus into a grassroots incarnational life is what this book is about. Many aspire to it, some write about it, but very few live out the rhythms of such a holistic lifestyle in the way that Hugh and Matt and their families are currently doing. I am thrilled to see their journey in book form and I hope that The Tangible Kingdom finds a wide and receptive audience."
~Andrew Jones, tallskinnykiwi.com

Church Unique offers church leaders a way to transform their vision with missional effectiveness.

Written by church consultant Will Mancini—a pioneer of a new kind of visioning process to help churches develop a stunningly unique model of ministry that leads to redemptive movement. He guides churches away from an internal focus to emphasize participation in their community and surrounding culture. In this important book, Mancini offers an approach for rethinking what it means to lead with clarity as a visionary. Mancini explains that each church has a culture that reflects its particular values, thoughts, attitudes and actions and shows how leaders can unlock their church’s individual DNA and unleash their congregation’s one-of-a-kind potential.

Whether leading a mega-church or church plant, a multi-site or mainline, a ministry or parachurch, Church Unique will provide inspiration as a practical guide for leading into the future. There is a better way.

Will Mancini, a former pastor is the founder of Auxano, a national consulting group that works with traditional and emerging churches and ministries of all types around the country. Their mission is to navigate leaders through growth challenges with vision clarity (auxano.com).

Remissionalizing established churches can be a rough going. If leaders are to successfully steer the church through the challenges of the 21st Century, they will need help to negotiate the complexities of spirituality, culture, history, and institutional structures that go to make up organizations. Will Mancini is a savvy navigator and Church Unique is an impressive blueprint for organizational renewal.
~ Alan Hirsch - author of The Forgotten Ways and The Shaping of Things To Come and founding director of the innovative Forge Mission Training Network

Unique could have saved me from significant leadership blunders in the last 25 years as a local church pastor. Will’s love for the local church and his skill for facilitating the vision pathway, make this a must read. Will Mancini is a Sherpa, not a travel agent. He has the experience, he knows the trail. I have seen the process in action-it works!
~ Lance Witt - Founder of Replenish Ministries and former executive pastor, Saddleback Community Church

Watch the promo and hear Kevin talk about his book.

Read the Leadership Network Advance interview with Kevin here.

Read Kevin's Sermon Central article here.

You can serve God and his people for a lifetime and do it with passion and joy. You do not have to become another casualty in the growing number of leaders who have compromised their integrity, character, and ministry because they failed to lead an examined and accountable life. The road forward is clearly marked. Leaders must make a decision to humbly and consistently examine their inner lives and identify areas of needed change and growth.

Also, wise leaders commit to listen to the voices of those who will love them enough to speak the truth and point out problems and potential pitfalls.

Kevin Harney writes, “The vision of this book is to assist leaders as they discover the health, wisdom, and joy of living an examined life. It is also to give practical tools for self-examination.” Sharing stories and wisdom from his years in ministry, Harney shows you how to maintain the most powerful tool in your leadership toolbox: YOU. Your heart, so you can love well. Your mind, so you can continue to learn and grow. Your ears, your eyes, your mouth … consider this your essential guide to conducting your own complete interior health exam, so you can spot and fix any problems, preserve the things that matter most, and grow as a source of vision, strength, and hope to others.