Glen’s Church Blog

The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and World by Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow and Marty Linsky A Review by Glen Bickford This book is amazing. It has a depth that takes one’s breath away. It is a secular book, yet talks about leadership in a way that is easily applicable…

Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by New Church Starts by Jim Griffith and Bill Easum A Review by Glen Bickford Written in a readable style, this book is surely helpful to those who are planting churches. What is interesting is that this book is just as helpful to those who are trying to redevelop their…

Seven Practices Of Highly Effective Ministry[1] by Andy Stanley, Reggie Joiner and Lane Jones A review by Glen Bickford Seven Practices of Effective Ministry is an unusual book and an unusual read for me. The authors are from North Point Community Church, a corporate sized church in Atlanta, Ga. which Andy Stanley started. Written by folks…

Promise and Peril: Understanding and Managing Change and Conflict in Congregations by David R. Brubaker A Review by Glen Bickford David Brubaker is clearly a master of statistical analysis. There is much to be gained by reading this book from Alban Institute. A few of his insights are qualitative such as building layouts can help explain…

Congregation Leadership in Anxious Times by Peter Steinke: A Review  by Glen Bickford Peter Steinke continues his church consultation legacy with this book focused on church leadership: how to be a non-anxious presence. His first chapter, Anxious Souls, describes the effects of anxiety: contagiousness, reactivity, black and white thinking. He also quotes Dean R. Hoge and Jacqueline…

David Olson is a pastor, church planter and church planter coach for the Evangelical Covenant Church. A long-time resident of Minnesota, he recently moved to Chicago to take a position with the national office of the Evangelical Covenant Church. His book The American Church in Crisis is a statistician’s attempt to make sense of the overall decline…

This is a new Blog devoted to Church Consultation. I recently attended an Interim Ministry Conference in Nashville. We spoke about mediation, consultation and how to change the mindset of many congregations today. Below is my review of a post conference seminar program. Review: Peter Steinke’s A Door Set Open and New Visions Training Program Peter Steinke has been a…