Resources Books

"The Equipping Church" by Sue Mallory is an excellent book that addresses the question: "What might your church look like if its members were vital, fully empowered partners in ministry? How can you help them discover and release their full potential? How would their roles change - and yours?" The goal is to help church leaders customize an equipping system and culture in their church.

The approach taken by Mallory is very practical, with a lot of examples and encouragement, and clear explanation of bibilical principles behind the priest of believers. She also highlights several good examples in each chapter of churches that are doing a good job today at putting these principles into practice. In addition, there are appendices looking at core values of an equipping church, how to change the culture, how to build a system. A key point made is that addressing issues of culture or system alone are insufficient for change, but that when both are understood and developed, lasting and transformational change can occur.

For anyone in the position of helping develop volunteer ministries and leaders, as well as those who are passionate about making a big difference in your church despite being a volunteer, "The Equipping Church" is a must read!

This is an excellent book for churches who want to improve their ability to develop a volunteer (servant) program. But, it will take work, commitment and time. Sue Mallory offers many perceptive Bible based concepts - not a quick fix.

The Equipping Church is one of the best books I have ever read on what it means to use our God given gifts as members of the body of Christ. Sue Mallory doesn't sugar coat the time, effort and faith that is involved in building the kind of community many churches long for, but are unsure how to create. Ms. Mallory lays out the path her church followed in the process of moving toward and becoming a faithful place in which they could be God's people. The stories she shares are personal, sometimes heart wrenching, but always authentically filled with grace. Ms. Mallory makes me want to dig in and do the work to which I am called.

Sue Mallory, one of the nation's leading experts on lay ministries has written the definitive text. This book, along with the companion guidebook, show churches how to recruit, train, and support volunteers. She gives the vision for an alive, involved church and tells you how to get there. I could not recommend it more highly.

Sue Mallory, one of the nation's leading experts on lay ministry has written the definitive text on the subject. This book along with the companion guidebook, give a step by step process for empowering and enabling a church's members to engage in meaningful ministry.Topics include how to recruit volunteers, how to discern people's talents and gifts, how to train people to serve in ministry and how to support and nurture those people.Up until now most of this material has been available only in workshops or on tapes. It is great to have the complete plans for a lay ministries program in one book. (Actually, two with the guidebook).

I coach a lot of executives and political appointees in the Federal government and often find new clients don't understand what is executive coaching and what kind of impacts it can have on them and their organizations. Steve's book helps speed up the process in a succinct, easy to read way that is not time consuming. I find that giving my clients this book up front helps us move quicker and go deeper to achieve the results they want to achieve. I recommend this book to all practicing coaches as a useful tool to speed client engagement.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who is interested in becoming a great leader! The narratives in this book strike a very familiar note and are most revealing of the complex relational struggles that confront leaders. Gladis does an excellent job illustrating the best communication strategies for meeting and overcoming these challenges. Steve Gladis becomes your leadership coach in this book, helping you successfully inspire, coordinate, and influence the people you work with. I really enjoyed reeading this book and I have already incorporated a lot of what I learned from the book in my personal and professional endeavors. I think you will find this book to be extremely valuable too!

Gary L. Kreps, Ph.D.
Eileen and Steve Mandell Professor of Health Communication
Chair, Department of Communication
Director, Center for Health and Risk Communication
George Mason University

A must read for those unfamiliar with or unsure of the value of executive coaching. Dr. Gladis's use of scenario-based examples demonstrates the entire coaching process in a poignant, simple manner, from the pre-coaching interview to the final evaluation and review. The examples enable readers to understand exactly how an experienced executive coach helps a qualified client find his/her own path to the next level, both personally and professionally. If someone has found that he/she has stalled in their professional advancement, it is very likely that an executive coach could be the answer. An extremely quick read and well worth the investment.

Gladis takes the reader inside the mind of the coach and the
coached and makes him feel like a witness to a host of
human foibles. His parallel stories are laced with real people who, while
successful in many ways, hit a rough patch in their lives and are compelled
to face up to some deep seated issues that are holding them back.
In his gentle, humorous but unyielding view that people must embrace the
light and the shadow within themselves, Gladis makes it clear that there are those who can lead
us back to our highest purposes when we have lost our way.

Gladis has done it again! Ever wanted to be a fly on the wall during someone else's executive coaching sessions? In spite of the fact that coaching has become a $1.5 billion industry and growing, it still remains a mystery for leaders who haven't experienced it personally. You've heard about coaching, but don't really know what it looks like, what to expect, or what it might do for you. Now, there's a window into that mystery. Steve Gladis, PhD., has published a quick read that helps leaders better see and understand how coaching works. The Executive Coach in the Corporate Forest is the story of a fictional executive coach named J. C. Williams, and his varied business clients--all with their own professional issues. Delightful characters with some realistic challenges hire the executive coach, and we get to watch their successes unfold. Styled in the fable format, like the popular Patrick Lencioni books, The Executive Coach in the Corporate Forest has that special blend of easy and engaging storylines balanced with methodology and process information about how executive coaching contributes both to the leaders' careers and the organization's bottom line. It's a great airplane read for any busy executive who wants to know more about coaching, whether for your own career, or to improve overall results for your organization.
--- Suzi Pomerantz, MT., MCC., author of Seal the Deal Seal the Deal: The Essential Mindsets for Growing Your Professional Services Business and Master Executive Coach ([...]).

This is a good supplemental text for a literacy coach or reading teacher to have on hand to explain breakdowns in students' reading.

I am a tutor for third and fourth graders (employed by the school) and have found this book to be priceless in explaining the strategies of reading to 8, 9 and ten year olds - my target audience. The book is structured well and offers many examples of how to help struggling readers learn the "secrets" of good readers. After looking at several other 'Reading Comprehension' books, I chose this one based on the TOC and the foreward. It has proven to REALLY help me clarify each objective and teach the invisible process of active reading to my students. I'm very excited about the book and what it has to offer. Thanks!

I bought this book last year from Amazon, after being recommended it by a resource literacy teacher. It is very helpful to me, a classroom teacher. I would recommend it as great value for any teacher. I recently had the pleasure of hearing G Duffy speak at a day's conference here in New Zealand. He was so clear, so able to show the recent history of the teaching of reading, and how we might go about showing students the skills of comprehension, and what good readers do. In this book, G Duffy helps teachers model what good readers do. He is realistic and down to earth.

This is a wonderful book to use while working with teachers in your building. Use it as a resource for yourself or share it with teachers to support what you are saying or modeling in their classrooms. After you have identified the strategy or skill the students are having trouble with, locate the skill in the index. Then read through the pages as Dr. Duffy describes the conceptual understanding that must be in place for the students to learn the skill. He also outlines how to introduce the skill, model the thinking, scaffold towards independence, apply it in reading and writing, and determine how to know if the lesson was successful. Some topic categories are vocabulary, comprehension strategies, word recognition, and fluency.

Gerald G. Duffy is a former classroom teacher and professor emeritus at Michigan State University. He draws upon his many years of experience and his considerable expertise in Explaining Reading: A Resource For Teaching Concepts, Skills, And Strategies to provide the reader with a solid guide for aiding in their teaching literacy to students who are slow to absorb the skill. Individual chapters cogently provide examples and ideas for explaining vocabulary, teaching word recognition, comprehension strategies, and a great deal more. Explaining Reading is highly recommended as an excellent and detailed advice guide -- especially for classroom teachers and home schoolers involved in a literacy instructional program.

The books were in good condition. The commentaries by Barnhouse are excellent. The books were purchased as a gift.

The book of Romans is the masterpiece of the Bible, and this is Barnhouse's expository masterpiece. In 1949 he began this famous study of Romans which continued each week for nearly 12 years until his death. It is exhaustive, insightful and a treasure to own. You reach page 70 and chapter 7 in volume 1 and realize he is still on verse 4 of chapter 1 in Romans. Studying Romans in depth will transform your life.

Barnhouse is able to take some of the most difficult and rich bibical doctrines and make them not just understandable but enjoyable. Verse by verse he dissects and reveals the truths revealed in Paul's Epistle to the Romans. For the new believer hungry to understand the love and grace of his God to the mature Christian longing to learn more about the God he loves, this four volume set is a must read.

Many years ago I had the privilege of hearing the tape recorded messages of Dr. Barnhouse as he taught this series on Romans over the radio. It made a lasting impact on my life. I have conducted a verse by verse study of the book of Romans several times and find this work indispensable. Dr. Barnhouse's rich commentary and unforgettable illustrations are like none other. This set of commentaries is a must for every preacher's library.

An outstanding exposition which introduces the reader to areas of the Bible which most never think of. Dr. Barnhouse's illustrations make the study of Bible doctrines thoroughly interesting.

A must for anyone who is interested in learning about this subject

This a book which enables a group of people to have fun following a sport. It teaches you what to look for and how to prepare yourself. It is a book that will help not only the so-so sport fans but also the very hard core sport fans. The one thing that I would have added to it would have been Chapter 23 How to go from 9th place in your league to 1st in the last five weeks of the season, but then again that's me. If you have a group of friends who like sports and don't know how to set up a league this is a great book to buy.

it allows for the whole family to come to the table as one and play the game the way it should be played. the team of gus and jim is outstanding!!!!!! i can't wait for the next version!!!!!

This book covers all the beginner aspects of the fantasy sports game. It offers the necessary steps to beginning your own league and if your a seasoned veteran helpful hints to get the winning edge. I can attest to the George Griefs and the Jermane Allensworths from my own experiences.

The book is an excellent tool that allows all to enter and enjoy the wonderful world of Fantasy Baseball!!!!!

If business were a religion, this would be the bible.
Awesome, practical information that can be implemented immediately!

Neil has written a remarkable guide for the salon and spa industry. His tested business methods have proven to become the standard in the industry. If you follow the systems and use the analytical models, you can't go wrong! This book should be on every salon owners desk to use as a referrence.

Fast Forward is a must read for anyone in the salon spa business and for that matter any business. This book addresses topics from A to Z on Quality management. I found excellent guidance for my many qustions from finance to teamwork. The needs of any business owner in today's rapid changing business environment must be met with the right information. No one has time for costly mistakes. Neil's book is a "must have" tool for any salon leader.

Owning a copy of Fast Forward is like having a PDR (Physician's Desk Reference) for your salon. If you need any answer, it's in there. This is a great reference book for anyone in the salon or spa industry. It's just chock full of useful information. Just the other day I needed wording for a help wanted ad. I picked up my copy of Fast Forward and bingo - there it was. I highly recommend this book.

For those in the beauty industry and for others looking to make the salon and spa field a career, there is no better guide than Neil Ducoff's book. In a business where most Salon and Spa education focuses on technical skills, sadly disappointing those in search of practical and relevant business information, you will be pleasantly surprised. Whether its leadership, finance, employee issues, marketing or system building, you will find the help that leads you thru all the avenues. Neil's experience, wisdom and bits of humor run throughout this book. Well written, readable and in a "reference format", you'll find yourself turning thru its pages often. Five years later it still holds a prominent space on my desk. Highly recommended!

This book is very helpful for anyone interested in putting attention getting signs on their church marquee. Lots of choices.

I am a Christian school teacher and I use these sayings on a board outside of my classroom for students to read as they are entering class. I change the saying every week. The students (and staff) look forward to seeing the new message each week. Quick way to get interesting Godly messages to students.

The United States of America has all kinds of unique cultural phenomena. American football is pretty much a solely American sport. Wal-Marts and McDonalds are now spreading around the globe like spores, but those multi-billion dollar business would never have survived past an initial store in any other country in the world. Another uniquely piece of American culture are billboards and road signs. A sub-category of these would be church signs which though contain all the pertinent information about services and such, often include some sort of short message that changes on a weekly basis. Mary Katherine and David Compton enjoyed reading these signs as they traveled through the country and began collecting them in a notebook. This book is the "fruit" of their efforts. In 134 pages the authors include around 300 messages that they have seen on church signs over the years. Some are humorous, some are thought-provoking, and a few are both. Just a few samples include:

"Creation bears God's autograph."

"Turn or Burn"

"Christians never meet for the last time."

"Experts made the Titanic, amateurs made the ark."

The book makes a nice little gift for a Christian friend or family member and is also a nice resource for churches to have incase the usual message writer goes on vacation for a week.

"Forbidden Fruit Creates Many Jams: Roadside Church Signs Across America" has been assembled by Mary Katherine Compton and David Compton. In the introduction the Comptons describe this compilation of church signs as "a soulful slice of roadside Americana."

The messages include invitations, threats, puns, political comments, satire, and advice. There are musings on God, the devil, the Bible, prayer, and other topics. Along the way are a number of cultural references.

A number of the signs have an unpleasant flavor of arrogance or intolerance. Examples: "God said it, I believe it, that settles it"; "April First: National Atheists Day"; "Turn or burn"; etc. Some of the messages hint at a larger cultural war between Christian fundamentalists and secular society; this aspect of the book is particularly intriguing.

But culture wars aside, there are some delightful and thoughtful entries along the way. A couple of my favorites: "Road rage? How would Jesus drive?"; "Thank God for dirty dishes. At least you have food." Overall, a fascinating look at this cultural phenomenon.

The authors compiled a list of church signs they have seen while on the road. 134 pages of one, two or three clever eye-catching signs per page. It started with the title, on an empty church in North Carolina. Then they kept a notebook with them as they traveled and recorded these "snetence sermons" as they call them, adfter their epiphany in North Carolina. One of the catchiest, "When you meet tempation, turn to the light."

This is an easy read and a very enjoyable one.

One tip for cutting pieces from these books - Laminate the whole page first and then cut out the pieces. The lamiate will not pull off after cutting as long as the plastic is hot enough. You can also laminate the chart pages right into inside of file folders and use re-stick glue for the pieces. It keeps the pieces together so they don't get lost.

The concept of this book is great, and the pictures are very vibrant and inviting. My only problem with the book is that you have to cut out each and every piece, and they don't make them easy shapes to cut out! (Not a lot of straight lines; lots of squigly lines.) Plus, you have to cut them out once, then cut them out again once you laminate them. I know this sounds petty, but to a teacher who is already short on time, it's an important factor.

This book is so awesome, I bought the other 2 in the series. After laminating onto file folders and cutting out the pieces, I use Post It glue so they stick to the charts. This is an easy way to have meaningful, independent centers for ALL students. For advanced students, I copy the blank charts for each group. Then students sort the words and write them with dry erase markers onto the correct place (on the laminated pages). I've also found these a very good way to get parent helpers involved.

This is the PERFECT center activity!!!
I have been teaching for many years and this is by far the BEST product I have found for easy to use and make phonics word sort centers. I've always had to make my own- what a pain! My students love to use these in small groups because after I introduce the words with the whole group, they are able to complete the center on their own and then play the game that is included. Some tips- I laminate the charts to the inside of file folders. Then I use Post-it (or Avery?) restick glue on the back of the laminated pieces. That way, none of the pieces ever get lost and they stay right inside the folder. I also laminate the student pages if I'm using these with only a few students at a time. They can use white board markers and just clean the pages for the next group. ALSO these are perfect centers to set up for when parents are helping in the classroom!

I have been teaching for many years and this is by far the BEST product I have found for easy to use and make phonics word sort centers. I've always had to make my own- what a pain! My students love to use these in small groups because after I introduce the words with the whole group, they are able to complete the center on their own and then play the game that is included. Some tips- I laminate the charts to the inside of file folders. Then I use Post-it (or Avery?) restick glue on the back of the laminated pieces. That way, none of the pieces ever get lost and they stay right inside the folder. I also laminate the student pages if I'm using these with only a few students at a time. They can use white board markers and just clean the pages for the next group. ALSO these are perfect centers to set up for when parents are helping in the classroom!

Mike Veeck and Pete Williams will keep you laughing throughout the entire book. Great example why you shouldn't take yourself to seriously and have fun with life.

What a great formula for business success! I love the philosophy behind this wonderful way to run a company and a career. Laughter is definitely more than the "Best Medicine" as this book shows....it can lead to higher profits and a real jump up the ladder of success!

When I was 10 years, I wrote Bill Veeck--the innovative baseball
promoter--a letter . . . he responded, and that began a period
of occasional letters that ended when he died several years
later . . . his creativity inspired me then--and still does to this day.

I still chuckle at some of the things that Veeck did to enliven
the game . . . he introduced exploding scoreboards, popularized
postgame fireworks and provided nurseries at the ballpark for
children . . . in addition, he staged special nights for every
group imaginable and was the first to popularize ballpark
giveways.

His son, Mike Veeck, has carried on his legacy with a series
of equally unique promotions that he writes about with co-author
Pete Williams in FUN IS GOOD . . . but you don't have to be a baseball fan to love this
book, in that the ideas contained can be applied to any
profession . . . or as the subtitle points out, you'll learn
HOW TO CREATE JOY & PASSION IN YOUR
WORKPLACE & CAREER.

Many times, authors promise outrageous things in their
titles and/or subtitles . . . this is not the case here;
Veeck and Williams actually show you how this can be
done in a step-by-step approach that's both easy to
follow and apply.

I kept jotting notes down as I read FUN IS GOOD, which is
always a good sign . . . it means that I plan to go back to use
much of it . . . the only negative to this practice is that it makes
it difficult to choose just a few ideas to share in this brief
review, in that there were so many . . . yet that said, these
tidbits did stand out:

* If you're someone still trying to find your way, let your passions
serve as your guide. Look for environments where people are having
fun. When I hire people, I seek out passionate folks with an array
of interests, no matter how eclectic. If I need an accountant, for
instance, I don't look for just someone with the proper credentials.
I go in search of an experienced accountant with other interests,
someone I know might not only be fun to be around by perhaps
have non accounting skills that might be valuable. Perhaps this
person is a fly-fisherman or guitar player. That kind of focus
and creativity manifests itself in the workplace

* Jim Lucas, who was the assistant general manager of our Charleston
RiverDogs team a few years ago, issued pins to 10 or 15 fans before
each game, with instructions to give them to employees who
provided great customer service. The 3 employees who collected
the most pins at the end of the season received cash prizes.
These pins cost us only about 60 cents apiece, but you would have
thought they were precious gemstones. Employees proudly
displayed them on hats and worked tirelessly to obtain them.
Since nobody knew who had the pins, everyone was treated
extraordinarily well by employees with upbeat attitude.

* You don't need a ballpark to try things like Mime-O-Vision. [Veeck
hired a bunch of mimes to reenact plays before instant replays
became popular.] Years ago, people would win shopping sprees
where they had 90 seconds to grab whatever they could. Pizzerias
would award a year's worth of pizza to the winner of a pie-eating
contest. My dad used to say that it's barely noteworthy to give
one bottle of beer to each of a thousand fans, but it's a big deal to give
a thousand bottles of beer to one lucky winner.

Looking for an idea holiday gift this upcoming season? You
certainly won't go wrong giving FUN IS GOOD to somebody
you care about . . . or want to inspire.

This book was penned by the man who was lambasted for his Disco demolition stunt in Cominsky Park. In the middle of a doubleheader, the promoters put a box of disco records in the middle of the field with a bomb. When it exploded, fans ran onto the field and commenced creating their own disco record explosions. This eventually caused the cancellation of the second game is considered a travesty in baseball lore.

However, it has become part of baseball lore. From a marketing standpoint, it was brilliant. How many marketing stunts have 25th anniversary DVDs?

This is a book about embracing failure, laughing, trying something new, and of course having fun. The book largely follows Mike Veeck and his father's philosophies and antics with baseball (and a few other businesses they tried). It's a fun book that those who are a little disgruntled or inspired with their workplace should read. Surely, you will find something that will make you laugh and improve your own workplace.

Baseball and writing about baseball are my passions and being passionate about something is the heart and soul of the new book by Mike Veeck (and Pete Williams), "Fun Is Good: How to Inject Joy & Passion Into Your Workplace & Career" published by Rodale Press and to be released early next month. The book is part business philosophy, part autobiography, part confessional, part homage to his late father Bill Veeck, part salute to his 12-year old daughter who is fighting blindness as the result of retinitis pigmentosa, part a baseball love story and all fun. Because fun is what Mike, like all the Veecks, is all about.

Mike writes, "Somehow in our haste to seize the American dream, we've sucked the fun, passion, and creativity out of the workplace." How many of you feel that way? I guess that's why so many people say that work sucks. But as Mike points out, "Fun isn't just good; it's a necessity." "If you're not having fun, it's nearly impossible to project the upbeat, positive attitude necessary to service clients effectively."

We know that's the trouble with baseball, don't we? Somehow it has becoming way to much about greed. We could handle it if were about drugs, sex, and rock and roll, at least that's fun. Mike writes that when his father Bill Veeck died in 1986, "we had him cremated so he wouldn't constantly be rolling in his grave."

In the workplace it's about passion, the right attitude and being happy at what you do. Mike encourages change and risk taking because if you're unhappy you can't afford to stay where you are. In addition, your role whether you are an Indian or a chief is to help create a workplace atmosphere that is fun, positive and risk taking. He writes, "How effectively you interact with coworkers sets the tone for the organization," because if you take a genuine interest in the people around you, you never know where it might lead.

I was particularly struck with this philosophical statement, "If you approach things with optimism and with the mentality that any obstacle can be overcome with good humor, preparation, brainpower, and a little bit of luck, nothing is outside the realm of possibility." It is that statement that clearly drives Mike's wonderful daughter. The book is filled with interviews and vignettes from business leaders in which they express, in their own words, how the importance of a "Fun is Good" philosophy has driven the success of their company. None is more powerful or moving than the section written by Rebecca Veeck who truly sums up much more than the philosophy of the book when she writes, "Fun is Good because that's the way life is supposed to be. It's the main feeling that we're supposed to have. I mean, if you're not having fun, what's the point?"

I will be giving this book to my daughter Elizabeth on her birthday on April 11 (the same date as Veeck's eldest, Night Train Veeck) because as she prepares to graduate college and face the real world she needs to know that if you treat every day like Opening Day than life will be fun, and fun is good.

I've read this cover-to-cover and had a chance to actually use a number of the activities in it with some of my clients. This book is a rare combination of background and context that will provide a powerful grounding for new trainers, inexperienced facilitators and managers asked to help build a team while also combining great explanation and setup for a wide range of activities that senior practitioners and OD professionals can use immediately. The explanations for each activity are clear and also cover what could go wrong as well as how to modify the activity and debrief instructions. I found the matrix in the book (talking about what activities could be used for what kinds of teams and what kinds of dynamics/needs) to be especially strong. If you do OD, facilitation,or work in teams, this is a very useful book. I don't find many games and activities books that are appropriate for a wide range of users--this one is. I very highly recommend it.

I manage an office of 70 lawyers that needed team building skills, but have a deep scepticism about the usual drills. I found this book to be clearly written, well organized and easy to adapt to my training needs. We used several of the games at a recent office retreat to great success. I strongly recommend Games That Teach Teams to anyone who wants to get their team to work, and play, better.

Games that Teach Teams by Steve Sugar and George Takacs, is a collection of 21 well-documented, carefully detailed, copy-ready games that help teams learn about cooperation and creativity, management and goal-setting, decision-making and communication -- and secondarily fun. It's the secondarily fun part that caught my eye. Any method that helps people develop team skills that has anything to do with fun is a method worth learning. Far too many team-building activities are built around "tasks" and "worksheets." These exercises are built around fun.

Each of the 21 games is described as a "frame game" The authors explain how ach game can be modified to focus on a different combination of skills or respond to a different team setting and composition, giving the reader more of a comprehensive instructional strategy than a collection of games. The authors also recognize that it's not just the games, but how they are led that makes for a good learning experience, taking great pains to detail facilitation techniques for each activity. They even include a table that carefully documents the skills that each activity emphasizes.

I was especially pleased to discover the inclusion of games like "ww.where and ww.when" that are specifically designed for building "CyberTeams." Here is an area of team development that is much neglected and critical to the successful deployment of the kind of communication infrastructure that technography is designed to implement.

As an in-house OD consultant, I am always on the lookout for new games to use with teams and energizers for off-site meetings. The collection of games assembled here provides a wide variety of time frames and a comprehensive set of objectives for team learning. The formats of the various games are simple and yet engaging -- and you won't be hunting everywhere for props and materials. I can't wait to try these out at my next off-site meeting.

if you are in the process for building a team and looking for activites to teach effective team behaviors, then this book is for you. This book can be used for a team just starting to work together or teams who have been working together for quite some time. There is much more to this book than the 21 teams provided.

The first section helps you determine what type of team you have by classifying teams. In the next section there is a model and structure for effective team development. Once you've determined the team classification and team development area, then you can use the handy matrix to select the most appropriate activity.

The book provides very helpful facilitation strategies for before, during and processing each activity. Each of the 21 activities has detailed well though out instructions and reproducible handouts. You have everything you need to facilitate any of the activities in this book.