Organizations Books

The authors have done an excellent job of re-centering our priorities in ministry to Muslims. They focus on friendship and understanding as the keys to effective minstry. The book has a healthy balance of theology and history with practical ministry applications. At Biola University we have used their models for a continuing relationship with Muslims in our area.

This book is a great resource to have to understand how Muslims came into existence. It clearly lays out differences and explains how the Muslims view the Bible and Jesus. I was unaware of specific Bible passages that Muslims think were changed to hide references to Mohammad.
One illustration that was very helpful to me is that the Muslims view the Koran as Christians view Christ.
This book will give the reader a clear understanding of Muslims origin, doctrine and culture. It helps to remove any fear or mystery in speaking with them.

Dr. Zaka and Dr. McDowell have compiled a wealth of information and knowledge in this book. Dr. Zaka is an authority concerning Islam and I highly recommend this book to any Christian searching for methods of interaction with Muslims. I give this book 5 very enthusiastic stars.

"Today the Islamic world is no longer somewhere else, in some other part of the world; instead Chicago, with its 50 mosques and nearly half a million Muslims, is part of the Islamic world" (p.3).

Authored by two men who have both studied Islam and ministered to Muslims nationally and internationally, this work is the single best resource for learning how to approach Muslims living in the U.S. with the gospel that I am aware of. Written with competence and grace, McDowell and Zaka have produced a marvelous handbook that ought to be read and acted upon by congregations and individuals alike. With Islam in general and the growing Muslim presence within the USA in particular receiving increasing attention, this book is crucial for understanding Muslims in the North American context and for reaching out to them with the love and compassion of Christ.

Composed of four main parts, the last of which is the longest, McDowell and Zaka endeavor to provide the reader with an understanding of the Muslim's background including its historical, cultural and theological aspects (Parts 2 and 3). Here we are introduced to what Muslims believe about revelation, Allah, Jesus, human nature, salvation, and life in the world. Similarities and differences between Islam and Christianity are noted providing a framework within which Islam is to be understood and approached. As is characteristic of this volume throughout, Islamic beliefs and practices are discussed with charity and fairness. While Islamic sources and viewpoints are by no means handled uncritically, yet faultfinding and censure are always subservient to comprehension and improved understanding.

With it being the first and the final sections of this book (Parts 1 and 4) that keep this work from being simply another survey, we turn now to consider what is the real contribution made by this work. Prior to talking about the life of Muhammad, the development of Islam, Muslim cultural distinctives, and what it is that Muslims believe; McDowell and Zaka first ask this foundational question, "Why should we reach Muslims here?" While such various factors as the growth of Islam in North America, Islam's spread into the African-American community, the attraction and conversion of many North Americans to Islam, the goals of the Muslim community within the USA, and the paucity of people ministering to Muslims all form part of the reason for reaching out to Muslims, they are nowhere made the whole. For under-girding all of these dynamics is this more basic factor: a responsibility to fulfill God's commission. This responsibility to Muslims is expressed in the following words that deserve to be highlighted here. "Our enemy is Satan, not Muslims. We should regard them as friends, neighbors and fellow human beings made in the image of God. We believe this is God's perspective. Jesus died for and is seeking to save, a multitude out of Islam" (p.xviii).

Anchored in this commitment to biblical evangelism, McDowell and Zaka round out their work by instructing the reader in how to actually reach Muslims. Following a chapter on the theological basis for Muslim evangelism, our authors offer advice on how to meet Muslims, on various methods for reaching Muslims, and on developing a strategy for Muslim evangelism. Wise counsel on how to conduct one's self when visiting a mosque and on studying the Bible with Muslims also contribute to the practicality of this section. The real contribution of this final section, however, is the nuanced commendation of friendship evangelism and the establishment of "Meetings for Better Understanding".

Perhaps not widely known, the concept behind these Meetings for Better Understanding (p.217ff) is the creation of a friendly, personal environment in which Christians and Muslims can communicate with each other with respect and understanding. Based around having Christian and Muslim speakers present their respective views, and premised upon two communities of faith reasonably engaging each other not in debate but in mutual discussion, the aim of these meetings is to break down walls, stereotypes and misunderstandings. It is also to foster openness; to gain a better understanding of each other's religious expression, and to give Muslims the opportunity to hear the Christian gospel carefully explained. Trusting in the truth of God's Word and the power of His Spirit; these meetings are neither a back peddling nor a watering down of Christian distinctives. Rather, they are a real (and very promising) attempt at building personal, social, and theological bridges with Muslims in order to present Christ as "the fulfillment of the hearts of all of us longing for peace with Allah" (p.xii).

While a good deal more that is positive remains to be said about this volume, the bottom line is that Muslims and Christians at the Table meets a glaring need and fills an obvious gap in this kind of literature. Not only does it call North American evangelicals to make the most of the freedom available to witness to Muslims on our home shores, but it also offers a viable, biblical model for how we can go about this. Theologically astute and practical in the best sense, this is one evangelism text that deserves to be read closely and put into action.

If you want a lot of information about the navy then this is the perfect book for you. If you don't want to read a large book with a lot of information then don't waste your money and look for the info on the internet instead (but you won't get as much detail and accurate as this book).

This product is exactly what I was looking for. It was especially informative as to how tossing the hat at graduation started.Naval Ceremonies, Customs, and Traditions, Sixth Edition

This book is clearly inteded as a manual for naval officers. I don't doubt that it would come in useful. It's a true treasure trove of information concerning US Navy custom and traditions. But the best part is the fact that it goes extensively into the backgrounds of many of the traditions and customs the Navy is steeped in. It is a scholorly book on history as much as it is about custom and tradition.

As a person who's not in the navy and just has an interest in it's history, this book was extremely entertaining and informative. If you're interested in such things, this book is defiantely worth a look.

This is an excellent source of knowledge with a wealth of information. If you want to know about the origins of Naval terms and how certain Naval traditions came about (ie..The Crossing of the Equator, Change of Command ceromonies) this book explains most of it. My only complaint is that it revolves around the officer community too much. I think it would have helped to add some more enlisted info too! So I highly reccomend this book! Fair Winds and Following Seas!

I read this book of revelations from ~1950 and I humbly profess that the insights are true to this minute at my job. I am preparing a training session inspired by the fundamental analysis that Peter Drucker conceived for the intrinsic economic, social and political dimensions of enterprises.

I delayed reading his early works thinking that they would be excellently written, but outdated. How wrong can I be? If you believe in the noble crusade of management "sheparding the scarce resources of society", then you will have every book he ever wrote.

I read the Arabic translation 20 years ago. I've trained as an engineer. Meanwhile, reading on political economy was one of my best interests. This book made the ultimate connection: The Concept of Efficiency. Since then I began to see the world in a very different way. The bigger the corporation, the more efficient it is, and the more beneficent. That's it. Corporation is GOD (It was the mistake of Microsoft to behave as an aggressive small business!). Corporation is the most likely patron of science and technology. It's simply the engine for evolution in modern civilization. Drucker's idea that corporations are made to serve not to profit is daring, sometimes hard to conceive, but in core... it's brilliant!

I read the Arabic translation 20 years ago. I've trained as an engineer. Meanwhile, reading on political economy was one of my best interests. This book made the ultimate connection: The Concept of Efficiency. Since then I began to see the world in a very different way. The bigger the corporation, the more efficient it is, and the more beneficent. That's it. Corporation is GOD (It was the mistake of Microsoft to behave as an aggressive small business!). Corporation is the most likely patron of science and technology. It's simply the engine for evolution in modern civilization. Drucker's idea that corporations are made to serve not to profit is daring, sometimes hard to conceive, but in core... it's brilliant!

I read the Arabic translation 20 years ago. I've trained as an engineer. Meanwhile, reading on political economy was one of my best interests. This book made the ultimate connection: The Concept of Efficiency. Since then I began to see the world in a very different way. The bigger the corporation, the more efficient it is, and the more beneficent. That's it. Corporation is GOD (It was the mistake of Microsoft to behave as an aggressive small business!). Corporation is the most likely patron of science and technology. It's simply the engine for evolution in modern civilization. Drucker's idea that corporations are made to serve not to profit is daring, sometimes hard to conceive, but in core... it's brilliant!

This is a must-have book for nonprofit senior staffs as well as for volunteer board members who aspire to leadership and stewardship of the organizations they serve. It definitely lives up to the promise of the assertion on the book jacket that the authors, "...who collectively have more than 70 years of experience as chief executives, board members, and facilitators in the training of more than 20,000 board members in 20 countries..."

The book is comprised of 37 short chapters (typically 3-6 pages each) in five sections, designed to address all aspects of board service and board/staff issues. Each chapter provides facts, opinions, tools, and a few "suggested action steps" to help a board address the issue or situation presented in the chapter.

In general, the authors reference John Carver as a good resource for the theory and practice of nonprofit governance, but they don't make Carver the precise and proscriptive recipe that some adherents do. They admit the possibility that other techniques and structures can work well for certain organizations, while "sticking to their guns" in presenting their experiences and insights as having inherent value for most nonprofits.

I was especially impressed by the distinction made between the role of the board and the role of board members. Many policy governance disputes stem from a misunderstanding that, somehow, all board members should have the same responsibilities and be treated interchangeably.

I would have liked to see a clearer treatment of the issue of board diversity; interestingly, the authors seem to agree, admitting that it's a very difficult subject to address. Many board "diversity" programs focus on narrowly-defined "diversity" and run the danger of leading to "tokenism," according to the authors.

The charts and checklists that supplement the text are simple and effective. They're easy for readers to re-create and use in their own organizations.

The book even admits of the possibility that nonprofits can (and sometimes should) dissolve and disband, and provides strategies for helping board, staff, and community understand, accept, and even support the natural cycle of life as it applies to organizations. It's an important message and not a negative one.

Although originally published in December, 1997, it has already had three printings as of August, 1999. With 15 million volunteer board members in the U.S. alone, the publishers could run through many more printings.

Drawing on two lifetimes of experience, Andringa and Engstrom have addressed a broad array of crucial issues. I enjoyed the fact that it was long enough to deal throughly with dozens of key issues and yet moved quickly from topic to topic. I had several, "I wish I'd thought of that" moments when Andringa and Engstrom crystallized a thought I'd been rolling around in the foggy recesses of my mind.

CEO's of Non-Profits should take special note of the practical suggestions in chapters 5, 14, 19, 21 & 26. Board members who are serious about making a contribution will benefit greatly from chapters 1, 4, 5, 7, 16, 22, 28 & 34.

The book reads quickly and can be completed in one sitting but serves best as a reference with short practical responses to frequently asked questions.

Engstrom has produced many excellent works but I hope we will see more from Andringa as well.

The book is organized with very straightforward chapters with suggested action steps. The combination of discussion and practical application makes the book the one reference book needed for anyone working with nonprofits.
Excellence in governance can be achived by following this book. Excellence in government results in the most efficient use of staff and financial resources in fullfillment of the mission of a nonprofit.

Absolutely, without exception, this should be required reading for both new and experienced board members and senior management. Andringa and Engstrom, clearly, are not theoretical "ivory tower" authors. They've been in the trenches with the rest of us--and offer sound, practical counsel. It's a helpful book to give to new board members as part of their board orientation. Certainly every board chair needs one. Well worth the price. Board meetings will get done earlier if you take just 10% of the authors' advice!

This book gets my highest praise for putting a lot of valuable information into one easy to navigate source. My book is marked up with highlighter and sticky notes! Although I don't work for an "environmental" nonprofit, I found that the insight and experience easily translates into my field (long term care for the elderly). Very, very good. I highly recommend to all development/fundraising professionals and volunteers.

This book offers one-stop shopping for the nonprofit organization in need of money, political influence, credibility, free labor and all of the other benefits that members can bring. Not only does the book provide abundant information on recruiting members, it also offers, free and online, copies of forms and worksheets you can use to help advance your organization's membership campaign. It begins at the beginning, explaining what membership is. This may sound self-evident, but the very definition of membership has some surprising twists. This book will save you from making some very obvious mistakes - such as failing to convert people who contact you into members. It's a straightforward, no-nonsense workbook with excellent samples and examples. If you are an executive, board member, staffer or volunteer at a nonprofit, we offer its congratulations: at last, here's the right book for you.

Ellis Robinson has helped hundreds of non-profits increase their memberships, both as a trainer and an employee. She's reached almost mythical status for building the membership of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy from 400 to 60,000 in three years. Now she shares her secrets in this easy-to-use guide. Whether you're a new community non-profit or an established national organization, The Nonprofit Membership Toolkit will give you a wealth of information to boost your ranks--especially important in this time of diminishing foundation grants. Ellis doesn't just give you the techniques. She also underscores the importance of developing your organization so that new members will want to renew their support. Her methods are well-rooted in community organizing, with emphasis on one-on-one recruitment, board involvement, and member participation. However, what really sets this book apart from other fundraising books is its use of materials from non-profit groups. Ellis has collected fundraising letters, brochures, surveys, membership plans, etc. from organizations in every corner of the country and presents the cream of the crop as models for your own use. The book is laid out well, with each chapter focusing on one aspect of membership development. As a professional fundraiser, I turn to The Nonprofit Membership Toolkit frequently to answer questions, inspire me to write yet another fundraising letter, or give me new ideas to try. I recommend The Nonprofit Membership Toolkit wholeheartedly to anyone involved with a non-profit organization.

In today's tough economic times, just about every non-profit needs help raising money. Members are one of the best sources of long-term funding and support for non-profits and this book tells all. A fantasic how-to-do-it guide to setting up and running a membership program. Lots of examples, worksheets, and - my favorite - practical tips and samples of results-producing membership letters. You can literally give this book to the person in charge of membership and they will know exactly what to do. Just about every non-profit has lots of room for improvment in the membership area. This book is packed with tips and advice from THE leader in membership development and fund raising, Ellis Robinson. You will not find a more passionate person to help your non-profit do a better job and be more successful.

I highly recommend this book for anyone considering a merger in the non-profit world. It is full of specific tools that help you think through the process. I appreciate the concrete steps presented in a simple, straight-forward fashion.

This is a fine reference! It asks the hard questions, and the workbook exercises are designed to help everyone over the tough answers. Readable, practical, most helpful.

"Don't merge without it!"

This book is invaluable when your nonprofit is going through any form of strategic restructuing, up to and including mergers. As someone who has participated in nonprofit merger negotiations--both as a consultant and a board member representing a nonprofit--I believe this book can make the difference between success and failure.

Not only does David La Piana talk the talk in this book, he has also walked the walk. As an Executive Director of a nonprofit for many years--and having successfully led that organization through several mergers--La Piana understands the realities facing nonprofit managers and board members. His approach to strategic restructuring is pragmatic, and has enabled his consulting firm to become THE experts on nonprofit mergers in the country.

Even if you're just thinking about restructuring your nonprofit, buy this book!! You will save your nonprofit time, money, and energy, as well as protect your own sanity during the process.

Shawn Reifsteck (Masters in Nonprofit Administration)
CEO, Philanthropy Associates

I wrote this book because there was no other resource available to nonprofit leaders that provided a thorough, easily understandable road map to negotiating and executing a merger. As both an executive and a consultant I have been involved with more than 60 nonprofit mergers and have learned what works and what does not in these difficult, emotional undertakings. This workbook provides all the tools you need: decision trees, worksheets, and special tips, to make your merger work. Check it out!

This is an excellent book for those starting or leading an existing a non-profit organization. The focus is on how and why to do things. The decision tree provided is helpful for profit and non-profit organizations, in that the focus of decisions relates to the organizations mission and how all parties play a vital role. He further assists the reader in defining the various leaders responsibility on service to the community. The transition in non-profit management is understanding how to maximize mission effectiveness with organization efficiency. When there is understanding of the organizations role in the community, we have the ability to measure success.

Peter Brinkerhoff is one of today's most important writers on nonprofit management. Bringing with him over thirty-years experience in leading and developing nonprofit organizations, Brinkerhoff's book, Nonprofit Stewardship: A Better Way to Lead Your Mission-Based Organization is an essential book for all nonprofit executives, staff members and boards.

Brinkerhoff starts off by reminding us that having the privilege of being involved in nonprofit service requires a bigger view than just our own particular motivations. Indeed, being a nonprofit organization puts you at the heart of a larger community (be that local, national or international) and that defining your role within that larger context is vital to building a strong and successful organization.

As a funder, I applaud this concept. In today's tight money economy, it is becoming difficult to fund every important community organization. The key to the survival of these programs lies in collaborative partnerships, sharing services and maximizing resources. Brinkerhoff reminds us to make sure that our mission-based organization carries with it both those activities that appeal to the heart and those that make great business sense. He has developed nine characteristics that stewardship-based organizations strive for. Each of these should be a part of any good new board packet or, indeed, new employee manual.

Beyond that, Brinkerhoff's book is more than just philosophy. It contains common-sense tools that boards (and staff) can use to evaluate their organization and implement more effective ways of planning, tracking finance, taking risks and managing critical projects. His personal observations and both witty and entertaining and thought-provoking. And, again as a funder, his section on the stewardship role of foundations ought to be engrained in each of our grantmaking decisions.

Brinkerhoff even has a section that allows you to take a Personal Stewardship Self-Assessment to see how you measure up. Many know that the success of any good nonprofit organization lies in its leadership. If defining "stewardship" as "maximizing your organization's mission-effectiveness" makes sense; then how vital is it to examine your own leadership potential and find ways to grow as both a leader and a manager.

Nonprofit Stewardship is more than a book, its really a tool box, with a hammer, a saw, a drill, a screwdriver and even a couple of nails. We read the book together (leadership team and board of directors). It was fun. It helped us to focus on what is really important in our work and why we do what we do. Every member of our leadership team from our Chief Financial Officer to our Development Officer and HR Director found chapters relevant to their work. The Board saw it as an opportunity to better align values and direction with the leadership of the organization. We still use it and the chapter exercises. When someone wants to make an important point with me (I'm the CEO) they will often quote from the book. We were redesigning our Customer Satisfaction System. The Director of Quality and Compliance wanted more "negative" feedback. The rest of the team was amazed. She quoted page 118 "When you measure, particularly when you ask people for their opinion and ideas on how to improve, tell your staff and board this: Praise feeds the ego. Criticism feeds improvement". Buy the book, you'll surely find something in your organization that needs improvement and your customers will be happier that you did.

Peter Brinckerhoff's books are not a fast read. Every page is packed with thoughts and ideas. I find myself reading a paragraph and sitting for ten minutes absorbing the implications for the nonprofits I work with. If you are a nonprofit professional or a board member or volunteer, this is a "must read." No one has time or money to waste and everyone wants to do a good job. This book will help you do just that.
Carol Weisman, MSW, CSP

The Nun and the Bureaucrat is so simple, inviting, and fascinating that it is easily read in a sitting. It should be required reading for every university program in Nursing and Management. In fact, every administrator, faculty member, and graduate must in the future know the profound lessons this book so tersely describes. What a delightful way to begin a quality journey into systems thinking and organizational transformation so demanded in American institutions from business, education, government, not-for-profits, NGOs.

Ralph F. Mullin, Ph.D.
Professor of Quality Management
University of Central Missouri

Savary and Crawford-Mason have done an analysis of dramatic improvement in health care delivery in two hospital systems. This book provides insight into the benefits of using systmes thinking for organizational transformation. The authors allow the players--doctors, nurses, aides, administrators--to tell their stories.

Those hospitals challenged to improve patient satisfaction and optimum patient care will find this book inspiring. Those hospitals already doing continuous quality improvement will find interesting supportive examples.

The book is a good illustration of the benefits of total engagement of everyone involved in the process of review and recommendation for continued improvements in all processes.

Dr. Marylouise Fennell, Hospital Board Member

Since we have had several personal experiences of almost dying or being infected after a medical procedure, we tuned into the PBS broadcast of the documentary "Good News... How Hospitals Heal Themselves". It was so revealing that we got the book for both personal and business reasons. In our business, ESF, Inc., we frequently deal with hospitals and those in the medical and nursing professions. Both my husband, Dr. Peter J. Esseff, and I feel this book should be read by personnel in every hospital from administrator to janitor. The "Systems Thinking" initiatives put into effect by the hospitals in the two "Good News" health care systems (SSM Health Care, St. Louis, Mo. comprised of 23 hospitals, and the Pittsburgh Regional Health Care Initiative, Pittsburgh, PA, comprised of 40 hospitals) demonstrated how a variety of "hospital diseases" could be treated and eventually eradicated. These initiatives were used initially by Dr. W. Edwards Deming in helping Japan "work smarter, not harder" in improving their auto manufacturing industry. In these two health care systems, statistics are given that demonstrate how the hospitals were able to: focus more on patients' needs; reduce costs, deaths, suffering, infections, duplication of services, waste of time and supplies; avoid deadly mistakes; streamline their bureaucracy; and work as a Team, from the top to the bottom of the chain of employees, by not placing blame for errors committed and empowering their workers to recommend changes to improve the quality of care in the hospitals.

The Savary/Crawford-Mason book takes the reader through the step-by-step process used by the two "good news" health care systems and described what each step in the process achieved. "The Nun and the Bureaucrat" is filled with specific examples of what the problem was and how the hospital solved it, sometimes in creative ways, but more often in logical ways that make us wonder why someone didn't think of that sooner. The positive results achieved through these initiatives are astounding.

What an incredible impact it would be on our entire health care system if these "Systems Thinking" initiatives could be enacted country wide in every medical facility. It gives us hope for curing our sick hospitals. It gives us hope for reducing our ever-increasing health care costs. It gives us hope for raising the standard of health care.

Everyone should read "The Nun and the Bureaucrat--How They Found an Unlikely Cure for America's Sick Hospitals" and pressure their hospital administrators, community, state, and federal officials to apply these "Systems Thinking" initiatives to our health care system nationwide.

School systems should do likewise.

Read this book and give it to your doctor and your hospital administrator and they will learn how to reduce waste, suffering, hospital-acquired infections, costs, errors and improve patient safety and save lives. And additional money or government regulations are not required to begin this improvement plan.

In the book, doctors and nurses explain how they didn't believe systems thinking would improve their hospitals. But to their delight, it did and they are saving lives, making fewer errors and enjoying their work.

I am the co-author of this book and believe the comments from the experts on the back cover of the book say it all.

"If you think that hospital care cannot be significantly improved in quality and cost, you have another think coming. Read this book."
Russell Ackoff, Professor Emeritus, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Author, Ackoff's Best, Re-creating the Corporation, and Redesigning Society (with Sheldon Roven)


"This book describes the kind of leadership that's essential for making our hospitals safe and patient friendly and at the same time cutting costs by driving out waste. And that is leadership that employs systems thinking to realize an inspiring vision. Read this book to learn how two leaders educated and transformed their hospitals. They show the way that others can and should follow."
Michael Maccoby, MD, Anthropologist, psychoanalyst and consultant on leadership, strategy and organization. Author, The Gamesman; Why Work?: Motivating the New Work Force; and the Productive Narcissist: The Promise and Perils of Visionary Leadership.


"Most of us realize that living and doing daily work requires us to depend on other people and predictable work processes. Taking those understandings into health care and the work of improving it is a complex undertaking. These authors have created an inviting introduction to health care as a system. In the midst of widespread recognition that we must improve our health care, they offer a starting point for creating the changes we need. Their attention to the insightful people making these changes happen allows us to learn from what's working. They have seen what is hard to see at first: health care as a system. Their writing is clear and inviting. In short, this is a welcome addition to the public conversation. Read it, share it and tell your elected officials about what you now understand needs to be encouraged to make health care better."
Paul Batalden, M.D., Professor, Dartmouth Medical School


"If ever there was an idea whose time as has come, this is the idea and this is the time.
Cal Thomas, syndicated columnist

"This book gives me hope that we can make similar improvements at many hospitals around the country."
Kenneth H. Cohn, MD, MBA, Cambridge Management Group. Author: Better Communication for Better Care: Mastering Physician-Administrator Collaboration, and Collaborate for Success: Breakthrough Strategies for Engaging Physicians, Nurses, and Hospital Executives

If you're in a leadership position, try this book. I found it very helpful when leading my organization through a transitional period; it doesn't happen on its own.

This book contains a great collection of articles. I enjoyed it from cover to cover. I highly recommend it!

Dr. Michael Beitler
Author of "Strategic Organizational Change"

All of the books in this series are excellent. They are a collection of the best of the best--there was not one chapter I didn't want to read. This book focuses on change and how to prepare for it and make the most of it. Considering how quickly things change, this book is an important one.

I'm a fan of the whole Leader to Leader series. This book presents luminaries such as Peter Drucker, Peter Senge, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, William Bridges, Frances Hesselbein, and Jon Katzenbach. They address in short simple chapters the challenges of leading change. Who could provide you with a better supply of insight and inspiration?

I first read the sample chapters on the Drucker Foundation Web site. Now I'm sharing this book with my friends and children.

Whether your small group is a beginning group or one that wishes to review or re-evaluate it's purpose, this book gives you the recipe. It is both gentle and straightforward, using the "one another" statements of Jesus as it's step by step directions for a healthy small group. It will assist any group to look at it's purpose, the relationship between it's members, it's nuts and bolts and in the process bring the members of the group closer to God and to each other. Each chapter adds new ingrediants to the mix which enriches the flavor of the Christian Small Group experience. It allows each group to find their own flavor, realizing that each person in the group is put there for a purpose. I think that one of the most appealing things aobut this book is that like the Bible, it is a tried and true recipe that can be used again and again and it is great to pass on to others as a sure fire recipe for a healthy small group.

One Anothering is a superb resource for a great small group experience. I have found it works well for small group beginners and for old timers too. I can hardly wait for volume II to arrive. --E. Stanley Ott, pastor, Pleasant Hills Community Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh.

This book, originally intended as a starter series for new small groups, will help new groups as well as already established groups reach their potential. Drawing upon some of the key "one another" passages in the New Testatment that impact healthy community, the book is easy to read, practical and serves as a "quality control" tool for healthy groups. Includes eleven sessions on such topics as confidentiality, encouragement, prayer, and listening. The book has received rave reviews from those who have used it with their small group.

Small groups have served as the keystone to renewal and growth of our church & a source of enrichment to the lives of countless church members. "One Anothering" has been the launching point for most of the small groups within our congregation. This study provides building block instructions for the creation of healthy and vibrant small groups ... and lays a path for future growth and enrichment.

The Bible clearly demonstrates that the strength of the body of Christ comes from the community of believers. The center of each local community of believers is a church. Close relationships within the church provide strength for the church and bring individuals into a closer relationship with Christ. The mechanism that helps truly Christ-like relationships to develop is small group ministry. The foundation for healthy small groups is "One Anothering".

"One Anothering" is a terrific opening study for all new small groups and small groups undergoing change. This book closely follows examples modeled by Christ. The book does an excellent job of building a Biblical case for the importance of small groups within all congregations. However, rather than concluding with an interesting New Testament study, "One Anothering" provides practical tools for strengthening relationships among group members, thereby bringing them into a more personal relationship with Christ.

Through my use of this text as a small group leader, the power of prayer has come alive in my life. Group members have become aware of the most significant issues affecting the group, and share in the discovery and understanding of God's answers. This book teaches the power of confidential-loving-accountability.

As a leader and participant in many small groups - both within and outside my church congregation, I strongly recommend the use of "One Anothering" for all small groups. New groups will benefit from its structure and framework, while older groups will strengthen existing bonds - thus improving overall group effectiveness and functionality. I have used this book in men's groups, couples groups, parent groups and groups with no particular focus.

No matter the focus or age of your small group - "One Anothering" is an essential study. This is truly an inspired work that will help your small group reach its full potential, thus strengthening the body of Christ within your congregation and community.