Award-winning author and presentation expert Nancy Duarte has a new book out: HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations. Over the next few days, I will be posting an outline of each of the book’s sections as well as zeroing in on a specific topic.

Section 2: Message

• Define Your Big Idea – clearly state your point of view
• Generate Content to Support the Big Idea – when you’re brainstorming, more is more
• Anticipate Resistance – think through opposing perspectives
• Amplify Your Message Through Contrasts – create and resolve tension
• Build an Effective Call to Action – get things done
• Choose Your Best Ideas – sort and filter
• Organize Your Thoughts – outline your presentation by writing clear, active slide titles that hang together
• Balance Analytical and Emotional Appeal – stay credible while you reel people in
• Lose the Jargon – is your language clear enough to pass the “grandmother test”

Build an Effective Call to Action

Presentations should move people to act – but only if you explicitly state what actions you want them to take, and when.

Are you asking them to be doers, suppliers, influencers, or innovators?

Doers instigate activities. They are the worker bees. Once they know what needs to be done, they’ll take on the tasks. They also recruit and motivate others to complete important activities.

Suppliers get resources. They are the people with resources – financial, human, or material. They have the means to get what you need to move forward.

Influencers change perceptions. They can sway individuals or groups, large or small, mobilizing them to adopt and evangelize your idea.

Innovators generate ideas. They think outside the box for new ways to add value to and spread your idea. They create strategies, perspectives, and products.

(Duarte, p 39)

Whether your audience is corporate, political, scientific, academic, or religious, the people you’re addressing should fall into one of these categories.

Be explicit in your request – and about how it will benefit your audience.

Next: Story

This is Part 3 of a series looking at Nancy Duarte’s new book HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations, highly recommended for all leaders.

Part 1

Part 2

Designing a presentation without an audience in mind is like writing a love letter and addressing it “to whom it may concern.”  Ken Haemer, Presentation Research Manager, AT&T

Award-winning author and presentation expert Nancy Duarte has a new book out: HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations. Over the next few days, I will be posting an outline of the book’s 7 sections as well as zeroing in on a specific topic each day.

Section 1: Audience

• Understand the Audience’s Power – your idea’s fate is in their hands
• Segment the Audience – Focus on who matters most
• Present Clearly and Concisely to Senior Executives – help them make big decisions on a tight schedule
• Get to Know Your Audience – it’s easier to convince someone you know
• Define How You’ll Change the Audience – what do you want people to believe? How do you want them to behave?
• Find Common Ground – resonate through empathy

Get to Know Your Audience

Knowing people – really knowing them – makes it easier to influence them.

You are trying to influence them, right? If you’re not, forget the speech and just send a memo.

But if you’re really trying to influence them, you’ve got to connect with them. To connect with them, you’ve got to know something about them.

• What are they like?
• Why are they here?
• What keeps them up at night?
• What gets them up in the morning?
• How can you solve their problems?
• What do you want them to do?
• How might they resist?
• How can you best reach them?

When you know you are doing a presentation – whether a weekly sermon, new initiative, or a committee report, do your people homework before you begin preparing your words. Only when you know WHO can you began to think about the WHAT.

People don’t fall asleep during conversations, but they often do during presentations – and that’s because many presentations don’t feel conversational.

When you really know your audience, you are engaging them in a conversation even if it seems one-sided. Knowing your audience well helps you feel warmly toward the people in the room, speak sincerely to them and help them want to listen to you.

Next: Message

This is Part 2 of a series looking at Nancy Duarte’s new book HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations

Part 1

If I am to speak for ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days; if half an hour, two days; if an hour, I am ready now. – Woodrow T. Wilson

There are typically very few – if any – leadership positions in which the leader is a lone ranger with no teams to work with or report to, no organizational support, and no larger group to speak to on occasions.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are few leadership positions where the leader is constantly working with teams of all sizes, being supported by a few – or a few dozen – individuals, and is regularly speaking to a larger group.

One of those positions is a pastor.

When a pastor steps to the pulpit – in a 100 member church or a 10,000 member church, and everywhere in between – it would be easy to feel as if he were in a position of power. After all, he is up in front of the crowd, maybe even elevated on a stage, and people have come to hear him speak. The speaker is the star of the show, right?

Wrong. The audience is.

I would pause just to say that God is our ultimate audience, and everything we do as a believer is first to an audience of One. That, to me, is a given.

The speaker is not the star of the presentation – the audience is, because they will determine whether your idea spreads or dies, simply by embracing or rejecting it. You need them more than they need you. They have the control, and the speaker needs to be humble in his approach to speaking to them.

How, then, do you become an excellent presenter?

Nancy Duarte is CEO of Duarte, Inc. She teaches workshops on the art of presenting and is the author of two award-winning books: Slide:ology and Resonate. Wait a minute – better make that three!

Harvard Business Review has just published Duarte’s newest book, HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations, and once again she has delivered a valuable tool for speakers everywhere – but especially pastors who stand up every week and deliver a presentation – a sermon – to their congregations.

Duarte’s Guide is broken into 7 sections as follows:

• Audience
• Message
• Story
• Media
• Slides
• Delivery
• Impact

We live and work in a first-draft culture. Type a text or email – send. Write a blog entry – post. Throw some images together – speak.

According to Duarte, though, it’s in crafting and recrafting, in iteration and rehearsal that excellence emerges.

But, you say, I have so many other things to do and I can’t worry about becoming an excellent communicator. Guess what? Becoming an excellent communicator will help you get those things done.

Ready to start?

Next: Audience: Know your audience and build empathy

Want to read more by Nancy Duarte? Click here to read her “10 Steps in Preparing a Powerful Presentation” and also download a free summary of her book Resonate.

My kids (2 Gen X, 4 Gen Y) expanded on the basic television, first with cable, then videotapes, then the Internet, and then DVDs.

My 3 grandchildren? They are digital natives, taking visual communication to new – and participatory – levels with social media, smart phones, tablets, apps, and who knows what’s around the corner.

We can’t escape the power of the visual image – and most of us don’t want to.

Most of us are visual learners. We like to see a picture, not just hear a word. Len Sweet has said that images are the language of the 21^st Century, not words. Why?

Pictures stick. We remember pictures long after words have left us. Pictures communicate far more than mere words. There’s a simple reason:

We see with our brain.

Vision trumps all the senses. Half of the brain’s resources are dedicated to seeing and interpreting what we see. What our eyes physically perceive is only one part of the story. The images coming into our brain are changed and interpreted. So it’s really our brains that are “seeing.”

If we are on an increasing visual trend in our culture and we understand the importance of vision in our lives, then it follows that leaders should be leading the visual revolution, not just observing (pun intended) it.

With that in mind, I wanted to introduce you to a trio of resources that will help you know how to use visual tools, manage visual practitioners and their work, and understand how to help your entire organization be visually literate – especially if you don’t think of yourself as being skillful visually.

Visual Leaders will help you and your organization take advantage of the visualization revolution. Visualization is transforming the world of work and the role of leaders in an age of global communication and complexity. The book is a guide to increasing your own visual literacy and your ability to help others with theirs. It’s full of proven tolls that get results.

Visual Meetings supports a group’s cycle of learning. Visual Meetings explains how you can use graphic recording, sticky notes, and idea mapping when imagining, engaging, thinking, or enacting in meetings. It is loaded with very practical and detailed descriptions of how to conduct different visualization activities. It also reviews the Group Graphics Keyboard and the seven archetypal choices for organizing displays.

Visual Teams explains how to create and sustain team performance with visuals. Visual Teams builds on Visual Meetings and shows how to use these methods across the whole arc of a team process, including the parts in between meetings. It also provides a graphical user interface to thinking about team dynamics with the Team Performance Model. The seven challenges of high-performing teams are explained in detail and linked to tools that help meet them.

Got a pen?

Coming: Key Principles from each of the resources listed above

You might also like:

• The Power of the Humble Napkin
• Your Visual Thinking ToolKit
• There’s Nothing Wrong With Words…
• What Color is Your Pen?

As with jazz soloists, so it is with organizational leaders. The competent ones hit the right notes, but the great ones are distinguished by how far ahead they are imagining and how they strategize possibilities, shape the contour of ideas, adapt and adjust in the midst of action, and resolve organizational tension.

What we need to add to our list of leadership skills is improvisation—the art of adjusting, flexibly adapting, learning through trial-and-error initiatives, inventing ad hoc responses, and discovering as you go.

Curious about the origin of “improvising,” I found the following in the dictionary:

French improviser, from Italian improvvisare, from improvviso sudden, from Latin improvisus, literally, unforeseen, from in- + provisus, past participle of providēre to see ahead

Sometimes you just have to improvise your way to clarity.

The major reason why improvisation works is that the musicians say an implicit yes to each other.

Because jazz improvisation borders on chaos and incoherence, it begs the question of how order emerges. Unlike other art forms and other forms of organized activity that attempt to rely on a pre-developed plan, improvisation is widely open to transformation, redirection, and unprecedented turns.

So it is with many jobs in organizations. They require fumbling around, experimenting, and patching together an understanding of problems from bits and pieces of experience, improvising with the materials at hand. Few problems provide their own definitive solutions.

Jazz improvisers focus on discovery in times of stress.

This is what improvisational leaders do. They come at challenges from different angles, ask more searching questions, and are born communitarians. They’re not going for easy answers or living off of old routines and stale phrases. Instead of focusing on obstacles (a form of negative self-monitoring), they create openings by asking questions that entertain possibilities.

Critically, too, improvisational leaders assume that the improv will work: that the mess is only a way station on the path to a worthwhile destination. The message here is powerful: start by asking positive questions; foster dialogues, not monologues; and you can change the whole situation, maybe even your life.

Adapted from Say Yes to the Mess, by Frank J. Barrett

Crownsville (pneumoencephalographic and skull X-ray studies) reminds me of something in the movie V for vendetta. It seems to me that scientists always did something bad (e.g. they did the researches on patients without getting concerts from them) with the seemingly noble aim: to uncover the nature, to investigate mechanisms behind the diseases. It’s unfair.

Deborah’s sentence is really worth remembering: if you gonna go into history, you can’t do it with a hate attitude. You got to remember, times was different.

We are in the ‘information gathering’ stage of TuckInNotes and greatly appreciate your comments, suggestions, and thoughts on this product.

We would like to know if you like the product and/or would you use the product – and a ‘no’ is just as important as a ‘yes’ in answer to this question.

Also, do you have suggestions on design and layout of the BookNote card?

Please take the time to Comment, and thank you again for visiting!

I’ve always been a voracious reader – a cherished habit passed down to me by my late father. In the past year, though, I’ve been able to ramp it up considerably because of my role as Vision Room Curator.

It’s not only a pleasure to read, it’s part of my job description – how cool is that?

Even so, it’s also hard to narrow it a “Best of” list down: in 2012, my reading included:

• 127 books checked out from my local library
• 68 print books purchased
• 31 books received for review
• 75 digital books on my Kindle

I also perused dozens of bookstores on my travels, writing down 63 titles for future review and/or acquisition. There are also a lot of late releases just coming out that I don’t have time to take a look at – yet. Be that as it may, here is my list of my 12 favorite books published in 2012.

  Outside In

Guest Experiences for ChurchWorld is my passion, and this book by Harley Manning and Kerry Bodine will provide churches a “go-to” manual for years to come

Andy Stanley and Northpoint Ministries have a solid model that all churches would do well to study – not to duplicate, but to understand how to impact your community for Christ.

Tim Keller delivers a textbook for doing church; possibly the most important church theology/leadership/practical book in a decade

   The Advantage

Patrick Lencioni captures the concept of clarity (he uses the phrase “organizational health”) like no business thinker today

   The Icarus Deception

Seth Godin’s most recent book is probably the most challenging personal one I’ve read – and that’s saying a lot!

   The LEGO Principle

Joey Bonifacio writes in a simple, profound way about the importance of “connecting” in relationships that lead to discipleship

   Missional Moves

Rob Wegner and Jack Magruder in a quiet, unassuming way, illustrate how Granger Community Church is transforming into a community of believers reaching their community – and the world.

Lead with a Story

Paul Smith delivers a powerful tool to enhance the leader’s skill in storytelling.

John Edson delivers a stunningly designed book that challenges the reader to understand and utilize Apple’s principles of design

   Better Together

Church mergers (and closings) are going to be a huge event in the next decade; Jim Tomberlin and Warren Bird give an excellent resource on how to survive and thrive throughout the process.

   Quiet

Susan Cain writes the book I’ve been waiting for over 30 years – because I am an introvert leader.

   Midnight Lunch

Sarah Miller Caldicott delivers a powerful primer for collaborative teamwork.

   HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations

Nancy Duarte is not just a great writer – she knows how to deliver a great presentation from the first idea to the final applause.

Okay, it’s not 12 – but it is a baker’s dozen!

Let’s see – there’s still over 2 weeks left in 2012 – plenty of time to find a good book – what do you recommend?

Dr. Mohler released a book this year entitled The Conviction to Lead. It contains 25 principles for leadership that matters. One of those principles is that “Leaders are Readers.”

The following is a compilation of the powerful truths of that statement, as taken from his book. I thought they were an appropriate inclusion in Reading Week 2012.

When you find a leader, you have found a reader. The reason for this is simple—there is no substitute for effective reading when it comes to developing and maintaining the intelligence necessary to lead. In all likelihood, your desk has a stack of books, magazines, and journals waiting to be read, and your briefcase is filled with reading materials. Leadership requires a constant flow of intelligence, ideas, and information. There is no way to gain the basics of leadership without reading.

Leading by conviction demands an even deeper commitment to reading and the mental disciplines that effective reading establishes. Why? Because convictions require continual mental activity. The leader is constantly analyzing, considering, defining, and confirming the convictions that will rule his leadership.

Leaders know that reading is essential, as it is the most important means of developing and deepening understanding. That is why leaders learn to set aside a significant amount of time for reading. We simply cannot lead without a constant flow of intellectual activity in our minds, and there is no substitute for reading when it comes to producing this flow.

The careful reader is not reading merely to receive data. The leader learns to invest deeply in reading as a discipline for critical thinking.

How to Read 

You are already a reader, but how can you hone that skill to your greatest benefit? Reading is like any other skill—most people are satisfied to operate at a low-level. For some, the skill of reading seems to come naturally, while others have to work hard to develop it. The key is to keep improving over a lifetime.

Your first concern is to read for understanding. If you don’t, reading will add little to your life and leadership abilities. Before you start to read a book, ask certain questions about it:

• What kind of book is it?
• How dense is the content?
• What do you need to know about the author?
• What is the purpose and subject matter of the book?
• How did it end up on your reading list?

Develop your own rules and habits for reading. I like to start with the book’s cover and table of contents. The cover of a book used to be mostly for its protection, but now it contains a significant amount of information, ranging from a short biography of the author to the identification of the publisher. The table of contents, if well constructed, is like a map of the book. Reading is much more effective if the reader knows where the book is headed.

You should read a book or article only for what it is worth. If you find that the book is not contributing to your life and leadership, set it aside. The world is filled with books and other reading material. Is the book making you think? Do you find that it is sparking new thoughts and reflections as you read? If so, read on. If not, set it down and move on.

Learn to read critically. Reading is not merely an exchange of information and ideas. It is a conversation between the author and the reader. Argue with the book and its author when necessary, and agree and elaborate when appropriate.

Treat the book as a notepad with printed words. In other words, write in your books. Make the book your own by marking points of agreement and disagreement, highlighting particularly important sections of text, and underlining and diagraming where helpful. The activity of marking your books adds tremendously to the value of your reading and to your retention of its contents and your thinking.

Reading critically also means evaluating the author’s credibility and clarity of thought. Does the author have the credentials and authority to make these arguments or to present this information? Do the arguments meet the tests of truthfulness, honesty, and relevance? Are claims backed up with credible evidence and argumentation? These are all crucial questions any reader should ask of a book. A couple more include: What is the author’s purpose in writing this book? What do I hope to get out of the experience of reading this book?

Keep reading and developing the skill of reading over your lifetime.

What to Read

Think of reading like you think of eating. In other words, pay attention to your diet.

For the Christian, the highest reading priority is the Word of God. Our spiritual maturity will never exceed our knowledge of the Bible, which is an especially urgent principle for Christian leaders.

In terms of other reading, Christian leaders should read serious Christian books—books that contain spiritual health and deep thought. The leader’s reading diet should include books covering a range of subjects, though most of us will invest first in those books that are most relevant to our work and mission.

Expanding from there, the leader should learn to consult book reviews and notices in major newspapers, magazines, and online sources. Of course, friends recommend many of the books that will mean most to us. When leaders gather, books are usually part of the conversation.

Should leaders read fiction? This is where many leaders admit uncertainty, but the answer is surely yes. Leaders need to read fiction for enjoyment, for learning, and for context. Fiction is important because it allows the reader to enter into the times, life, and mind of someone else.

Novels and short stories are powerful units of narrative, telling a story with compelling force. While enjoying the story, leaders are also learning how to improve their own narrative presentation and communicative ability.

Leaders are ravenous consumers of historical biographies. Their natural instinct is to learn about leaders of the past in order to embrace their strengths and avoid their weaknesses. But the wise leader will range across the waterfront of disciplines, from history and economics to current events and politics. Add to this the expanding number of business and management titles published each year. No leader can read all of these, of course, but the best of the lot should be on the leader’s reading list.

What about newspapers, magazines, and newsletters? The capable leader knows that these are important as well. Even as printed newspapers suffer from circulation losses, they remain extremely influential and informative.

If newspapers represent the first level of report and analysis, then magazines, journals, and newsletters represent the second. The newsweeklies and major intellectual magazines are extremely influential in terms of popular culture.

In addition to keeping up with the news, leaders will also learn communication and writing skills from the best magazines and journals. The writing in these periodicals tends to be fresh and lively, intended to draw and keep the reader’s attention. That is the wise leader’s concern as well.

When to Read

There will never be enough time to read all that you want to read, or even all that you think you ought to read. Just keep reading. Set aside segments of time devoted to reading and grab every spare minute you can find. Keep reading materials with you at all times, or at least close at hand. Keep a stack of books ready for reading, and take a couple with you as you travel.

When possible, read when you can retain and think most productively. I have found it helpful to plan reading projects. Each year, I plan two or three of these, intending to pursue understanding on a specific issue or area of knowledge. Develop a short list of books in an area, and work your way through them. You will be amazed at how much you can cover in a year.

I also advise dividing your reading plan into three categories. First, books you must read. Second, books you should read. Third, books you want to read. Given a bit of honest thinking, you will have a good idea of how this breaks down for you. Once you have this structure in mind, you can plan the stewardship of your reading time accordingly.

Read With Discernment

Christian leaders learn to read with discernment drawn from our deepest convictions. Constant worldview analysis comes like a reflex as the leader develops the capacity and skill of spiritual discernment. Test everything you read by viewing it through the lens of biblical truth and your convictions. Know that your most faithful and productive thinking will often come as you are reading from an author with whom you disagree, even as you apply critical thinking and discernment. Those who would lead with conviction must read with conviction.

Next: My Favorite Books of 2012

What made Thomas Edison so successful in creating collaborative innovation teams in his era? Sarah Miller Caldicott brings Edison’s collaboration approach to the 21st century in her new book Midnight Lunch.  Read step-by-step how Edison used collaboration to propel his teams to share their ideas in a uniquely collegial atmosphere, creating a competitive edge which became a hallmark of his laboratories.

Here’s a quick overview of the four-step process.

Step 1: Capacity

Build diverse teams of two to eight people.
What worked for Edison: To create the lightbulb, Edison’s team had to include chemists, mathematicians, and glassblowers.
Modern counterpart: Facebook’s small, collaborative coding teams.

Step 2: Context

After a mistake, step back and learn from it.
What worked for Edison: At age 22, he had his first flop–the electronic vote recorder, which legislators failed to adopt. From there, he changed his focus to the consumer.
Modern counterpart: At Microsoft, Bill Gates took intensive reading vacations each year.

Step 3: Coherence

When team members disagree, step in and make a decision.
What worked for Edison: Groundbreaking work in electricity isn’t easy to come by. Fights and frustration followed; overarching vision kept creation on track.
Modern counterpart: Whirlpool has “collaboration teams” to spark dialogue between departments.

Step 4: Complexity

When the market shifts, change your direction–or face the consequences.
What worked for Edison: It was the era of electricity. Inventors ignored that at their peril.
Modern counterpart: The implosion of Kodak, which failed to adapt to market changes.

What could your team learn from a “midnight lunch?”

Look at a Fast Company article here.

Get the book here.

Read more from Sara here.

Next: Part 1 of a 5-part series on Thomas Edison’s Five Competencies of Innovation. For an overview of the Five Competencies, go here.

 
I Need My Monster 
By Amanda Noll 
Illustrated by Howard McWilliam 
When a boy’s monster goes on a fishing vacation, he’s left without a monster under his bed. The boy does what any child would do and starts to interview replacement monsters…but will any monster fit his needs? So much fun! -Justus 

 
A Hole Is to Dig 
By Ruth Krauss 
Holidays are to stay home from work. Families are to give your extra hugs to. Gifts are for making everybody feel good. Books are for making feelings inside you. A Classic is when you, your mom, and your grandpa all love it.
This book is like a hug… You’re never too young or old to give or get one! -Jamil 

Bear Has a Story to Tell 
By Philip C. Stead 
Illustrated by Erin Stead
Winter is coming and the animals are all getting ready. Beat wants to share his story, but they are all too busy and soon Bear must sleep, too. However, everyone is soon eager to hear the story as soon as winter passes.
A beautiful, simple story about friendship and storytelling. I love this bear! -Tracy
Little Owl Lost 
By Chris Haughton
So there’s this little owl, and this little owl is a wee bit clumsy and falls out of his nest and gets lost. A squirrel sees the whole thing and does his very best to help the owl find his mommy. The squirrel, is, as befits his name, a wee bit squirrely and has a little trouble with the whole endeavour. The first book by Oh No, George author Chris Haughton is an adorable and silly tale for little humans or little animals everywhere. -Casey S. 

 
This Moose Belongs to Me 
By Oliver Jeffers 
In this utterly charming new book by Oliver Jeffers we meet Wilfred, a young boy who meets a moose. He names the moose Marcel and begins following his new friend to teach him the rules of being a good pet. Marcel leads Wilfred into the wild, but imagine the boy’s reaction when he learns the moose may not be his pet after all. This is an amusing, fun, and beautifully illustrated adventure. -David 

Cheerful 
By Palmer Brown
It’s finally back in print! Cheerful is a little church mouse who lives in the city with his parents, his brother Solemnity,and his sisters Faith and Hope. While his siblings are happy frolicking in the big city, Cheerful’s dream is to live in the country. This is the enchanting story of Cheerful’s journey to his place in the countryside. -Leah

People
By Blexbolex 
Looking for the perfect gift for your friend’s young child? Here you go! This book  contains beautiful illustrations of people doing ordinary things. It is fascinating! It is also fun. Pick it up and take a look! -Jillian

Pirates at the Plate 

By AAron Frisch

Illustrated by Mark Summers 

Any fan of baseball, pirates, or cowboys is sure to love this imaginative new picture book. What happens when the likes of Captain Hook, Blackbeard, and Long John Silver play baseball against Hopalong Cassidy, Wild Bill Hickok, and the Cisco Kid? Find out as this unusual showdown takes place in the ball yard. And don’t miss tomorrow’s game between the Vikings and the Tigers! -David

This Is Not My Hat 
By Jon Klassen 
We’ve all been there. We’re out and about in the world, we see a hat that we really like, and for just a moment we think about taking it. Then we see that maybe the owner of the hat is rather…gigantic, and we chicken out. But little fish doesn’t. He sees a hat, he just takes it and swims away. He doesn’t worry about consequences. I, for one, can’t see a flaw in little fish’s plans. – Rich 

Andrew Henry’s Meadow 
By Doris Burn
Andrew Henry loves building contraptions and inventing is his passion, but his messy creations exasperate his family. Andrew decides that the only solution is to find a place where he can build a house of his own. One by one his friends find him and he puts his talents to good use by building custom “homes” for each of his friends.
Originally published in 1965 and newly brought back into print by San Juan Publishing (hurray!) – this book is a celebration of the joy of imagination and will inspire some first-rate fort building! Kudos to one time Waldron Island resident for writing and illustrating such an enduring classic! -Laurie 

Safari
By Dan Kainen 
Have you ever been captivasted by the powerful movement of a wild cheetah? Ever wish you could slow it down and see every detail? Now you can with amazing new Photicular technology from Dan Kainen. ON the heels of his Scanimation hit Gallop, Kainene brings us Safari–a breathtaking moving gallery of Africa’s most stunning species. The physical act of turning pages sets a lion charging or a cheetah running. And when you’ve satisfied your curiousity with pictures, Safari includes informative essays on what you’ve witnessed. Enjoy!! -Seth

The Boxcar Children
By Gertrude Chandler Warner
Absolutely one of my favourite books from childhood! I loved the way the four siblings moved into the abandoned boxcar and outfitted themselves with all the comforts of home–cups & bowls, hammer & nails; even a dog! The original silhouette art is included in this special edition and truly adds to this cherished book! -Holly 

I Have a Dream
By Martin Luther King Jr.
Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
The grandly inspiring words of one of the greatest Americans–gorgeously illustrated to deliver the freeing, soaring impact of Martin Luther King’s vision.
This is a book for all time–and for the entire family. -Peter

The Little Island
By Margaret Wise Brown 
The seasons change on this little island and with them so does the island. Flowers bloom, lobsters shed their shells, pears fall from the tree, and snow falls. One summer a curious kitten visits and discovers that even a tiny little island cut off from the land is part of this big world. -Pamela 

Rookie Yearbook One

Edited by Tavi Gevinson 
Need a book for a teenaged girl? Look no further! Rookie Yearbook One is a comprehensive guide to the fashion world, music, women’s topics, the strange, and the super-rad. It contains interesting interviews (e.g., Joss Whedon, John Waters), handy DIYs, and does not, in anyway, shortchange the reader. Intelligently written and playfullly designed, it is the obvious choice this Christmas season. -Jillian

A Kid’s Guide to Birding
By Lorenzo Rohani
Photos by Michael Rohani
In this terrific introduction to the birding way of life, a Seattle area father and son team introduce all the basics of good birding, from proper etiquette (don’t get too close, don’t try to touch), to identification techniques (plumage, camouflage, beaks), and tips on how to build feeders and attract birds to your own backyard. Birding is inexpensive, it can be shared with people of all ages, and it can be done anywhere. Filled with practical advice and spectacular photographs of avian beauties, this gem of a book squawks to be shared with loved ones—young and old alike! -Holly 

The Impossible Rescue 
By Martin W. Sandler
This truly amazing story is ideal for those who prefer their adventure tales pulled from history. Whaling was once a vital industry, but it was also rife with peril, and in September of 1897, eight whaling vessels became trapped in the ice of Point Barrow, Alaska. With more than 250 lives at stake, President McKinley ordered a rescue, and the cutter ship Bear left Seattle. This rescue would be accomplished by intrepid individuals without helicopters, GPS, or cell phones. Recounted from the diaries, letters, and historic photographs of those involved, this is a story of the impossible made possible. -Holly 

Moominvalley Turns Jungle 
By Tove Jansson
No they are not hippopotamuses!
The Moomins have enchanted children and grownups around the world since 1945. Until now, they have only been available in large, expensive hardbacks. No they have released on of the best stories in an affordable, kid-proof version. A highly-recommended stocking stuffer. -Leah

The Hobbit
By J.R.R. Tolkien 
Just in time for the holidays and the December 14th release of the first installment of Peter Jackson’s trilogy of films comes this delightful and inexpensive hardcover version of the timeless tale of Bilbo Baggins and his fantastic adventures in Middle Earth. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the publication of the book that would launch the career of the father of modern fantasy literature. Tolkien’s epic story of Bilbo, Gandalf, the dwarves, a dragon named Smaug, and all the rest will live on in the hearts and minds of generations of readers, and now filmgoers. This is the perfect gift for the Tolkien or avid fantasy reader in your life. Plus, it fits in your pocket! -Casey S.

Every Day 
By David Levithan 
For A, life has never been straightforward, but how could it be when he’s never had a body to call his own? Every day he wakes up in a different body, and after sixteen years he’s learned to live as normally as he can, never trying to change the life he’s borrowing. And that’s fine until Rhiannon walks into his life, and he falls in love. Now A is kidnapping the bodies he wakes up in, dragging them any distance across the country to spend just a few more moments with the girl who stole his heart. -Justus 

Christians should seek to live in the city, not to use the city to build great churches, but to use the church’s resources to seek a great, flourishing city.  –Tim Keller

In Center Church, Tim Keller offers challenging insights and provocative questions based on over twenty years of ministry in New York City. Center Church outlines a theological vision for ministry – applying classic doctrines to our time and place – organized around three core commitments:

1. Gospel-centered: The gospel of grace in Jesus Christ changes everything, from our hearts to our community to the world. It completely reshapes the content, tone and strategy of all that we do.
2. City-centered: Cities increasingly influence our global culture and affect the way we do ministry. With a positive approach toward our culture, we learn to affirm that cities are wonderful, strategic and underserved places for gospel ministry.
3. Movement-centered: Instead of building our own tribe, we seek the prosperity and peace of our community as we are led by the Holy Spirit.

In the section on “City Vision,” Keller answers the question raised in the title of this post with the following thoughts:

• Christians should develop appreciative attitudes toward the city – In obedience to God, Job went to the city of Nineveh, but he didn’t love it. In the same way, Christians may come to the city out of a sense of duty to God while being filled with great disdain for the density and diversity of the city. But for ministry in cities to be effective, it is critical that Christians appreciate cities. They should love city life and find it energizing.

• Christians should become a dynamic counterculture where they live – It will not be enough for Christians to simply live as individuals in the city. They must live as a particular kind of community. Christians are called to be an alternate city within every earthy city, an alternate human culture within every human culture – to show how sex, money, and power can be used in nondestructive ways; to show how classes and races that cannot get along outside of Christ can get along in him; and to show how it is possible to cultivate by using the tools of art, education, government, and business to bring hope to people rather than despair or cynicism.

• Christians should be a community radially committed to the good of their city as a whole – It is not enough for Christians to form a culture that merely “counters” the values of the city. We must also commit, with all the resource of our faith and life to serve sacrificially the good of the whole city, and especially the poor. Christians in cities must become a counterculture for the common good. They must be radically committed to its benefit. They must minister to the city out of their distinctive Christian beliefs and identity.

If Christians seek power and influence, they will arouse fear and hostility. If instead they pursue love and seek to serve, they will be granted a great deal of influence by their neighbors, a free gift given to trusted and trustworthy people.

Reflections and excerpts from Tim Keller’s book Center Church.

For additional materials related to the book, go here. To read other posts about Center Church, go here and here.

The challenge is to establish churches and other ministries that effectively engage the realities of the cities of the world. - Tim Keller

As Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC notes in his recent book Center Church, “the majority of evangelical Protestants who presently control the United States mission apparatus are typically white and non-urban in background. They neither understand nor in most cases enjoy urban life. Furthermore, many of the prevailing ministry methods are forged outside of urban areas and then simply imported, with little thought given to the unnecessary barriers this practice erects between urban dwellers and the gospel.

Keller believes that churches that minister in ways that are indigenous and honoring to a city – whatever its size – exhibit these seven vital features:

Respect for Urban Sensibility – Christian leaders and ministers must genuinely belong to the culture so they begin to intuitively understand it. Center-city culture in particular is filled with well-informed, verbal, creative, and assertive people who do not respond well to authoritative pronouncements. They appreciate thoughtful presentations that are well argued and provide opportunities for feedback.

Unusual Sensitivity to Cultural Differences – Effective leaders in urban ministry are acutely aware of the different people groups within their area. Because cities are dense and diverse, they are always culturally complex. The ever-present challenge is to work to make urban ministry as broadly appealing as possible and as inclusive of different cultures as possible.

Commitment to Neighborhood and Justice – Urban neighborhoods are highly complex. Often, alongside the well-off residents in gentrified neighborhoods with their expensive apartments, private schools, and community associations, there is often a “shadow neighborhood” filled with many who live in poverty, attend struggling schools, and reside in government housing. Urban ministers learn how to exegete their neighborhoods to grasp their sociological complexity.

Integration of Faith and Work – Traditional evangelical churches tend to emphasize personal piety and rarely help believers understand how to maintain and apply their Christian beliefs and practice to the worlds of the arts, business, scholarship, and government. Urban Christians need a broader vision of how Christianity engages and influences culture. Cities are culture-forming incubators, and believers in such places have a significant need for guidance on how Christian faith should express itself in public life.

Bias for Complex Evangelism – Not only must an urban church be committed to evangelism; it must be committed to the complexity of urban evangelism. There is no “one-size-fits-all” method or message that can be used with all urban residents. Urban evangelism requires immersion in the various cultures’ greatest hopes, fears, views and objections to Christianity. It requires a creative host of different means and venues, and it takes great courage.

Preaching that Both Attracts and Challenges Urban People – Perhaps the greatest challenge for preachers in urban contexts is the fact that many secular and non-believing people ma be in the audience.  The challenge is for the urban preacher to preach in a way that edifies believers and engages and evangelizes non-believers at the same time.

Commitment to Artistry and Creativity – Professional artists live disproportionately in major urban areas, and so the art are held in high regard in the city, while in non-urban areas little direct attention is given to them. Urban churches must be aware of this, and should have high standards for artistic skill in their worship and ministries. They must also think of the artists no simply as persons with skills to use, but connect to them as worshippers and hearers, communicating that they are valued for both their work and their presence in the community.

By his grace, Jesus lost the city-that-was, so we could become the citizens of the city-to-come, making us salt and light in the city-that-is. - Tim Keller

Reflections and excerpts from Tim Keller’s book Center Church.

For additional materials related to the book, go here. To read another post about Center Church, go here.

If the church in the West remains, for the most part, in the suburbs of Middle America and neglects the great cities, it risks losing an entire generation of American society’s leaders.

The growth in size and influence of cities today presents the greatest possible challenge for the church. Never before has it been so important to learn how to do effective ministry in cities, and yet, by and large, evangelical Christianity in the US is still non-urban.

Along with these challenges comes a range of unique opportunities. Tim Keller, founder and senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, sees four important groups of people who must be reached to fulfill the mission of the church – and each of them can best be reached in the cities. Here’s a brief summary of his thoughts:

The Younger Generation – the prospects for advancement, the climate of constant innovation and change, the coming together of diverse influences and people – all of these appeal to young adults.  In the US and Europe, the young disproportionately want to live in cities, and for the highly ambitious, the numbers are even higher.

The Cultural “Elites” – the second group is made up of those who have disproportionate influence on how human life is lived in a society because they exert power in business, publishing the media, the academy and the arts. These people spend much of their time or live in city centers.

Accessible “Unreached” People Groups – the currents of history are now sweeping many formerly unreached people into cities as rural economies fail to sustain the old ways of life. These newcomers need help and support to face the moral, economic, emotional, and spiritual pressures of city life, and this is an opportunity for the church to serve them with supportive community, a new spiritual family, and a liberating gospel message.

The Poor – a fourth group of people who must be reached in cities is the poor. Some have estimated that one-third of the people representing the new growth in cities in the developing world will live in shantytowns. A great majority of the world’s poor live in cities, and there is an important connection between reaching the urban elites and serving the poor of your city.

The cities of the world will continue to grow in significance and power. Because of this, they remain just as strategic – if not more so – than they were in the days of Paul and the early church.

• If Christians want to reach the unreached, we must go to the cities.
• To reach the rising generations, we must go to the cities.
• To have any impact for Christ on the creation of culture, we must go to the cities.
• To serve the poor, we must go to the cities.

- Tim Keller

In Center Church, Timothy Keller offers challenging insights and provocative questions based on over twenty years of ministry in New York City. This book outlines a theological vision for ministry—based on classic doctrines but rethinking our assumptions about church for our time and place—organized around three core commitments:

1. Gospel-centered: The gospel of grace in Jesus Christ changes everything, from our hearts to our community to the world. It completely reshapes the content, tone and strategy of all that we do.
2. City-centered: Cities increasingly influence our global culture and affect the way we do ministry. With a positive approach toward our culture, we learn to affirm that cities are wonderful, strategic and underserved places for gospel ministry.
3. Movement-centered: Instead of building our own tribe, we seek the prosperity and peace of our community as we are led by the Holy Spirit.

Read more about Center Church here.

• Simplicity
• Brevity
• Credibility
• Consistency
• Novelty
• Sound
• Aspiration
• Visualization
• Questioning
• Context

What matters is not what you say, but what people hear.

You can pick it up here.

Be still and know that I am God.

Be still and know that I am.

Be still and know that I.

Be still and know that.

Be still and know.

Be still and.

Be still.

Be.

- from Psalm 46:10

A meditative practice of Eugene Peterson, taken from his forward to Matthew Sleeth’s new book 24/6.

Steven Walden, Senior Head of Research and Consulting, was kind enough to engage me in a conversation via email and phone when I contacted the firm about my work in translating corporate Customer Experiences to ChurchWorld Guest Services.

After several conversations and a lot of great ideas, Steven recommended that I read Beyond Philosophy’s books – which I am currently doing.

I started with The DNA of Customer Experience: How Emotions Drive Value. I didn’t get far into the book when this statement jumped out at me:

Our research shows that over 50% of a Customer Experience is about emotions.

Though I skimmed through the rest of the book (a great book that’s going to be the source of future posts), I knew that to fully understand that comment, I would need to dig further into Beyond Philosophy’s research and prior work.

Which I am currently doing… 

In the meantime, as a ChurchWorld leader, how do you react to the statement above?  What part do you think emotions play in your church’s Guest Experience? 

This post is part of a journey translating Customer Experience learnings in the corporate world to Guest Experience in ChurchWorld

Look Around – Peer Mentoring: Barnabas spoke up for Paul when everyone else only saw the old Saul.

1. He believed in Paul before anyone else did
2. He endorsed Paul’s leadership to other leaders
3. He empowered Paul to reach his potential

Who will you be a Barnabas to today?

Look Ahead – Classical Mentoring: Paul loved the church at Thessalonica like a parent loves a child. As Paul mentored his “children,” he developed a parental, coaching relationship with them. In 1 Thessalonians 2:7-12 he describes this relationship in these words:

1. A gentle, nurturing mother
2. Shared good news and his very life
3. Worked hard not to be a burden
4. Strove to be an example
5. Dealt with them as a father deals with his children
6. Encouraged them to live up to their potential as God’s children

Is there a “Paul” that you looking up to today?

Look Behind – Reverse Mentoring: Young leaders have a powerful message for older leaders – but are we willing to listen? One pastor was heard to say “every day I get a little more disconnected unless I intentionally work at staying connected. We live in a plug and play world, which poses a problem for many of my peers who are hard-wired. They need what only the next generation can give: connectedness.” Here’s the world that younger generation lives in:

1. I love media, but I trust my friends
2. I am aware of broadcasting, but I trust narrowcasting
3. I spend money, but I trust art
4. I respect excellence, but I trust authenticity
5. I resist church, but I trust Jesus

Who is someone “reverse mentoring” you today?

(from a previous series on Mentoring, while I am away on vacation)

It would be easy to assume that a potential mentor would stand out like a polished gem among dull stones, but that is not often the case. We tend to assume that mentors have to be unusually successful, or prominent, or brilliant, or outstanding in some other way. But the truth of the matter is that many of the best mentors are not spectacular – just solid. They may not stand out in a crowd, but they are out there.

Howard and Bill Hendricks, writing in their book “As Iron Sharpens Iron,” give the following three practical suggestions for finding a mentor:

Pray for a Mentor

We may not take prayer seriously, but God does. As you pray for a mentor, you’ve got to trust God, even through you cannot see any prospects on the horizon. Searching for a mentor is one of those times when, as Scripture says, you have to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Start Looking

Look around you – potential mentors are moving in and out of patterns of life all the time, but you’ve got to look for them. Open your eyes. Perk up your ears. Look and listen to what is happening around you. Understand the Marks of a Mentor, and make a list of who has those marks.

Make Contact

Once you have identified a potential mentor, connect with them. Ask them out to breakfast or lunch; talk with him; pray with him. See if the relationship takes hold; find out if there is a chemistry there. Mentoring develops out of that kind of initial contact. Here’s a pointer on stimulating some interaction: most of us respond to people who respond to us, particularly in the area of our expertise. We feel more comfortable talking about that. So starting there can help break the ice in a relationship. The point is not to try to manipulate someone into a relationship he doesn’t want, but rather to be informed about what matters to him.

If you want to find a mentor, think like a mentor.

(from a prior series on Mentoring, while I am away on vacation)

Okay, but what does a mentor look like?

Howard and Bill Hendricks’ book “As Iron Sharpens Iron” has been a great reference for my understanding and development of the concept of mentoring. Their intentional strategies and practical suggestions are a gold mine for anyone looking for a mentor, or to be a mentor. A great place to start? The 10 Marks of a Mentor:

A Mentor Seems to Have What You Personally Need

Whatever your mentoring objectives are, the only person who can help you achieve them is the one who has already developed those capacities himself. It’s a basic principle of spiritual nurturing: you cannot impart what you do not possess. So, look for a mentor who actually has the goods, not just one who looks good.

A Mentor Cultivates Relationships

An effective mentor has to be willing to give of himself to another human being. He must be capable of establishing an maintaining a relationship. Otherwise, he will have difficulty attracting anybody, despite the considerable value of what he may have to offer.

A Mentor is Willing to Take a Chance on You

A mentor is going to make a certain investment in you – an investment of time, energy, emotion, trust, and other resources. Investments always involve a measure of risk. This is as true in mentoring as anywhere else, because there are no guaranteed outcomes to the mentoring process. As you seek an “investor,” you have to ask yourself: Is this person willing to run the risk with me? Or is he so risk-averse that he’ll never give me a chance?

A Mentor is Respected by Other Christians

A mentor should be respected by other effective Christians. Among the qualifications for church leaders are that a man be “above reproach” and “respectable” (1 Timothy 3:2). As you consider a potential mentor, you need to conduct something of a background check on the prospect, particularly if you do not know him personally or have not known him for very long. Ask other people’s opinions, particularly those of mature believers, to indicate whether he is worth the risk.

A Mentor has a Network of Resources

The more extensive a network your mentor has, the better. Mentors can help you reach your life goals because of who they know and what they know. This knowledge base gives them tremendous power to promote your welfare. Your mentor can help you with your needs and objectives by introducing you to people, books, seminars, programs, and other resources that can encourage you in your development. The better the network, the more help he will be.

A Mentor is Consulted by Others

One of the best indicators that a man would serve well as a guide is if he is already serving as a guide to others. The prime candidates are the ones who already have a reputation as mentors. This ability to offer counsel is crucial. It is not wisdom alone that qualifies a person to coach another person, but his ability to communicate effectively and apply his wisdom to the other person’s need.

A Mentor Both Talks and Listens

The issue is communication. Most people think of communication as being all about speaking. But the truth of the matter is that you become an effective communicator by becoming an effective listener. Without question, communication is a two-way street, involving both speaking and listening. But of the two, listening is by far the harder to learn. A good mentor is a good listener. If you bring him a problem, a question, a comment, an idea, he will more than likely help you figure it out and run with it, rather than regale you with his own polished presentation. Mentoring is not about your mentor displaying his brilliance; it is about you as a protégé learning to step up to the next level, so that you can develop your competencies.

A Mentor is Consistent in His Lifestyle

What your mentor does and how he lives will have a far greater impact on you than anything he says. In fact, you may forget 90 percent of what he says, but you’ll never forget how he lived. There is no substitute for a person of consistent Christ-like character. He doesn’t have to try to snow you with words – his life is the most eloquent sermon there is. You want a person who is progressing toward maturity. That means a person who is authentic – as honest about his failures and weaknesses as he is realistic about the things he has going for him.

A Mentor is Able to Diagnose Your Needs

All of us have blind spots, areas of which we are unaware. That’s why we need people who can diagnose our developmental and spiritual needs. When you’re out of your depth, you need a competent person who not only can see that something is wrong, but can figure out what it is and how to fix it. A good mentor has the analytical ability to distinguish between nagging symptoms and underlying diseases.

A Mentor is Concerned with Your Interests

Looking for a mentor requires a moderate dose of healthy self-interest. We’re talking about your life and your development. Therefore, you are looking for someone who will champion your best interests. Ideally you want a person whose greatest joy is to see you succeed. If you succeed, he succeeds, and if you fail…well, he’s there to pick you up, dust you off, and get you back on your horse.

As you evaluate people according to these ten marks of a mentor, be realistic: you are going to find that almost every person falls short in some way. In other words, you will never find the perfect mentor. The point of this list is not to disqualify as many people as possible, but the urge you to aim high. A mentor can have a profound influence on you life, so it’s worth finding the most qualified person you can.

You’ve got a checklist in hand – now where do you find a mentor?

(from a prior series on Mentoring, while I am away on vacation)