BOOKS
THE PRAYER-CIRCLED MARRIAGE Joel and Nina Schmidgall’s new book offers great advice about both prayer and marriage. G E O R G E P. W O O D ome books offer advice about mariage, others about prayer. Praying Circles Around Your Marriage offers advice about both, under the assumption that couples who pray together stay together. “The richness of your marriage will be determined by how frequently and how fervently God is invited into your relationship,” write Joel and Nina Schmidgall. “Prayer will draw you into unity with God and, as a result, with one another.” The concept of “praying circles around _________” comes from Mark Batterson’s book, The Circle Maker. The Schmidgalls are in-laws of Batterson and work with him at National Community Church in Washington, D.C., where Joel serves as executive pastor and Nina serves as director of family ministry. Their book is an excellent addition to the “Circle Maker” brand.
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FIX IT! WHOSE PROBLEM IS IT? Rob Ketterling (River Valley Resources)
When your church faces a problem, who is responsible for fixing it? Pastors often say, “I am,” but taking responsibility for every problem results in burned-out pastors and underutilized church members. Rob Ketterling suggests a better way forward in Fix It!, one that revolves around three simple words: you, them and God. “Define what you’re responsible to do, delegate to others who will share the load, and expect God to do what only He can do, including a change in direction from time to time.” This book is filled with biblical insight, practical suggestions and real-life examples.
HELP! I’M IN CHARGE Rod Loy (Influence Resources)
Help! I’m in Charge examines “stuff leadership experts didn’t tell you,” in the words of the subtitle. Most church leadership experts discuss mission, vision and values from a 30,000-foot level. In this book, Rod Loy gets into the weeds, talking about the nitty-gritty of leadership
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The Schmidgalls identify seven areas (or “circles”) of marriage that couples need to address prayerfully: • developing a shared purpose (Vision Circle) • resolving family conflicts (War Circle) • cultivating personal intimacy (Romance Circle) • balancing marital unity with individual interests (Dance Circle) • establishing a peer network (Support Circle) • responding to unexpected crises (Storm Circle) • impacting future generations (Legacy Circle) “Of course, the purpose of prayer is not to get what we want from God for our marriage,” the Schmidgalls write in conclusion. “Its purpose is to commune with God and gain His heart for our marriage.” Praying Circles Around Your Marriage offers Biblebased, common-sense, experience-tested advice about prayer-filled marriages. It’s suitable BOOK REVIEWED for private reading Joel and Nina but can also be Schmidgall, Praying used in premariCircles Around Your tal and marriage Marriage (Grand counseling, as well Rapids, MI: as in book clubs Zondervan, 2019). and small groups.
on the ground. Chapter 5, “Your Ability Won’t Get You Far if People Don’t Like You,” and Chapter 9, “Everyone Wants to Be Treated With Respect,” alone are worth the price of the book. Help! I’m in Charge is biblically grounded, personally authentic, seasoned advice for pastors and other church leaders.
LEADERS: MYTH AND REALITY Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Jeff Eggers and Jason Mangone (Portfolio/Penguin)
John Maxwell famously defined leadership as “influence.” That’s true to an extent, but it’s also too simple because it’s leadercentric, as if influence flows only one way. In Leaders, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Jeff Eggers and Jason Mangone profile 13 leaders from diverse backgrounds and fields of endeavor. Based on those profiles, they identify three myths people believe about leaders, then offer a new definition of leadership. It is “a complex system of relationships between leaders and followers, in a particular context, that provides meaning to its members.” This is a fascinating book, biographically informative and analytically shrewd.