Tag Archives: Book
New Kidmin book coming in 2012
Posted on 24. Jan, 2012 by Kenny.
I have to say that I’m really excited about a new book coming out in a few months. Really excited!
Yes, I did help write the book. But that’s not why I’m so excited. I’m excited because I believe that it’s a book that is going to impact a lot of people in Kidmin. Shoot, it might impact a lot of people in student ministry and other ministries as well. Why? Because I feel that it approaches the nitty gritty issues that every pastor/minister deals with… the tension they live in on a daily basis and it offers hope. The book is written in a very personal way that most will identify with. A half-dozen people beyond the authors have read the book and almost all have essentially said, “I really related to this book and saw myself in these pages.” Plus, it’s a going to be a fun book to read. You’ll probably read through the book pretty quickly because it’s short and because it will draw you in.
This book, “The Eric Trap: Five things every leader has to get right” was written by Jim Wideman, Sam Luce, me and an incredible group of kid’s pastors that journeyed together through Jim Wideman’s Infuse for two years. The book will be available for the first time at the Orange Conference where there will be a book signing. Fun, huh? There will be a limited number of books available for bloggers, probably in March. If you’re interested in getting a copy to review on your blog, click here to request a copy.
Click here to read why Jim Wideman is so excited about this new book. Lastly, I leave you with a review from Jonathan Cliff.
“The “Eric Trap” takes Children’s Pastors on a dark, serious, and scary journey into the world of working in a church and balancing your priorities. It was eerie how much the story mirrored my own story in so many ways. I believe the “Eric Trap” can be a game changer for those willing to shine the light into the dark places of their own pastoral lives. It’s on the other side of change that the insights gained from this book pay off in a rich way!”
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Winner of Kidmin Leadership Books
Posted on 02. Jul, 2011 by Kenny.
Last week I posted that I was giving away a handful of books from Jim Wideman and his first Infuse group. In case you missed my post, you can read it here.
The first two people to tweet were:
- Ryan Morrison
- Jared Massey
Congrats guys. Thanks for getting the word out.
Secondly, I said I’d give out the remaining books via a randomized list. Several promoted the book as well as the upcoming Illuminate Conferences in Austin and Birmingham. So, the winners of the additional books are:
- Alex Miranda
- Braden Clark
- Virginia (I don’t know your last name)
Woo hoo. I’ll be in touch with all of you to get your books to you.
Below are the results of the randomized lists. I only hit randomize once, I promise! For those of you who didn’t win… or didn’t play, I do encourage you to go out and pick up a copy. You can buy it here.
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Kidmin Leadership Give-Away
Posted on 29. Jun, 2011 by Kenny.
So, Brother Jim sent me a box of books to give away. I’m leaving for Camp on Tuesday, so I want to get them out in the mail to you on Thursday. So, I’ll be scanning the #kidmin hashtag looking for your tweets. The first 2 people to tweet this message gets a copy of the book:
“Check out the newest leadership book for #kidmin! http://goo.gl/THAqF”
For the remaining three books, I’m going to randomly pick a winner. However, to increase your odds you can do two things.
- Post the above quote. For each time you post it today, you’ll get your name in the “hat” (limit of tweeting the above line 3 times).
- Post the quote below up to 3 times to get your name in the “hat” three more times.
“Join @jimwideman at the @Illumin8Conf #kidmin Conference in Austin and Birmingham. Price goes up on Fri. Register today! http://goo.gl/8XnN2″
Hopefully I’ll announce some winners on Thursday and get the books out before I go to camp.
Thanks!
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Kidmin Leadership
Posted on 29. Jun, 2011 by Kenny.
I must say, this is a smart kid… and I’m not just saying that because he’s mine. Check out what he’s reading. Yeah, you guessed it. It’s the newest book published by my friend and mentor Jim Wideman. It’s called Kidmin Leadership. Jim’s first Infuse group put this book together and I think it’s worth picking up a copy. Can you find better leadership books out there? Yup. But what’s so unique about this book is that it’s one of the very few books specific to leadership in Kidmin. Also, what I enjoyed even more was about how you picked up an learned concepts the Brother Jim has taught for years through the filter of experience from others who have put it into practice in their own ministries. A very cool concept.
So, pick up a copy of the book right here. You’ll be glad you did!
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Collaborate book give-away
Posted on 30. Apr, 2010 by Kenny.
So, I’ve got a free copy of this book to give away. Do you have a copy of the hottest book written by 35 different people? Do you want one? Come find me, introduce yourself and it’s yours. It’s that easy!
In case you’ve been living under a rock, Collaborate is a book about the Church connecting with families to make a big impact. It’s written by some of the biggest leaders in kids, students and family ministry.
I’ll be honest, I’ve only read about a 1/4 so far, but it’s been fantastic so far.
Be sure to get a copy. If you’re fast enough, you may not even have to pay for it. Ready…. Set…. Go!
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Book review: Revolutionary Parenting
Posted on 30. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
Buy this book. Read it. Buy a copy for everyone on your team and discuss it together. Get as many parents to read this book as possible. Help them do what this book says. Period.
How’s that for a review?
I honestly think that this is one of the most important books I’ve read in the last 3-5 years. Several years before that Barna released Spiritual Champions which was essentially hailed the holy grail of Children’s Ministry resources. Children’s Pastors from around the world heralded this book as the stamp of validation for what they do as being really important. It was a great book, but I think this one is even more important. This book speaks to results.
In case you don’t know what it’s about, George Barna researched, polled and questioned kids (now young adults) who possess a biblical world view that they developed as they grew up in Christian homes. Barna questioned everything. What happened? What did your parents do? What did they say? In the same way, Barna asked the parents of these children about what they did intentionally to lead their kids spiritually. This book is the combined results of this research.
We live in a day and time where most kids walk away from their faith. Most parents really don’t know what they’re doing. They hope their kids will turn out okay, but most lack the confidence that what they’re doing will work. Plain and simple, this book is a guide. Here’s what hundreds of parents did… and it worked.
This book is shaping the way we equip and train our parents. Unfortunately, many of our parents aren’t ready for this book. It’s a little intimidating for the barely Christ follower who’s still trying to get past certain things in their own walk, yet at some point this needs to be a part of every parents journey toward Christ.
I know that this book will impact most who read it. It was a great reminder for many things I’ve been doing and many things I want to do. However, it also provided great insight into some areas I’ve maybe neglected. I’ve always been sickened by the fact that most American parents spend less than 15 minutes a day personally interacting with their children. However, after reading this book, I’ve set a benchmark for myself… 90 to 120 minutes as a minimum. It’s in that time where there is space to have the quality time where teachable moments happen and a life-long bond is formed. For me, this has made bath time and dinner time so much more intentional. It’s not a task to get through, but valuable, foundation building time spent with my child. In addition, it’s caused me to be more proactive in planning special outings to the park where we can play and have fun. Titus get’s lots of Mom time every day, but it’s up to me to fight for this father-son time every day.
I think I used this word earlier, but I think a good descriptive word for this book is “benchmark.” If a Christ following parent wants to know what it takes to be successful as a parent, this book provides a great benchmark. Obviously, it’s not about just checking off a list of things to do and expect success to happen, but most parents are left on their own to figure out what to do. Sometimes the best way to learn is to ask questions of those who’ve done it and have been successful. That’s what Revolutionary Parenting is, the testimony of hundreds of parents who’ve gotten it right.
Click here to order this book!
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Making Vision Stick: Book Review
Posted on 09. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
Last year just before the Orange Conference I spent some time at North Point hanging out at both the Alpharetta campus as well as at Buckhead. I spent a small fortune at the bookstore. While there, I picked up this little book, “Making Vision Stick” by Andy Stanley. It’s small, thin and something that can be wholly digested in one sitting. All I can say is this. Thank you Andy Stanley for writing this little book. Let me share with you a few reasons why I like this little 74 page book.
- I’m not the fastest of readers. My life is busy, so I’ll sit down for an hour, read part of a book and then several days later I’ll sit down and read for another hour and over the period of days or weeks, I’ll finish up a book. Each time I sit down though, I have to catch up on what I last read. Not so with this book. Because you can read it from start to finish in one sitting, the impact is more powerful and succinct.
- This book is so direct and to the point. I know, I’m being a hypocrite. I’m one of the wordiest guys I know. However, I wonder if most books could be condensed down to just 100 pages or so. This one is and I love it. Not much fluff, just straight and to the point.
- It’s short enough that I’ll take the time to read it again and again and again. I put this book on my must read list for 2010. After finishing the book though, I’ve officially put it on my “read it every year” list. I’m actually planning to read it 5-6 times this year alone. I need to lead this way more than anything else this year.
Is that enough of a review to make you want to buy the book already? I haven’t even told you what it’s about yet. No worries, you can read the book in a little more time than it will take for you to read this review, so click here and order your copy.
Oh, you’re still reading? What I liked most about this book was how practical it is as well as the simple examples Andy has included how he’s lived these principles out at North Point. The fact that North Point as eleventy-million people doesn’t negate the fact that I can use these principles in my church of 4,500, my volunteer team of 300 or my small staff of 6. It’s so applicable.
Other than this book, the best teaching I’ve heard on vision and purpose is Craig Jutila. Craig offers very practical teaching on shaping a vision and mission statement and has been highly influential in my life and ministry. Craig’s appraoch is heavily “purpose driven” which is the context from which Craig operated for so many years. I was really only at a purpose driven church for 2 years, so outside of that, I’ve had to adapt what I learned from him to a non “purpose driven” approach. In this book, Andy doesn’t get into the weeds of mission, values and goals, but focuses solely on that vision you have and how to make it stick for everyone in the organization.
After clearly defining vision, Andy shares five things about how to make it stick:
- State the vision simply
- Cast the vision convincingly
- Repeat the vision regularly
- Celebrate the vision systematically
- Embrace the vision personally
The books outlines how Andy has and continues to cast the North Point vision doing these very things over and over and over and over again.
No more details. Get the book and read it a couple of times. I’m convinced it will help you regardless of where you are.
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Collaborate is shaking it up!
Posted on 09. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
After just one day of pre-sale activity, Collaborate has made a big splash! The book isn’t even officially out yet; however, it reached the number one spot in Church Administration, Ministry as well as Ministry and Church Leadership. In addition, Collaborate reached the top 80 books for Christianity and was listed in the top 750 for all of Amazon. That’s a pretty big deal!
There’s a reason why this book is selling so well even before it’s been reviewed. It’s been written by a host of ministry leaders we all respect and it’s a topic we all want more guidance in. Get it while it’s hot!
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Order Collaborate NOW!
Posted on 08. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
Before you read any more, click here to reserve your copy now. Do it before they sell out! Just kidding, they’re probably not going to sell out, but what are you waiting for, reserve your copy now!
I’m really honored to have been asked by Michale Chanley to write a chapter in this new book, but I’m just really excited to read it. If you think about it, this is the book we’ve all been waiting for. When it comes to Children’s Ministry, how many really great ones come out every year? Not that many. When I read the names of all the contributors, I keep thinking, “I wanna read what they’ve got to say.” This whole church and family thing is what I’m working on every day and there just aren’t as many people speaking into this at the moment. What a great time for this book to come out.
So, don’t delay, click on Amazon and reserve your copy. Actually, reserve a copy for everyone on your team! Reserve one for your pastor and maybe some key influencers on your staff. I can’t think of anything but good coming from this opportunity!
Again, click here to order your copies today!
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New #kidmin book coming soon
Posted on 05. Feb, 2010 by Kenny.
Hey kidmin peeps! In case you didn’t know, a new book is coming soon. I’m very excited about this book for multiple reason.
1. It’s about the church working with the family. It’s not just a hot topic in ministry today, it’s what’s most important in my ministry world right now.
2. It’s a collaborative project. I collaborate on a regular basis with other Kidmin leaders like Sam Luce, Matt McKee, Gina McClain and Jonathan Cliff. I wish I’d started collaborating like this years ago. So not only am I going to read about ministry to the family, but I get to read about it from the perspectives of some of biggest leaders in Children’s Ministry today.
3. I’m one of the authors. I’m so honored to have been asked to participate. I’m humbled to share in this project with several of my ministry heroes. But it’s also been a joy to share in this experience with good friends.
So, this book is in the final stages right now! It should be a great read and I’m sure it’s going to look great on your bookshelf.
Funny Story: Okay, so when asked to write a chapter, I was a little optimistic one when I could get it done. In the end, I was a week late. A few hours before sending my chapter to Michael Chanley, I sent it to Jonathan Cliff to read over. I was very excited about the topic. He replied with one brief sentence, “Kenny, did you read the instructions.” Crud! I totally did write off topic. So I spent the next two days (which happened to be my days off) rewriting. So, if anyone’s putting together another book, I’ve already got a chapter ready to submit. 
Want to follow what’s happening with Collaborate?
Become a fan of the Collaborate page on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/yajs8fo
It will be available from Amazon for pre-release on March 8th, and will officially release on Monday, April 26th (the first day of the Orange conference).
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