Jeff McLain

This is a book review of Researching Practice in Ministry and Mission: A Companion by Helen Cameron and Catherine Duce. Released in 2013, by SCM Press , Researching Practice in Ministry and Mission: A Companion is a book that looks at what integrity-driven, ethical, and formal research entails for those ministry and mission-minded students who are developing research projects and dissertations in their graduate programs. Throughout Researching Practice in Ministry and Mission: A Companion , the authors unpack academic, theological, ideological, and spiritual postures and practices for top-level dissertation research. Each author stems from a long line of academic research experience and achievement, offering a needed strength of resource to this topic. This book systematically lays out the approaches and methods of research that are needed for academic projects in practical theology. The authors define practical theology as drawing belief and action closer together.[1] As a resource, ...

This is a review of Mastering the Management Buckets by  John Pearson . Building on the work of leadership and organizational culture gurus like Bob Buford and Peter Drucker , John Pearson looks at twenty critical competencies he believes are essential for leading a business or nonprofit. Released by Regal in 2008, Mastering the Management Buckets from John Pearson offers some important fodder for those who do not have much leadership experience in shaping teams, meetings, and organizational structure or organizational behavior.  I read Mastering the Management Buckets by John Pearson for a class that was part of the Master in Business Administration (MBA) program at City Vision University . The author and book are greatly influenced by the work and thoughts of Peter Drucker, Bob Buford, and other organizational leadership gurus in a similar vein. Transparently, at times, this book can feel more like a commentary on the work of others than fresh innovative work. This bo...

This is a book review of Build A Better Life by Brandon Schaefer. Released in 2015, by Brandon Schaefer and Five Capitals through Createspace , this book looks to help readers by providing practical tools and strategies to develop and lead their life and business in the way Jesus would. Schaefer addresses this book through the paradigm of a marketplace businessman and coach who is first and foremost concerned with discipleship and seeing the spiritual capital of every individual, organization, and business, recentered as the first and foremost important aspect of identity. For those of you who are familiar with Michael Breen , 3D Movements , and 3DM Publishing , you will find this as a further exploration of concepts presented in those camps. This encouraging and engaging practical read, which is rather short and easy to read, spans seven chapters, but also an introduction and epilogue.  In many ways, the introduction lays a very important foundation for the book. It is in ...

This is a book review of Together in Ministry by Rob Dixon . In Together in Ministry , Author Rob Dixon looks at what leads to flourishing mixed gender-relationships, or what women and men experience and exemplify when in flourishing ministry-context partnerships. Rob is both an associate regional ministry director with InverVaristity Christian Fellowship and an adjunct professor at Fresno Pacific University and Fuller Theological Seminary . This book was released in 2021 by IVP Academic and the Missio Alliance .  I had the chance to experience a class taught by Dr.  Rob Dixon , unrelated to this book, while I was completing my second master's program, the Master of Arts in Global Leadership at Fuller Seminary . Not only did I appreciate how he handled his class, but I also appreciated how he worked through the topic of mixed-gender relationships in Together in Ministry. Though I may not agree with all of his points, nor his reflections on his findings, I am deeply challe...

This is a book review of Here and Now: Living in the Spirit by Henri J.M. Nouwen. This 1997 edition of Here and Now: Living in the Spirit was released by The Crossroad Publishing Company . Through this reflective read, Henri J.M. Nouwen unpacks how the Spirit-filled life is not just an earthly journey to spend eternity with God, but rather it is about experiencing eternity, by the power of the Spirit, in the here and now, where ordinary moments become extraordinary vocations and experiences.  In his Here and Now: Living in the Spirit , Henri J.M. Nouwen challenges us towards a spiritual journey and way of living that doesn't define life by living in the worries about tomorrow, or dwelling in the anxieties of yesterday, but trusting the Spirit of God with our present reality and moments. It is in the experience of the present that we learn to experience and trust God's Spirit and discipline our life to see every moment as pregnant with possibility. Through eleven short, but p...

This is a review of Competing Values Leadership (Second Edition) by Kim S. Cameron, Robert E. Quinn, Jeff Degraff, and Anjan V. Thakor. The Second Edition of Competing Values Leadership was released by Edward Elgar Publishing Limited in 2014. As a resource, this title appears in the New Horizons in Management Series  also from Edward Elgar Publishing. I first encountered the idea of the Competing Values Framework through City Vision University , when I was completing a Graduate Certificate in Non-Profit Management. Though I was briefly introduced to the idea, I did not consider it much. Later, when working through the Master of Business Administration program also at City Vision University , I read and worked through this book extensively. This time around I found myself reflecting much more on this framework. In learning to learn how to apply it to leadership, organizational effectiveness, change in the organization, and to promote more holistic value creation in an organizatio...

This is a review of Lennon, Dylan, Alice, & Jesu s by Greg Laurie and Marshall Terrill . Released in 2022 by Salem Books , Lennon, Dylan, Alice, & Jesus is an exhaustive spiritual biography on rock and roll. Authors Greg Laurie and Marshall Terrill tell the tales of many popular musicians who find Jesus on their spiritual search, and when they reach the end of themselves. Music, especially that which emerged through the rock and roll scene, has long been an influence on our societal ethos; it has been the companion for many individuals on their spiritual journey, and it at times has influenced others spiritually. It should not surprise us then that many musicians have taken spiritual sojourns in their private lives, and in the public squares, which has often influenced their songs and musical endeavors. For generations, musicians have been taking their fans on pilgrimage with them. Some of our biggest music celebrities have not only searched for spiritual meaning in very publ...