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Book Review: Build A Better Life by Brandon Schaefer

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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 the first

Book Review: Together in Ministry by Rob Dixon

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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 challenged

Book Review: Here and Now: Living in the Spirit by Henri J.M. Nouwen

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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

Book Review of Competing Values Leadership (Second Edition) by Kim S. Cameron, Robert E. Quinn, Jeff Degraff, and Anjan V. Thako

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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 organization, I

The Best of 2023: Top 4 Episodes That Defined the Discovering God Podcast Journey

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In 2023, I teamed up with Rip Wahlberg to co-host the Discovering God Podcast . Through the  Discovering God Podcast , our hope is that individuals will have a direct encounter with God by engaging with the scriptures. Our goal is to help make the scriptures, theology, and faith understandable. If you have not checked out our podcast yet, I would encourage you to check out a few episodes. This podcast is accessible in both audio and video formats, with production and editing handled by Blake Whalberg of In The Wild Media Group .  Over the past year, we have conversed about many topics on the  Discovering God Podcast . Some of those topics have ranged from the significance of the church to barriers people face in finding faith, but also exploring subjects such as fame within the church, and the advantages and disadvantages of systematic theology. Recording approximately 13 episodes in 2023, the  Discovering God Podcast  is gradually expanding its audience. It appears that the video ve