More than listening

    I read three books at a time. I always keep my bible in my reading plan. I typically read a book with a student (Crazy Love, chan right now) and then I have a toilet book. My toilet book holds a special place in my heart as I spend quite a bit of time with it every day. A good toilet book is hard to find but much appreciated. When I received a recent .pdf file of “Killing Cockroaches”  by Tony Morgan.  I was excited to get a sneak peek but I really struggled with the electronic format. As part of the deal I was supposed to blog about it and then later receive a free copy. Needless to say I draw the line at bringing my laptop into the bathroom for a daily read and am still too old fashion to read over 200 pages on a computer screen.  Lucky me I was surprised to find a free copy in my mailbox. As I began to read the book I noticed the short “musings” and all I could think to myself was how perfect this book was gonna be for my toilet. After a month of so on my toilet I just finished the book. In terms of my thoughts on Tony’s thoughts I absolutely loved them. Tony doesn’t bring many answers but spurs many a thought as you read that will bring you back to your staff asking their thoughts and opinions. Woven within story are personal humorous stories from falling out of the shower to not knowing how to shut a car hood. With literally hundreds of random thoughts its hard to pinpoint an overall theme for the book but some stuck out more than others. The questioning of whether or not worship music should also have in mind those who do not know Christ was troubling for me and still has me looking for answers (maybe a future blog). It is ironic how we make sure every other part of the service from greeters to info cards to slides, to the message all have in mind the different spiritual “levels” of each person in the audience. But how does that work with music?  The humility that the book came with was also refreshing as I found myself connecting with Tony’s top 10 biggest mistakes as a leader thinking of how I had made similar mistakes. Mistakes ranging from not passing on opportunity and responsibility to future leaders as part of leadership development to only providing feedback when expectations aren’t met.  This book is a great read with your staff or on your toilet. Needless to say I spent more time on the toilet because I kept just wanting to read one more small section before I got up. Enjoy and be prepared to spend a little more time on the throne.