863 words - a quick read. Would love to hear your list too. This is one of those “end of the year” posts, and wait for next week’s where we review some of the most-read articles of Church Leader Insider.
I consume written materials voraciously. Most of it is online, but a dozen or more paper books enter the house every month. To list those would take all our space.
The reading helps improve my thinking about our culture, my consulting processes, sharpens my rough edges, and hopefully sands off some of the rough edges in my life.
Leaders are readers. Reading helps us learn remotely from others.
An early report on the Azuza Street Revival
To the question that came in: What do you read on a weekly, daily basis?
These change every year, but here are the things that have stuck with me this year.
1. The Bible in One Year – consumed through their app. You can read it or listen. I listen. You get Nicky Gumbel and actor David Suchet's lovely accents. There are other readings and devotional plans from other sources, but this is my go-to now.
2. Fred Smith's weekly email – Fred hired me at Leadership Network and then encouraged me to join full-time. A few months later, he left and ran "The Gathering" for many years. He continues to mentor me with his fresh thinking each week. And the illustrations are worth it every week as well.
3. Austin Kleon's Friday newsletter – This artist has written several books. His Friday newsletter is a collection of links he found interesting the past week. It is always a bit out of kilter. I need a fresh perspective sometimes. He is moving his substack to a paid version, but try out the free one.
4. Monday Morning Memo – The Wizard of Ads – Linda Stanley first hooked me on this one many years ago. It is written by an ad writer for radio, Roy Williams. He is a great teacher of how words create worlds. Follow his rabbit hole link each week to discover new ideas. He is super concise as well. I need to imitate him there.
5. Numlock News – Free and paid versions. This one is a daily summary of statistics the editors find interesting collected from other news stories. Almost every day, I click one to save and consider.
6. Axios What’s Next – Focuses on how we work and play and what is coming next in those areas. Another link collection with some additional reporting. It is renaming itself soon to Axios Future.
Those last two are primarily aggregators that highlight stories from elsewhere. I must subscribe to a dozen or more of those. When I see a pattern, I investigate to see if it applies to my church clients.
7. Why is this interesting? This newsletter is a curiosity-driven thing. Every day an article about an obscure segment of culture or the world is explained in about 1000 words. (This one may be a paid newsletter, but I think it’s worth it.)
I do not watch TV news on any channel. [Exceptions – real emergencies] But I skim and review many subscriptions, including NYT, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Politico Playbook, Axios, the local paper, and other primary reporting sources.
Several consulting firms send regular reports to me, including McKinsey and Deloitte. Others I follow via Flipboard.
I have a long list of feeds from blog sites – the favorite being Marginal Revolution – sort of an economics blog.
I also follow numerous evangelical, mainline, progressive, and charismatic leaders’ blogs and newsletters to see other pastors and leaders' thoughts.
As to some leaders that many may not follow – and this is not an endorsement of their thinking, theology, or life – it just helps in being informed from many points of view: Russ Bredholt (featured here a few weeks ago); Geoff Surratt – now at Rethink and still hilarious; Rod Dreher, Steve Graves, Bari Weiss, The Not Boring investment letter.
You have the must-reads if you start at the top of this list. As you work down, they become – “if I have time.” I try to take all that input and use it to serve you with some perspective as to church leadership.
Partly I do that through my Flipboard Magazine – Church Leader Insider. That is for those that want to see all the background materials, news links, statistics, and good stories that feed my thinking. I try to annotate a few along the way.
What is on your list? Would you please send it to me? If it is a famous church leader, likely I know it. But if it is exciting and obscure, I would love to see it.
The other way is through this site and newsletter – (STILL FREE!)
What’s coming in 2022:
A new series of webinars for Senior Pastors, Executive Pastors, and Board members.
These monthly, confidential, cameras off, boardroom briefing-style sessions will last 30 minutes and allow you to be anonymous in participation due to the subject nature.
The first one is on January 26th at 5 p.m. ET. “Is 2022 a unique moment to consider senior pastor legacy plans?” is the topic in January.
I will explain what is driving this as a kairos moment for churches and what you need to do to ensure continued pastor and church health in the legacy planning.
To qualify for an invitation, send me an email at Dave.Travis@generis.com