geoffreybaines

• Rated 4 stars

“Don't be worried about having to read loads of content on Starbucks (go to Joseph Michelli's 'The Starbucks Experience' for that). Instead you will find some really helpful thinking from Leonard Sweet around the challenge that Starbucks throws out to other organisations - being experiential, participatory, image-rich, and connective (an EPIC experience, you may have noticed).

It's certainly not a suger-rich frappucino kind of read. It's more robust - a double espresso kind of reflection on what the future faith-community will need to look and be like. ”

geoffreybaines wrote this review Monday, September 8 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“I felt both encouraged and stretched by Joseph Myers' book. Encouraged because I found him to be thinking about many of the things I find myself needing to reflect on. Stretched because he takes this further in a bright, expansive way.

The major contrast is between the master plan and organic order - the latter being necessary for the future of faith communities. My guess is that the book will be useful no matter what kind of church or faith-community a person finds themself in. ”

geoffreybaines wrote this review Monday, September 8 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 3 stars

“As the subtitle says, this is a book about 'Church Growth in the Wesleyan Spirit,' and that was an attractive pull for someone like me who works in the Methodist Church, especially knowing that there is a disconnect with the origins of Methodism.

There is lots of useful information in this book about Wesley and the early Methodists - pertaining to the growth of the movement - but you have to allow for the book being over twenty years old now and that it draws a lot on the thinking of Donald McGavran (no bad thing but it's older church growth thinking). ”

geoffreybaines wrote this review Tuesday, September 2 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 3 stars

“I just needed some easy reading at the end of the day and found this on my son's bookshelf. I think it's an undemanding book to be ready quickly rather a few pages a night before drifting off to sleep.”

geoffreybaines wrote this review Sunday, August 24 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 3 stars

“I am having a second go at writing this review, thinking that there is more to this book then I first allowed for.

There are some interesting and fascinating stories about the inner working of Starbucks works in this book; perhaps there isn't too much startlingly new for readers of business books but what comes out strongly is the relational warmth of this organisation, together with its encouragement of all its employees to be creative and imaginative. Howard Schulz (Chair of Starbucks) captures the spirit of Starbucks when he claims: "We are not in the coffee business serving people, but in the people business serving coffee".

Although the Starbucks story doesn't get very rigourous treatment from Joseph Michelli - who comes over as very much a fan of Starbucks (he leaves his more critical remarks for the final page or so - though even these are lightweight_ - I came away from reading the book even more of a Starbucks fan. I have my own Starbucks charge card and very much appreciated ideas like employees being called "partners", and partners having a copy of the Green Apron Book - which I understand is to be introduced into the UK sometime soon - which puts into words the "core ways of being". I am now trying to get hold of my own copy of this, the reason being that it sounded to me like a aide memoire to Starbucks "discipleship" to me, and "partners" would be a far more active and engaged terms for church membership.

Read it with a coffee and enjoy. Mine's a double espresso decaf!

”

geoffreybaines wrote this review Tuesday, July 29 2008. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 5 stars

“When I picked this book up I didn't realise it was the first of a series entitled 'The Ancient Practice Series.' This is nothing but good news.


One thing Brian McLaren does is face full-on the reality of life in the 21st century. In this case, it is in terms of recognising that we live in a world where the relationships between the three Abrahamic faiths of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity are crucial for the future of the planet. This is certainly the setting for the book, setting out seven practices shared by each of these monotheistic faiths, but for the most part the book concerns itself with the ancient ways of the Christian Church, and only returns to the three faiths in the closing pages.



It is another offering in the way of rediscovering the ancient spiritual disciplines, though McLaren offers this through the threefold way of katharis, fotosis, and theosis. There were for me, some wonderfully significant moments, evoked in a phrase like 'faith our practices,(instead of practicing our faith), and the thought that this way of katharsis, fotosis, and theosis is to 'join God in seeing,' and this for the ordinary things of life in a new way.


The chapters are short, concluding with some questions that would allow for a healthy conversation to take place if this were to be used by a group.


I didn't come away thinking, "This is the way I have to do it," it's more of a wonderful sharing of provisions for the journey we are on.”

geoffreybaines wrote this review Saturday, July 26 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“I find it fascinating to see what is happening in this day and age. Different forms of a new monasticism are being established and although it's yet to be seen just what emerges out of these new:ancient ways of breathing in and breathing out a living faith.

I can only see this as being a really helpful read for those in the UK, telling, as it does, the story of 24-7 prayer and it contagious effect on Christ-followers around the globe. It humbly challenges the reader through the telling of the 24-7 story and the monastic way that emerged out of this.

I loved the image of breathing, a stronger image of the inward (into God) and outward journeys (into the world) I have increasingly found myself exploring. Here is one of the greatest challenges for churches today: holding together the devotional life in God with the life of activity in God's world.

Other books to read alongside this one include: Shane Claiborne's 'The Irresistible Revolution'; Brian McLaren's 'Finding Our Way Again'; Dietrich Bonhoeffer's 'Life Together'; Christine Pohl's 'making Room'; and, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove's 'To Baghdad and Beyond'.”

geoffreybaines wrote this review Saturday, July 26 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“There is some sharp thinking and challenging ideas in this book ... and you get forty poems thrown in too. The poetry is uncheesy and edgy, bringing the reality of life into the world of public worship. It sets out to provide words for worship and inspire, and manages to do this.”

geoffreybaines wrote this review Saturday, July 19 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“I have read this book three times now, so I guess it means I find it really helpful and thought-provoking.

If you have read anything else by Erwin McManus you'll know that this book has a different feel to it. Whilst all his books can be used as journeys, this one feels like a journey from the word go.

You might say, that's what is to be expected of a book that is about a journey made up of three quests, but it's more than that, it's about it feeling as if you are actually stepping into the possibility of spiritual formation, like stepping into a monastic cell.

Or maybe that's saying something about the number of echoes I find with rules of life and spiritual disciples. It's easy to understand why one of the adaptations of the book is 'The Uprising Experience' produced with PromiseKeepers.

”

geoffreybaines wrote this review Thursday, July 17 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“Out of the blue, I received an email telling my wife and I that we would love this book. With such an enthusiastic recommendation I dutifully popped it on my booklist, deciding to read it whilst I was on holiday.

I don't want to give away what the story is about but would say that it reminded me of C S Lewis' adult trilogy of science fiction stories - 'Out of the Silent Planet'; 'Perelandra'; and, 'That Hideous Strength' - in which Lewis explores different ideas, including why humanity was forbidden to eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, and, maleness and femaleness. 'The Shack' doesn't deliver in the same consistent way as C S Lewis does, but I found that, in a lot of places, there is a lot of good exploration of ideas. If I had not been reading this on holiday, as a novel, then I would have been heavily marking quotable quotes in two of the chapters.

I have to admit that I found it to be a really good read, although not a perfect one, and I think that Young will be criticised more than most because of what he has tried to do with the story - I have just read some of the comments on Shelfari and clearly readers love or hate 'The Shack'. So, one thing that I think it offers is a great group read and conversation.
”

geoffreybaines wrote this review Monday, July 14 2008. ( reply | permalink )