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The Well Bookstore is open for in-person shopping Monday thru Thursday 9am-4pm and Sundays from 8:30am-12:45pm (curbside pickup not available). All orders placed online or over the phone after noon on Thursdays will not be processed until the following Monday.
4D Impact: Smashing Barriers Like a Smart Church takes a critical and inspirational look at four aspects of 21st century church ministry: Technology, Hospitality, Worship, and Systems. Each of these aspects is key for developing vital churches and healthy church leaders. The author uses real life lessons from the 11-year journey of Impact Church, which is currently #5 out of the 100 fastest growing United Methodist congregations in the United States, and examples from churches and the market place, to inform, equip, and inspire the reader. 4D Impact offers: a diagnostic tool in each chapter to determine the current health and status of the reader's church, real time inspiration from practitioners who are experiencing health and growth, guidance for readers to discern their level of fitness for their church assignment--is the leader/reader well-matched, or mismatched?, and guidance for readers to determine if their church has reached a point of irreversible decline. From the 4D Impact Introduction: "I have been blessed to serve as the founding and lead pastor of what one of [the] original twenty-five leaders called a 'movement.' Twelve years ago we didn't set out to plant another United Methodist church--we envisioned a movement...I have learned a few things about church health and growth from my own experience as a church planner and from the many churches across the country that our team has supported and consulted with over the years. I have learned that the capital-C Church is full of grace, and I've learned that hard work and sacrifice are necessary for a local church to be vital and growing... This book is for all churches and church leaders seeking to become vital and growing, or to remain vital and growing. This book may challenge you--I hope in a healthy way. It centers on four key principles for developing healthy and growing churches that smash barriers: Technology, Hospitality, Worship, and Systems. I am a living witness to these principles. As we say at Impact Church, you aren't called to lead an ordinary church; you are called to lead a movement."
Leaders who are interested in planting or revitalizing congregations often feel discouraged and defeated after leadership conferences, or after reading about the 'heroes' of church planting and church growth. "They are amazing," they say. "I can't be that amazing." But Jesus' load is easy and his burden is light. When we examine the practices and characteristics of those 'heroes', we see striking trends and commonalities. Aspiring church leaders can learn the practices and develop the characteristics that will lead to successful churches. Instead of feeling defeated, new leaders should have a hope-filled sense of what new thing they can do. Authors Matt Miofsky and Jason Byasse carefully researched, interviewed, and profiled successful church-growers across the U.S., and identified 8 characteristics these leaders and their congregations have in common. These pastors are still learning, still figuring out how to do this work and how to faithfully live into God's call. But for now, how are they doing what they do? What mistakes have they made & learned from? Where have they paid the stupid tax that others should avoid? Each of these 'heroes' is painfully ordinary and up front about their flaws. And each can see slightly farther than the rest of us. What do they see that we can learn from? Discover the 8 characteristics, and learn how to adapt them for your own congregation and calling: Believe in miracles and act accordingly Integrate new people quickly Love the local Exist to reach the next person Elevate the practice of giving Work in teams Preach effectively to skeptics Make friends with the denomination
According to Fresh Expressions U.S., "a Fresh Expression is a form of church for our changing culture, established primarily for the benefit of those who are not yet part of any church." Fresh Expressions are introducing people to Jesus, expanding the kingdom, and revitalizing churches. Congregations need a practical and theological resource that can help them cultivate Fresh Expressions. As consultants who work nationwide and as innovative pastors, authors Michael Beck and Jorge Acevedo awaken congregational leaders and ministry teams to a distinctive Wesleyan approach for the Fresh Expressions movement. In Wesleyan Fresh Expressions, they show congregations how to cultivate and customize fresh expressions that fit their local context. They motivate ministry teams to take risks, experiment, and when necessary, fail well. On April 2, 1739, John Wesley went to a field just outside what was then the city limits of Bristol, England. There he tried a missional innovation called field preaching. Thousands of people showed up, many of whom who had no connection with a church. Today, most Methodists and other Wesleyans don't know their own story. Lost in the milieu of divisive issues that threaten to tear the church apart, Wesleyans have forgotten their DNA as a renewal movement, born not from doctrinal disputes but from a missional imperative. In this sense, the Fresh Expressions movement is the most "Methodist" thing in the denomination today. This iteration of the Spirit is taking it to the fields again. Wesleyan Fresh Expressions will help guide the way.
In A New Kind of Diversity, bestselling author Tim Elmore brings his decades of research and leadership experience to bear on what might be the biggest, most dramatic, and most disruptive shift the American workforce has ever seen: the vast diversity of several generations living--and working--together. The past few years have brought an endless cascade of social media movements that left many of us . . . well . . . scratching our heads. Regardless of how we feel about the gaps between us, there is one we cannot avoid. One of the largest gaps remains an "elephant in the room." We know it's there but we don't know how to talk about it. It's the different generations that find themselves working together. It's a generation gap. There is a new kind of diversity that only eight percent of U.S. companies even recognize: diverse generations on teams. Long laughed off as a cliché and more recently mocked in memes #HowToConfuseMillennials and #OKBoomer hashtags, the generational gap has become an undeniable tension in the global workplace. Sadly, it has fostered:
Loneliness in our workplaces. Poor communication on our teams. Reduction in revenue and team morale. Conflicting values and priorities in the office. Divisions that lead to "walls" instead of "bridges." For the first time in history, up to five generations find themselves working alongside each other in a typical company. The result? There can be division. Interactions between people from different generations can resemble a cross-cultural relationship. Both usually possess different values and customs. At times, each generation is literally speaking a different language! How can we hope to work together when we can't even understand each other? This book provides the tools to:
- Get the most out of the strengths of each age group on your team.
- Foster effective communication instead of isolation among people.
- Build bridges rather than walls so that loneliness becomes connectedness.
- Connect people to learn how both veterans and rookies can mentor each other.
Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business
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There is a competitive advantage out there, arguably more powerful than any other. Is it superior strategy? Faster innovation? Smarter employees? No, New York Times best-selling author, Patrick Lencioni, argues that the seminal difference between successful companies and mediocre ones has little to do with what they know and how smart they are and more to do with how healthy they are. In this book, Lencioni brings together his vast experience and many of the themes cultivated in his other best-selling books and delivers a first: a cohesive and comprehensive exploration of the unique advantage organizational health provides.
Simply put, an organization is healthy when it is whole, consistent and complete, when its management, operations and culture are unified. Healthy organizations outperform their counterparts, are free of politics and confusion and provide an environment where star performers never want to leave. Lencioni's first non-fiction book provides leaders with a groundbreaking, approachable model for achieving organizational health--complete with stories, tips and anecdotes from his experiences consulting to some of the nation's leading organizations. In this age of informational ubiquity and nano-second change, it is no longer enough to build a competitive advantage based on intelligence alone. The Advantage provides a foundational construct for conducting business in a new way--one that maximizes human potential and aligns the organization around a common set of principles.
"A perceptive and practical book about why our calendars so rarely reflect our priorities and what we can do to regain control."--ADAM GRANT "Carey's book will help you reorganize your life. And then you can share a copy with someone you care about."--SETH GODIN You deserve to stop living at an unsustainable pace. An influential podcaster and thought leader shows you how. Overwhelmed. Overcommitted. Overworked. That's the false script an inordinate number of people adopt to be successful. Does this sound familiar: ● Slammed is normal.
● Distractions are everywhere.
● Life gets reduced to going through the motions. Tired of living that way? At Your Best gives you the strategies you need to win at work and at home by living in a way today that will help you thrive tomorrow. Influential podcast host and thought leader Carey Nieuwhof understands the challenges of constant pressure. After a season of burnout almost took him out, he discovered how to get time, energy, and priorities working in his favor. This approach freed up more than one thousand productive hours a year for him and can do the same for you. At Your Best will help you
● replace chronic exhaustion with deep productivity
● break the pattern of overpromising and never accomplishing enough
● clarify what matters most by restructuring your day
● master the art of saying no, without losing friends or influence
● discover why vacations and sabbaticals don't really solve your problems
● develop a personalized plan to recapture each day so you can break free from the trap of endless to-dos Start thriving at work and at home as you discover how to be at your best.
● Distractions are everywhere.
● Life gets reduced to going through the motions. Tired of living that way? At Your Best gives you the strategies you need to win at work and at home by living in a way today that will help you thrive tomorrow. Influential podcast host and thought leader Carey Nieuwhof understands the challenges of constant pressure. After a season of burnout almost took him out, he discovered how to get time, energy, and priorities working in his favor. This approach freed up more than one thousand productive hours a year for him and can do the same for you. At Your Best will help you
● replace chronic exhaustion with deep productivity
● break the pattern of overpromising and never accomplishing enough
● clarify what matters most by restructuring your day
● master the art of saying no, without losing friends or influence
● discover why vacations and sabbaticals don't really solve your problems
● develop a personalized plan to recapture each day so you can break free from the trap of endless to-dos Start thriving at work and at home as you discover how to be at your best.
Blank Slate: Write Your Own Rules for a 22nd-Century Church Movement
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The church must get "unstuck" from its current context in order to address the context of younger generations; otherwise, it will not be relevant to younger people and will die with the older generations. As an example, a letter from the Younger Generations to Baby Boomers: Dear Baby Boomers, Thank you for all you've done, but I don't want your church. I want you, our relationship, our engagement, but not your church structure and outdated assumptions. Signed, The Younger Generations Blank Slate guides leaders to envision, and actually design, the future church. The authors start by describing each generational group currently living in the US, helping readers understand the varied context of people in every age group. Next, they explore five innovative secular organizations, drawing sharp lessons for the church. The last section includes a seven-step process for ministry leaders to engage current and upcoming generations. This book, with questions for individual and group reflection in each chapter, is a powerful planning tool for ministry teams. "In a time when so many of us want a blueprint for how to do ministry in a rapidly changing world, McIntosh, Smothers, and Smothers hand us a pencil and tell us to draw it ourselves. God has entrusted us to be the designers and visionaries for a new way. Blank Slate is the guide that you and your team need to design a new future together." -Jacob Armstrong, pastor, Providence Church, Mt. Juliet, TN
Why the future of popular culture will revolve around ever bigger bets on entertainment products, by one of Harvard Business School's most popular professors
What's behind the phenomenal success of entertainment businesses such as Warner Bros., Marvel Entertainment, and the NFL--along with such stars as Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, and LeBron James? Which strategies give leaders in film, television, music, publishing, and sports an edge over their rivals? Anita Elberse, Harvard Business School's expert on the entertainment industry, has done pioneering research on the worlds of media and sports for more than a decade. Now, in this groundbreaking book, she explains a powerful truth about the fiercely competitive world of entertainment: building a business around blockbuster products--the movies, television shows, songs, and books that are hugely expensive to produce and market--is the surest path to long-term success. Along the way, she reveals why entertainment executives often spend outrageous amounts of money in search of the next blockbuster, why superstars are paid unimaginable sums, and how digital technologies are transforming the entertainment landscape. Full of inside stories emerging from Elberse's unprecedented access to some of the world's most successful entertainment brands, Blockbusters is destined to become required reading for anyone seeking to understand how the entertainment industry really works--and how to navigate today's high-stakes business world at large.
Guide your church to proactively make decisions and deal with conflict. Calm: How to End Destructive Conflict in Your Church is a guidebook written for United Methodist churches and church leaders to help them proactively make decisions and deal with conflict. This book equips pastors and other leaders with the skills and tools necessary to engage in critical conversations that lead to healthy communities--churches that remain God-focused in times of conflict and tension. In addition to the four Modules, Calm includes the practical resources pastors, judicatory leaders, and others will need to lead congregations through the Modules. The Modules contain step-by-step instructions for planning and facilitating the Module sessions. They include detailed instructions and helpful tips for leading people through the Calm process of group activities, discussion, reflection, and times of worship. The book is a complete guide for leading this process, including instructions for the pastor and facilitator, helping to ensure success. The authors also provide clear adaptations for groups gathering virtually - an inescapable reality in the life of today's church. These adaptations both underscore and equip groups to take special care while engaging in the sensitive nature of conflict work in a virtual space.
Do you feel awkward at networking events? Do you wonder what your date really thinks of you? Do you wish you could decode people? You need to learn the science of people. As a human behavior hacker, Vanessa Van Edwards created a research lab to study the hidden forces that drive us. And she's cracked the code. In Captivate, she shares shortcuts, systems, and secrets for taking charge of your interactions at work, at home, and in any social situation. These aren't the people skills you learned in school. This is the first comprehensive, science backed, real life manual on how to captivate anyone--and a completely new approach to building connections.
Just like knowing the formulas to use in a chemistry lab, or the right programming language to build an app, Captivate provides simple ways to solve people problems. You'll learn, for example... - How to work a room: Every party, networking event, and social situation has a predictable map. Discover the sweet spot for making the most connections.
- How to read faces: It's easier than you think to speed-read facial expressions and use them to predict people's emotions.
- How to talk to anyone: Every conversation can be memorable--once you learn how certain words generate the pleasure hormone dopamine in listeners. When you understand the laws of human behavior, your influence, impact, and income will increase significantly. What's more, you will improve your interpersonal intelligence, make a killer first impression, and build rapport quickly and authentically in any situation--negotiations, interviews, parties, and pitches. You'll never interact the same way again.
Just like knowing the formulas to use in a chemistry lab, or the right programming language to build an app, Captivate provides simple ways to solve people problems. You'll learn, for example... - How to work a room: Every party, networking event, and social situation has a predictable map. Discover the sweet spot for making the most connections.
- How to read faces: It's easier than you think to speed-read facial expressions and use them to predict people's emotions.
- How to talk to anyone: Every conversation can be memorable--once you learn how certain words generate the pleasure hormone dopamine in listeners. When you understand the laws of human behavior, your influence, impact, and income will increase significantly. What's more, you will improve your interpersonal intelligence, make a killer first impression, and build rapport quickly and authentically in any situation--negotiations, interviews, parties, and pitches. You'll never interact the same way again.