Another book that I’ve recently read is Tim Sander’s book, “Love is the Killer App”.  It’s hard for me to summarize this book, but it’s primarily about three “intangibles” that every person needs to be successful in the 21^st century business world.  He believes those three intangibles are knowledge, network, and compassion.

I won’t say this book covered new ground as much as it just reminded me of some things I already knew in a fresh, creative way.  It’s not a “Christian” book, so understand that going in, but it’s not like it’s “non-Christian” either.  Anyway, here are some of the thoughts that I took away from this book.

“When you are able to help others grow to become the best people they can be, you are being loving- and you too, grow.”

“Think of your brain as kind of a piggy bank. Smart people fill it up with all they learn until they possess a formidable wealth of knowledge.  Then there are those who sit around all day and never put anything in their bank; all they accumulate is a large butt.”

“The reason we acquire knowledge is to share it.”

“Without a network, knowledge is nearly useless.”

“The ability to show compassion is paramount to human happiness to any situation, whether at work or at home.” 

“If you enjoy warm, compassionate relationships with your (co-workers), you will be given a larger margin of error during those times when you are less than perfect- and all of us come up short at some point.” 

“The difference between having (someone’s) time and (someone’s) attention is the difference between ham and eggs.  The chicken is involved, but the pig is committed.”

“Trying to change someone who doesn’t trust you is almost impossible.”

I’ve been reading a lot lately and so just like the post before, I’m going to write about a book I recently finished up. 

A couple of weeks ago I finished, “Confessions of a Pastor” by Craig Groeschel, and I’ve just got to say that I’m not sure I’ve ever read a book where an author is more authentic and honest as Craig is in this book. 

I’d love to pass on so much of what he had to say, but I thought instead I would do something different with this book.  I thought I would just give you the chapter titles so that you could get a good idea of what the book is all about, and maybe decide if it’s a book you might want to purchase for yourself.

Chapter 1:  I Can’t Stand a Lot of Christians

Chapter 2:  I Have to Work Hard to Stay Sexually Pure

Chapter 3:  Most of the Time I Feel Incredibly Lonely

Chapter 4:  I Hate Prayer Meetings

Chapter 5:  I Worry Almost All the Time

Chapter 6:  Sometimes I Doubt God

Chapter 7:  I Feel Completely Inadequate

Chapter 8:  I Stink at Handling Criticism

Chapter 9:  I’m Afraid of Failure

Chapter 10:  One Last Confession

Let me share one concluding thought.  Although it’s written from a pastor’s perspective, any lay person could benefit from the content of this book.  And just so you know, it’s as easy a book to read as I’ve ever come across.

First of all, before I say anything else, let me admit that I love Chick-fil-A!  If there is one brand that has my loyalty, it’s the Chick-fil-A brand.  Robin and I eat there several times a week and we are known for our Chick-fil-A loving ways.  Some people even call us addicts.  We don’t deny it.  Robin and I would probably use Chick-fil-A toothpaste if they made it! 

In fact, I just went came back from lunch and while I was home, Robin told me that I needed to read her blog today because it was about Chick-fil-A, and I just laughed and told her that I was going to write about Chick-fil-A.

Anyway, I’ve been meaning to read the book, “Eat Mor Chikin:  Inspire More People” for a long time and just recently I was finally able to sit down to read it.  It’s written by the founder of Chick-fil-A, Truett Cathy, and was a very fun and insightful read for me.  Not only did he tell the story of how their classic sandwich was invented and how the famous Chick-fil-A cows came about, but he also passed along some really valuable leadership principles. 

Here are a few of the thoughts that I wrote down while reading.

“There is some solution for every problem if you explore all possibilities.”

“Courtesy is cheap to provide, and pays great dividends.”

“Our decision to close on Sunday was our way of honoring God and directing our attention to things more important than our business.”

“When we’re fully committed to something, we’re not likely to give up or become discouraged, and we’re not likely to fail.”  

“How do you know when somebody needs encouragement?  If they are breathing!”

“Financial experts tell me our strength would allow us to open restaurants at a much more aggressive pace than our current seventy per year. But I’d rather have seventy restaurants operating efficiently and professionally than 500 restaurants where half are run well and the other half not.”

“Success in any relationship or endeavor begins with trust. It’s amazing how much you can accomplish when you trust the people around you.”

“Good people attract good people.”

“Everyone from the Operator to the newest hire must be willing to do any job in the restaurant: prepare food, wash dishes, mop floors, clean restrooms. Team members should take it upon themselves without being questioned to keep the restaurant shipshape all the time.”

“Our philosophy of ‘doing the right thing and doing things right’ is hardly ever the easiest solution. It is however, always the best solution.”

“Lives can be changed if we say the right thing at the right time with the right spirit.” 

T.D. Jakes is pastor of The Potter’s House in Dallas, Texas.  He’s one of the most gifted speakers I’ve ever heard. He spoke from Luke 24:13-31 and titled his message, The Order of the Breaking of Bread.  I’m sorry if this post is longer than the others, but he just said too many insightful and profound things for me to leave anything out.

 “It’s easy for us to criticize people in Scripture because we’re on the backside of the story.  But when you’re in the middle of the fight, it’s much harder to figure out what to do and what not to do.” 

“Jesus was not concerned with overthrowing Caesar, but overthrowing Satan.”

“You haven’t begun to preach until you’re controversial.”

“If you’re not walking in the path of conflict, you’re not a leader.”

“Isn’t it odd that those who said they know him best, didn’t recognize him when he stood right in front of them.” 

“How could these disciples not recognize Jesus?  Lazarus recognized Jesus’ voice and he was dead.”

“If you can lead and still be open in your heart, sensitive in your spirit, and not burn down the school because you think you graduated, then maybe God will teach you something.”

“Sometimes we need to plead with God, ‘Abide with us!’”

“Jesus is so cool!” 

“You can’t lead people who aren’t thirsty!”

“If you’ll just pray, ‘Don’t leave me Lord!’, perhaps God will show you something none of your books or tapes will never show you.”

“Could it be possible that God is bigger than our circumstances and greater than our situations?”

“He’s bigger than you think He is!”“Jesus sat down at the table and did what all great preachers do…He got something to eat!”

“I have learned more about Him in the crushings, the breakings, the rippings of life, than I ever have in the blessings of life”

“Had he not broken me, I would have never been able to preach that God was able.  I would be preaching that I am able.”

“Away with all the preachers who’ve never done anything wrong and give me a preacher that has been broken!”

Brian Houston is the founding and Senior Pastor of Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia.  If you haven’t heard of him, you’ve certainly heard of the people he’s surrounded himself with.  In fact, some of the greatest praise and worship songs in the last 10-15 years have come from this church.  If you haven’t listened to any of the Hillsong, Hillsong United, or Hillsong Kids CD’s, you need to stop reading this blog right now and go download one of each from i-Tunes as soon as possible.

Here’s what Brian had to say

“The capacity to empower people has to be one of the greatest gifts anyone can have.”

“Jesus was empowered by the Father.  Jesus empowered the disciples.  The Holy Spirit empowers us.”

“Empowering is the language of the gospel.”“Our environments should be empowering environments.”

“When we build a culture of empowering, that is where creativity thrives.  Thinking is enlarged and there is an openness to grow and change.”

“The only way you can miss an elephant is when you’re too big in the frame.” (I don’t have enough space to set this up, but trust me, this was profound!)

“When I get too big in the frame, the one thing that suffers is the empowerment of people.”

“Practice taking second place”  

“An empowering culture is not one of independence, but one of interdependence.”

”There’s something about a heart that never gets too big to honor”

“An empowering culture is one that is not just about me and my world, but is about the kingdom of God.”