Resources: Top Ten Lists For Canadian Christian Leaders

Recently The Leadership Centre Willow Creek Canada conducted surveys of Canadian church leaders to find out what was impacting their ministries. I know that I'm always on the prowl for resources that can help me with my leadership so I thought I'd share in one place for you what I found in a series of Scott Cochrane's blogs.

I was pleased to find that I already use many of these resources (so I'm not completely out of touch). I also was pleased to find that there were a few that I haven't checked out yet. Links to the applicable sites are also included  for your convenience. If you have some others that you've stumbled on and would like to share, please leave a comment. So here goes...

In answer to the question:
Which 3 AUTHORS, Christian or secular, are currently having the most impact or relevance to your ministry?

1. Tim Keller
2. Bill Hybels
3. Andy Stanley
4. N.T. Wright
5. Francis Chan
6. Dallas Willard
7. Eugene Peterson
8. Henri Nouwen
9. Brian McLaren
10. Patrick Lencioni
11. Ravi Zacharias - Wasn't on the list but I added him because it's my blog. : )

In answer to the question:
In 2011, what were the 3 most ministry-impacting BOOKS you read?

1. Sun Stand Still, Steven Furtick
2. Radical, David Platt
3. The Power of a Whisper, Bill Hybels Find book review here.
4. Surprised by Hope, N.T. Wright
5. Humilitas, John Dickson
6. Prodigal God, Timothy Keller
7. Sticky Church, Larry Osborne
8. Disappointment With God, Philip Yancey
9. Leading on Empty, Wayne Cordeiro
10. Simple Church, Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger
11. What Good is God? Philip Yancey - Again... it's my blog. See review here.

Final question:
Which 3 PODCASTS, Christian or secular, are currently having the most impact or relevance to your ministry?

1. Andy Stanley
2. Timothy Keller
3. Mark Driscoll
4. Bill Hybels
5. Craig Groeschel
6. Focus on the Family
7. Ravi Zacharias
8. Mark Buchanan
9. TEDTalks
10. The Meeting House
11. Erwin McManus - It's still my blog.

These are great resources for leaders. I hope that you take some tome and check them out. Remember to do something - every day - to help yourself grow as a leader.

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Leadership Conferences

Over the years I've had the opportunity to attend numerous Leadership Conferences as the result of a commitment I made a long time ago. If you're going to become a better leader, it means exposing yourself to good leaders and ideas. One of the best ways of making that happen is to attend a Leadership Conference where you can have a feast for a weekend and then snack on the leftovers for years to come.

My favorite conference is the Leadership Summit hosted by the Willow Creek Association and featuring Willow Creek pastor, Bill Hybels. As a delegate to the Summit I've had opportunity to learn from luminaries like Jack Welch, Jim Collins, Colin Powell, Erwin McManus and many others. They also feature young up-and-coming entrepeneurial leaders like Blake Mycoskie of TOMS Shoes and Chip and Dan Heath. Inspirational young leaders are also featured, like Christine Caine - fighting to end human trafficking, Bono and Jessica Jackley and the KIVA Story - working to end poverty.

There are, of course, many good conferences out there. I'm going to share some links to the most recommended conferences that I've heard about; I'd appreciate it if you'd share your favorite conference experience with the rest of us. For those of you from Clearview Community Church, I'll be attending the Canadian version of the Leadership Summit at the end of September. If you're interested in attending, let me know.

The Global Leadership Summit

The Orange Conference

The Catalyst Conference