Cody Hall

I’m nearing the end of this book and it has been practical. It has shown me examples of how leadership development can work in local church contexts. I’m on the leadership-development-focused subgroup of our church’s transition team and we are developing our approach to leadership development for the coming years.

This book builds upon the previous book in the series, Being Leaders, and provides “blueprints” to aid in cultivating leaders and a healthy leadership culture in the local church.

I think that this book, more than any other I have read, aligns with my God-given bent/wrapping and is entirely relevant to what I’m facing in life right now. The content is practical and applicable. I can consider and then apply concepts the very next day at work at SonSet Solutions, or on our church’s transition team.

This audiobook has around 12 of the most popular short stories of Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the famous character, Sherlock Holmes. My favorite so far has been The Five Orange Pips.

It has been so enjoyable to pop in the earbuds while working (or working out!) and be drawn into the mysteries Holmes is solving. Doyle is engrossing with his character development and narrative style.

Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) was an American author and biochemist, known for his highly successful and prolific writing in the genres of science fiction and science books for the layperson. He wrote or edited about 500 volumes, including the famous Foundation and Robot series.

Asimov was born in Russia and immigrated to the United States at a young age. He made significant contributions to science fiction, popular science, and history, and he also wrote on various topics in science with lucidity and humor. Asimov’s work has had a lasting impact on literature and science, and he is considered one of the greatest science fiction writers of the 20th century.

Elon Musk has repeatedly said that Asimov’s writings influenced him tremendously, including stating that “the Foundation series was fundamental to the creation of SpaceX.”

For several months, I’ve been mulling over the connection between the phrase “renewing of your mind” in Romans 12:2 and what scientific studies are demonstrating are the best practical ways to retrain your brain. I’ve been looking into several resources about retraining the brain.

Obviously, Paul had in mind the spiritual element of rewiring our minds and thought processes by saturation with the truths of Scripture. But God has designed the human brain to respond to stimuli, form patterns, and require less effort to live in those patterns. That’s one reason why bad habits bring damage when practiced over time and good habits bring flourishing!