Issue No. 584 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving (“Alexa! Play thanksgiving hymns!”). In this issue, you’ll be thankful for my reviews of two new books and a documentary film coming this month. And this reminder: click here to download free resources from the 20 management buckets (core competencies), click here for over 575 book reviews, and click here for my review of Be the Unicorn: 12 Data-Driven Habits that Separate the Best Leaders from the Rest, by William Vanderbloemen.
Two new books investigate Christianity using the analytical tools of crime scene detectives. Is God real? Is the Shroud of Turin real?
2 Books and a Movie!
Ready for a detective story? Do you watch Dateline or Forensic Files? Listen to true crime podcasts? Then you’ll appreciate my short reviews of two books and a movie:
by Robert Orlando
Is God Real?
Exploring the Ultimate Question of Life
by Lee Strobel
Coming in November to Select Theaters
THE SHROUD: Face to Face
The Crime of the Ages
In his new book, The Shroud: Face to Face, filmmaker Robert Orlando puts on his Columbo persona and investigates what he calls “The Crime of the Ages.” His short, but compelling book about the Shroud of Turin (120 pages, plus resources) intrigued me immediately.
“… although I had written about early Christianity, I had never explored the biography of Jesus. I knew the Gospels well, but was I ready to retake this journey with the Shroud as a critical piece of evidence to reopen my investigation: a new crime scene to unearth the nature of the Shroud?”
Orlando, who has released more than a dozen films, adds, “Not only would my journey connect a new piece of science with the ancient biblical past; I envisioned it as the Greatest Scientific Project Ever Told. It intrigued the scholar and the detective in me. What if this was the Shroud that enveloped Jesus? What if it matched early Scripture to make a science-based story, or even a kind of fifth Gospel—a living witness to Jesus Christ?”
Written to both believers and skeptics, Orlando explains his approach—especially to doubters. “I want to take those doubts seriously. I am not one to select a biased group of scientists to prove that another group is wrong. I intend to prove a full report: the crime scene, the blood results, the testimonies, and the forensic evidence to construct a true narrative before testing the story against Holy Writ.”
He notes, “The skeptic and the cynic must also ask, ‘If the Gospel accounts are wrong, how else can we explain Jesus’ missing body—and the Shroud he left behind?” He wonders, “…is this a cold case, a murder and a missing body from two thousand years ago that will never be solved?”
Trust me—this book (just published today) is absolutely fascinating! You’ll appreciate the author’s chapters on “A Holy Crime Scene,” plus “The Accidental Photograph” (taken by Secondo Pia in 1898), “Case of the Evil Genius,” and “A 3-D Image and a False Carbon Test?” Orlando’s writing style is crisp and page-turning—all you would expect from a filmmaker. (See my reviews of his books and films, The Divine Plan and The Tragedy of Patton.)
The timeline of the Shroud is included in the appendix, along with a robust bibliography, and 15 pages of endnotes. Check out Endnote #173. And don’t skip the foreword by theology professor, Fr. Andrew Dalton, L.C., S.T.D. It may be the most inspirational foreword I’ve read all year. Oh, my.
THE NEW DOCUMENTARY FILM:
Coming November 30 - VIEW THE TRAILER
The new documentary film, The Shroud: Face to Face, by filmmaker Robert Orlando, “utilizes a New Testament and storyteller’s eye to examine the evidence behind the world’s most studied artifact and its connection to the historical Jesus.” Read more here.
BONUS BOOK:
LEE STROBEL ASKS, “IS GOD REAL?”
Whether you’re a serious atheist, a wondering agnostic, or a devoted Christ-follower, you’ve likely read one of Lee Strobel’s books such as The Case for Christ. An atheist who became a Christian, Strobel is the former award-winning legal editor of The Chicago Tribune and is also a New York Times best-selling author of more than 40 books.
Strobel’s latest book, Is God Real? Exploring the Ultimate Question of Life (Oct. 31, 2023), finds him crisscrossing the country to conduct eight fascinating interviews with experts. He writes, “…since 52 percent of Americans say they’ve experienced religious doubt in the past few years, we’ll examine two of the biggest obstacles to belief in God: (1) If he’s real, why does he allow suffering in the world? And (2) if he’s real, why does he seem so hidden from us?”
Strobel’s writing style is inviting. In his interview with William Lane Craig, Ph.D. (named one of the 50 most influential philosophers), Craig comments on another scholar (an atheist) who says, “…the most reasonable belief is that we came from nothing, by nothing, and for nothing.” Dr. Craig adds, “That sounds like a good conclusion to the Gettysburg Address of Atheism!”
Note: I just started reading Strobel’s book this past weekend—as part of my practice of slowly reading an inspirational book over many weekends (10 to 30 minutes per weekend morning). But, without hesitation, and now up to page 37, I’m recommending this book to my readers. Is God Real? will make a great Christmas gift for friends and/or family members who are skeptics or believers. Powerful!
PICK ONE!
To order from Amazon, click on the title for The Shroud: Face to Face, by Robert Orlando. And thanks to the author for sending me a review copy.
To order from Amazon, click on the title for Is God Real? Exploring the Ultimate Question of Life, by Lee Strobel. Listen on Libro (6 hours, 39 minutes).
YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:
1) When U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team star Megan Rapinoe suffered a potential Achilles injury in the final match of her professional career this month, she said, “I’m not a religious person or anything and if there was a God, like, this is proof that there isn’t.” How would you respond to her?
2) Filmmaker Robert Orlando writes, “The murder of Jesus of Nazareth, a carpenter from a small town outside Jerusalem, became the most historically debated crime scene in all recorded history.” Do you agree? If so, why do you think the world is so fascinated by the crucifixion and alleged resurrection of Jesus, who claimed to be God’s Son?
Mastering 100 Must-Read Books - Part 9: Five Powerful Assessments
Book #54 of 100: Emotional Intelligence 2.0
For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by spotlighting Book #54 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.
Emotional Intelligence 2.0
(The World’s Most Popular Emotional Intelligence Test)
by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves
Books #51 through #55 spotlight five team-building books I’ve labeled “Five Powerful Assessments.” This will get your attention! “CEOs, on average, have the lowest EQ scores in the workplace.” The authors add, “Considering the mountain of literature about EQ, you’d think corporate executives would be pretty smart about it.”
• Read my review.
• Order from Amazon: Emotional Intelligence 2.0
• Listen on Libro (4 hours, 17 minutes) - Note: the audio version does NOT include access to the online assessment.
• Download the 100 Must-Read Books list (from John and Jason Pearson).
The Bad News: You, your spouse, and your team members are pretty much stuck with your current IQ.
The Good News: “No matter whether people measure high or low in EQ, they can work to improve it, and those who score low can actually catch up to their coworkers.”
More Good News: “The link between EQ and earnings is so direct that every point increase in EQ adds $1,300 to an annual salary.”
8 Insights on Roles, Rules, and Relationships
The authors of Church Board Training Manual (Book #1 of 3 for Churches in Transition), note Howard Hendricks’ insights on “Roles, Rules, and Relationships.” The authors list eight suggestions for having clearly defined roles between the pastor, the staff, and the church board, including this: “No meetings after the meetings.” Read my review. And for more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.
Mistake #4:
The Case for Listening!
Back in 1993, Lee Strobel and I struggled with jet lag at a Willow Creek Association conference in Auckland, New Zealand. My faux pas in front of those 920 people delivered the script for my Mistake #4, “Not Learning How to Listen.” See the list of all 25 mistakes in Mastering Mistake Making: My 25 Memorable Mistakes—and What I Learned (10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning Workbook), by John Pearson with Jason Pearson.
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PEARPOD | TELLING YOUR STORY. According to the EQ gurus, one self-management strategy is to make your goals public. (A university prof “pays his colleagues $100 anytime he misses a deadline on a research article.”) Name a goal you have that needs to go public. Read Emotional Intelligence 2.0. Need help on marketing goals?? Call me: Jason Pearson at Pearpod (Design, Digital, Marketing, Social).
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