Pails in Comparison

The House at Channing and Moonsail

PIC No. 81: 
• Title: The House at Channing and Moonsail
• Author: Mark Ellis
• Publisher: Laurus Books (July 31, 2021, 252 pages)
• Management Bucket #13 of 20: The Crisis Bucket



Welcome to Issue No. 81 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—shorter reviews of helpful books—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system.

“God Was Not on My Radar”

This summer—before I had connected the proverbial dots—I was halfway through lunch at Wahoo’s Fish Taco with Mark Ellis. We had met previously, but this was our first lunch together. Mark mentioned something about his earlier years—and I interrupted him!

“Wait! You’re friends with Dave Barton and on Dave’s suggestion, you sent me your book back in 2021, right?” (After a major bookshelf-organizing project with two of our granddaughters, Mark’s book, The House at Channing and Moonsail had magically reappeared in my library!)

I’ve listed this book in my Crisis Bucket for many reasons.

CRISIS! Oh, my. I was so embarrassed. I had never read the book, never reviewed it, and here I was sitting with the author who had generously sent me his book. Even worse—he bought my lunch!

Fast forward: Today, I can now document that I have read this page-turning book by Mark Ellis (and I hope we’re still friends!). The back cover blurb is an excellent summary: “This coming-of-age quest for meaning and romance careens through Berkeley in the ‘70s and Orange County in the early ‘80s.” Here’s my take on Mark’s gutsy and transparent autobiographical look-in-the-mirror:

UC BERKELEY. Imagine…the tuition at the University of California, Berkeley in September 1973 was only $212 per quarter! UC Berkeley was the destination for Mark Ellis who boards the L.A. train north for his freshman year. Picture him in flip flops, a colorful Hawaiian shirt, and curly brown hair “bleached mostly blond.” This tennis player/teacher and surfer from Rolling Hills was ready to roll. Crisis? (Stay tuned.)

THE 70s. If you were a college student in the 60s and 70s, you may remember the sights, sounds, and smells: weed, beer, computer punch cards, panty raids and worse, Joni Mitchell, and mid-terms and finals. Ellis landed on a shortcut to academic success as a business major. “I hit on an ingenious solution in my mind: cheating, something I had never resorted to in high school. But the pressure I felt from all these stellar minds in one place and the fear of failure drove me into the arms of ethical compromise.”

He adds, “Admittedly, my moral compass was not well-formed. Neither of my parents had any church background nor devoted any time to instructing about ethics and morality.”

He writes that the cheating and heavy partying… “all gave me a vague unease that was brushed off with the idea, prevalent at the time, that a new morality was emerging of situational ethics, unmoored from the rusty, worn-out traditions of the past.”

“'If it felt good, do it' was the thought, as long as you weren’t hurting someone else.”

You get the idea (and the PG13 details are in his book!). Ellis walks us through Berkeley dorm life and then frat life in his sophomore year. Not initially realizing he had leadership abilities, Mark eventually becomes the president of his fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta, the “Fiji House” on Channing Circle.

Along the way he weaves in and out of his own story to spotlight current events—often fascinating: the Patty Hearst kidnapping, the Pancho Gonzales (age 43) vs. Jimmy Connors (age 19) tennis match, and sitting behind Andy Williams in a courtroom when the “Moon River” singer’s wife, Claudine Longet, was on trial for murder! Plus, he and Cal freshman quarterback Vince Ferragamo were in the same calculus class—before this future L.A. Ram transferred to Nebraska, “a place where they worship football.”

Unclear on what he worshiped, Mark tilted towards a colleague of Timothy Leary, Baba Ram Dass (aka Dr. Richard Albert, Ph.D., a former Harvard prof) and his bestselling book. Ellis writes, “Because I had turned away from traditional religion, I was open to the Eastern path promulgated by Ram Dass and rushed out to buy his book, which resonated with me and became my go-to guide for soul care.” Some 1,300 students, teachers and others listened to his three-hour lecture at Berkeley.

Note: While reading this book by Mark Ellis, I also read Faith for the Curious, by Mark Matlock. (Read my review.) If I could connect these two Marks together, I’d pop for the $7.00 happy hour dinner at the San Clemente Pier! That would be an enriching conversation—and good food!

Here’s an idea you won’t share with your college-age kids and grandkids: take a year off from UC Berkeley and become a ski bum in Aspen, Colo. Oh, and when the snow melts—head to Hawaii and work on a banana plantation! (Oops! Another crisis in Mark’s journey.)

GOOD NEWS. Mark returns to Berkeley a year later and then in his senior year, as fraternity president, he flies to Ohio State to attend a Fiji Leadership Academy. And get this: the legendary Buckeyes football coach, Woody Hayes, speaks to this group of 30 to 40 student leaders. Mark was inspired and quotes the coach for two pages and mentions the book that Hayes gave to every student athlete, Word Power Made Easy.

Coach Hayes: “In football, you learn there’s nothing that comes easy that’s worth a dime. As a matter of fact, I never saw a football player make a tackle with a smile on his face. Never!”

Mark Ellis: “When Coach Hayes finished his talk, I was ready to follow him anywhere. Even though I played only one year of freshman football in high school, I wanted to join his team in the worst way … I could volunteer to carry the water just to be around the man, I thought.”

Ellis graduates from Berkeley but his parents are too busy to attend the commencement ceremony so he skips the cap and gown show. Fast forward: a career in commercial real estate (following in his successful father’s footsteps) and the 1980 presidential campaign. His econ classes at Berkeley influenced his alignment with the Republican congressman from Rockford, Ill., John Anderson, who was running as an independent. So he dropped in on a local campaign organizing meeting.

CRISIS! By this time in this fascinating narrative, Mark was “24, with abundant energy and enthusiasm, wearing a suit…” and apparently asked “semi-intelligent questions.” Thus another crisis: the dozen or so attendees drafted Ellis to lead the Orange County campaign for John Anderson! (See his must-read chapters on the campaign and why “politicians should never use the word incipient.”)

The author transparently invites us into his career in commercial real estate and his dating life (including his successes, missteps, and disappointments). At his father’s urging (when his dad “delivered a harsh dose of reality”), Mark exits his parent’s comfortable home and buys a 900-square-foot townhome on Moonsail Drive in “Niguel Shores, a private, gated community that straddled Pacific Coast Highway near Salt Creek”—his favorite surfing spot and just a 10-minute walk to the beach. Life was good! (The book has two sections—titled for his two houses: the frat house on Channing and the townhome on Moonsail. I loved the format: 52 short chapters.)

Then this. The agent that sold him the townhome on Moonsail told Mark about a singles group at Mariners Church in Newport Beach. He confesses, “I had no interest in God…” but Mark thought, “…maybe I would meet some single women a few notches higher in quality than the ones I met in bars.” At his first meeting, he notes: “God was not on my radar, but scores of attractive blondes and brunettes had my sudden attention.”

By the way, when I hear stories and snippets of interesting life experiences, I often tell friends and colleagues, “You should write a book!” Then my wife, Joanne, warns them: “Go ahead, but you won’t make much money!” (See my recent book reviews on the theme, “You Should Write a Book!”)

I’m so delighted that Mark Ellis wrote this book. I had no idea about his earlier life experiences decades ago:
   • Who knew? He does impressions of Jimmy Stewart! Also: “Cary Grant, Clark Gable, JFK jawing with his brother Teddy, FDR, Jimmy Carter, and others.”
   • Mark has a creative bent. He began painting on the side and rented space for a small art gallery in Laguna Beach ($300 a month) and employed “young, attractive females to watch the gallery during the day and paid them the minimum wage” while he worked in his real estate office in Irvine.

I appreciate gifted writing and Ellis is a superb word crafter. Recounting his meeting with Woody Hayes: “The coach looked like a heftier, meatpacking version of LBJ.” Describing his “apolitical registered Republican” parents in 1965, “they heard Ronald Reagan speak at a local restaurant and came home like the fishermen who had seen Jesus for the first time.”

REDEMPTION? About halfway through the book, I told Mark, “I’m still waiting for the redemptive chapter!” I won’t give you a spoiler alert here, but…fast forward…at the Mariners Church singles gathering, “a guy named Dave was leading the study. Before he began his talk he said, ‘I just finished a book I want to recommend: Evidence That Demands a Verdict, by Josh McDowell.’” Mark adds, “I filed the name away in my head, thinking it might be something I should read.”

Oh…one more thing from that night. Mark meets Sally (a Princess Diana look-alike) in the small group discussion segment of the meeting (a circle of five), but reflects, “Oh, no. I don’t need another blond in my life.”

I hope that teaser prompts you to read this book. Here’s a hint. And…what’s the rest of the story? Read Mark’s bio today and watch for my review of his next book later this year.

PAILS IN COMPARISON: Reading this book reminded me of several other must-read books in the Crisis Bucket plus other buckets/core competencies.

[  ] Evidence That Demands a Verdict: Life-Changing Truth for a Skeptical World, by Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell (“The Completely Updated and Expanded Classic,” Oct. 3, 2017). Order from Amazon.

[  ] Faith for the Curious: How an Era of Spiritual Openness Shapes the Way We Live and Help Others Follow Jesus, by Mark Matlock (Sept. 24, 2024). (Order from Amazon and read for my review.)

[  ] Is God Real? Exploring the Ultimate Question of Life, by Lee Strobel. (Read my review.)

[  ] See my recent book reviews on the theme, “You Should Write a Book!”

[  ] Don’t Miss Your Life: The Secret to Significance, by Aaron Tredway. (Read my review.)

[  ] Word Power Made Easy, by Norman Lewis. (Note: 560 pages! Maybe it’s not so easy!!) Order from Amazon.

To order from Amazon, click on the title for The House at Channing and Moonsail, by Mark Ellis. For more reviews, visit John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and subscribe to Your Weekly Staff Meeting. And thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy.

© 2024. John Pearson Associates. All rights reserved.
Pails in Comparison is posted every once in a while. We do not accept any form of compensation from authors or publishers for book reviews. As an Amazon Associate, we earn Amazon gift cards from qualifying purchases. As a Libro.fm Affiliate, we earn credits. By subscribing to Your Weekly Staff Meeting, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Typepad.com’s privacy policy here.

The Reckoning: A Novel by John Grisham

PIC No. 74: 
• Title: The Reckoning: A Novel 
• Author: John Grisham
• Publisher: Doubleday (Oct. 23, 2018, 432 pages)
• Management Bucket #13 of 20: The Crisis Bucket



Welcome to Issue No. 74 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—shorter reviews of helpful books—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system.

Another John Grisham Page-Turner

Clearly, John Grisham doesn’t need my recommendations to help him sell books. Per Wikipedia, “according to the American Academy of Achievement, Grisham has written 37 consecutive number-one fiction bestsellers, and his books have sold 300 million copies worldwide.”

You’ve likely read one or more of his books. I’ve read several Grisham novels over the years, but none in the last 10-15 years. My wife keeps prodding me to read something outside of my leadership/management obsession, so I bought The Reckoning when it was first published in October 2018. And LOL…I finally read it last month on vacation!

Did you know that Grisham’s first book, A Time to Kill, was initially rejected by 28 publishers? The first print run was just for 5,000 copies back in 1988.

The Reckoning is another page-turner. I’ve always been interested in World War II books, movies, and documentaries. (My favorite movie: The Hunt for Red October.) Grisham tells the story of decorated war hero Pete Banning who survives the Bataan Death March in the Philippines and returns to his Mississippi home and farm, there to commit an egregious crime. His lackluster defense: “I have nothing to say.”

In addition to the legal complexities that the author weaves into his books, The Reckoning mixes in the Jim Crow South, the local Methodist Church, a pastor, a murder, deep secrets, and the insanity of war.

This would be a great read for a book club. I would want to discuss these themes: the consequences of sin and guilt, forgiveness and redemption, the impact of secrets and lies, justice and judgment, and the power of love and sacrifice. While I wouldn’t recommend that clergy turn this into a five-part sermon series, it wouldn’t surprise me if someone has already referenced the book from the pulpit! (Warning: some of the sections are brutal.)

Note: While reading this book, The Wall Street Journal ran a piece on June 6, 2024, by Bob Greene, “Ike Returns to Normandy: In the 1964 anniversary film, Eisenhower recounts the D-Day invasion for CBS’s Walter Cronkite.”

Greene quotes Dwight D. Eisenhower, “I devoutly hope that we will never again have to see such scenes as this.” Amen.

While The Reckoning is a novel, it dramatically captures the “war is hell” theme. I was reminded of a family friend of my father-in-law and mother-in-law who miraculously survived World War II. Writing in the Notre Dame News on Jan. 7, 2003, Bill Jauss pays tribute to Notre Dame football star Mario G. `Motts' Tonelli (1916-2003):

“The life of Mario G. ‘Motts’ Tonelli reads as though it was scripted in Hollywood. But Tonelli, who died Tuesday at 86, wasn’t a Hollywood-type hero. He was a blue-collar, Chicago-type hero. Tonelli grew up the son of Italian immigrants on the North Side and became a star fullback at Notre Dame in the late 1930s before playing for the Chicago Cardinals in the National Football League in 1940. After one season, Tonelli entered the U.S. Army and eventually survived the infamous Bataan Death March in World War II and 42 months of brutal treatment in three Japanese prison camps. His weight dropped from 188 pounds to under 100.” (Read more here.)

To all veterans and those serving today—thank you for your service.

PAILS IN COMPARISON: Reading this book reminded me of several other must-read books in the Crisis Bucket, plus other buckets/core competencies. 

[  ] Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand. (Read my review.)

[  ] Hitler in the Crosshairs: A GI’s Story of Courage and Faith, by John Woodbridge and Maurice Possley. (Read my review.)

[  ] Rumsfeld’s Rules: Leadership Lessons in Business, Politics, War, and Life, by Donald Rumsfeld. (Read my review.)

[  ] Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory, by Ben Macintyre. (Read my review.)

[  ] See also the reviews of five books in “Part 14: Leadership & Management at War,” in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books, by John Pearson with Jason Pearson.

[  ] In the classic 1949 film, Twelve O’Clock High, Gregory Peck plays an Air Force general tasked with rejuvenating an exhausted and demoralized bomber group in World War II. (Read my review.)

To order from Amazon, click on the title for The Reckoning: A Novel, by John Grisham. Listen on Libro (17 hours, 34 minutes). For more reviews, visit John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and subscribe to Your Weekly Staff Meeting. 

© 2024. John Pearson Associates. All rights reserved.
Pails in Comparison is posted every once in a while. We do not accept any form of compensation from authors or publishers for book reviews. As an Amazon Associate, we earn Amazon gift cards from qualifying purchases. As a Libro.fm Affiliate, we earn credits. By subscribing to Your Weekly Staff Meeting, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Typepad.com’s privacy policy here.

Can You See The Cross From There? Grace and Grit For Sufferers and Sinners

PIC No. 72: 
• Title: Can You See The Cross From There? Grace and Grit For Sufferers and Sinners
• Author: Terry Powell
• Publisher: Serve Strong Publishing (March 17, 2024, 252 pages)
• Management Bucket #13 of 20: The Crisis Bucket



Welcome to Issue No. 72 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—shorter reviews of helpful books—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system.

Teeth-Gritting Effort or Plan B?

Sometimes, I pick up a book—and I have a convicting sense that I must read the book. That I should drill-down deeply. That I should chew on the truths. Can You See the Cross From There? is that kind of book. There’s a holiness about Terry Powell’s insights—but it’s not other-worldly. Far from that. This is in-the-trenches transparency. Whew.

The introduction is amazing. Powell launches with a fresh color commentary on the book’s title and subtitle. Don’t skip this—and would that every author would be so intentional with word choices in the title and subtitle. (Marketing departments: Maybe you should get on your knees and spiritually discern God’s voice before you mess with the author’s title!)

GRIT. The subtitle, “Grace and Grit for Sufferers and Sinners,” would pretty much include all of us, right? But the “grit,” Powell writes, is not the “bootstrap variety of resilience that one may demonstrate through sheer human willpower.” You gotta keep reading—because already into the intro you can sense something holy awaits.

SINNERS. I was reminded of my own condition last Sunday, when our pastor put this wake-up call on the screen from Eugene Peterson:

“The biblical fact is that there are no successful churches. There are, instead, communities of sinners, gathered before God week after week in towns and villages all over the world. The Holy Spirit gathers them and does his work in them. In these communities of sinners, one of the sinners is called pastor and given a designated responsibility in the community. The pastor’s responsibility is to keep the community attentive to God. It is this responsibility that is being abandoned in spades.”

Likewise this book. In walking us through sinning and suffering, Terry Powell is both a poet and a prophet. Each of the 31 chapters follows this format:
   • A Faith Poem (each written by Powell)
   • Biblical Reflection
   • Prayer Response (“a suggested way to talk to God about the chapter topic”)
   • Probes to Ponder
   • A Pertinent Word
   • An Apt Quote

Each month in 2024, in this Pails in Comparison blog, I’m recommending a devotional book for your own spiritual nourishment. Powell’s book was just published in March 2024 and I predict it will become a go-to favorite for years to come. While you can “check off” one chapter per day for 31 days, you might want to slow down—and reflect on each topic for several days, or a week. Or, as I’m doing, use this book as a weekend treat.

The 31 topics are both tantalizing and convicting. Examples:
   • Are You Overloaded and Stressed?
   • Can You Thank God for Pain?
   • Is That a Thermometer in Your Mouth?
   • Is “Convicting Grace” an Oxymoron?
   • What Is the Most Important Sermon You Will Ever Hear?
   • Who’s In Control When Life Hurts?

Powell, who has written 20 books (see below), is Faculty Emeritus in Church Ministry at Columbia International University in South Carolina, where he taught for 38 years. He writes a blog on depression and faith and says his constant prayer is, “Lord, make me half the man my dog thinks I am!”

Why read this book? Powell lists 10 questions that will probe your soul. Here are four of the 10 questions:
   • What obscures your view of the cross, keeping you from seeing and appropriating the benefits of Jesus’ death?
   • When you suffer, what Bible truths and divine attributes offer heart-massaging comfort?
   • Which better facilitates holiness: teeth-gritting effort or falling more in love with the Savior?
   • What’s required of you before others in the body of Christ can help bear your burdens?

Oh, my. That last question is a humdinger! I love this book! From the poignant page affirming the author’s son, Stephen, to the memorable quotes—and the poetry that resonates with your soul—this is a very special book. Must-read chapter: “Are You Waving a White Flag?” Powell prods: “I understand surrender when I realize that I can’t say ‘No, Lord!’ and mean both words!”

PAILS IN COMPARISON: Reading this book reminded me of several other must-read books in the Crisis Bucket, plus other buckets/core competencies. 

[  ] Oh God, I’m Dying! How God Redeems Pain for Our Good and for His Glory, by Terry Powell and Mark Smith. (Read my review.)

[  ] Serve Strong: Biblical Encouragement to Sustain God’s Servants, by Terry Powell. (Read my review.)

[ ] Broken and Whole: A Leader’s Path to Spiritual Transformation, by Stephen A. Macchia. (Read my review.)

To order from Amazon, click on the title for Can You See The Cross From There? Grace and Grit For Sufferers and Sinners, by Terry Powell. For more reviews, visit John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and subscribe to Your Weekly Staff Meeting. (And thanks to the author for sending me a review copy.)

© 2024. John Pearson Associates. All rights reserved.
Pails in Comparison is posted every once in a while. We do not accept any form of compensation from authors or publishers for book reviews. As an Amazon Associate, we earn Amazon gift cards from qualifying purchases. As a Libro.fm Affiliate, we earn credits. By subscribing to Your Weekly Staff Meeting, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Typepad.com’s privacy policy here.

A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants

PIC No. 71: 
• Title: A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants 
• Authors: Rueben P. Job and Norman Shawchuck
• Publisher: The Upper Room (June 1, 1998, 418 pages)
• Management Bucket #13 of 20: The Crisis Bucket



Welcome to Issue No. 71 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—shorter reviews of helpful books—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system.

Remembering Tony Danhelka

One of my cherished books—always nearby—has been A Guide to Prayer. I have the 1988 edition. It was a gift from my dear friend, Tony Danhelka, who wrote a kind note to me on the title page in January 1989. This book has spoken often to me over these last 35 years. In addition to God’s voice, I have fondly remembered Tony’s voice.

Yet, on April 29, 2024, Tony entered Heaven’s presence after an 18-month battle with cancer. Tony and I lived in the same town, St. Charles, Ill., for 15 years and enjoyed a weekly prayer and accountability breakfast over most of those years. Our times together (sometimes with other “pilgrims”) were rich. We were honest with each other.

When I received the news of Tony’s homegoing, I immediately paged through this now-even-more-precious book.

The book features 56 weekly devotional themes, plus 12 monthly retreat models. Tony introduced me to the joy of spending a day of prayer in a silent retreat setting. This 418-page guide to prayer overflows with spiritual nutrition. Oh, my.

Some years ago, in my copy of A Guide to Prayer, I had underlined this quote from William Law’s book, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life—one of the “Readings for Reflection” for Week 10, the Fourth Sunday After Epiphany. Law writes:

“Represent to your imagination that your bed is your grave; that all things are ready for your interment; that you are to have no more to do with this world; and that it be owing to God’s great mercy if you ever see the light of the sun again or have another day to add to your works of piety. Then commit yourself to sleep as one that is to have no more opportunities of doing good, but is to awake among spirits that are separate from the body and waiting for the judgment of the last great day.”

Law explains more—but you’ll have to read A Guide to Prayer (pages 72-73) to learn why he says that this “is a practice that will soon have excellent effects upon your spirit.”

Tony’s voice is now quiet on earth, but his impact continues. He was the co-founder of Riverwoods Christian Center, now known as Fox Valley Christian Action. My friends and colleagues who knew Tony’s work in Christian camping and the urban ministry world will appreciate this ministry tribute here and this inspiring obituary for Anthony G. “Tony” Danhelka (1945-2024).

If you’re looking for a deep-and-wide devotional book, this is it. I can’t improve on the publisher’s description of the book, so I’m including an edited version of the blurb. The book was first published in 1983. The title page in my book reads, “For every pilgrim who yearns for God.” Amen!

“This classic devotional and prayer book is a compilation of scriptures, prayers, readings from well-known spiritual writers, and hymn texts.

“Each week centers on a different theme and follows this format: invocation, psalm, daily scripture readings, readings for reflection, prayers (for the church, myself, others), reflection time, and a hymn. The back of the book contains models for 12 personal one-day retreats.

“Featured writers include William Barclay, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Carlo Carretto, Mother Teresa, Richard J. Foster, Elton Trueblood, C. S. Lewis, Henri J. M. Nouwen, Simone Weil, and many others.”

I’ve listed this book and blog post under the Crisis Bucket. Even though we know that our lives will some day end on earth, the suddenness of that reality is often a crisis moment—a defining moment—for family and friends. This book addresses all of life’s crises and points us to our Savior and our Comforter. I’m grateful for my friend, Tony.

PAILS IN COMPARISON: Reading this book reminded me of several other must-read books in the Crisis Bucket, plus other buckets/core competencies. 

[  ] A Diary of Private Prayer, by John Baillie. (Read my review.)

[  ] Can You See The Cross From There? Grace and Grit For Sufferers and Sinners, by Terry Powell (March 17, 2024). Watch for my review. (Order from Amazon.)

[  ] Oh God, I’m Dying! How God Redeems Pain for Our Good and for His Glory, by Terry Powell and Mark Smith. (Read my review.)

[  ] My 2023 year-end list of “Inspirational Books for 2024”—with 14 recommendations. (Read my mini-reviews.)

[  ] The Discerning Life: An Invitation to Notice God in Everything, by Steve Macchia. (Read the review of my 2022 book-of-the-year.)

[  ] "Slow Down and Wait on God," Lesson 28, in Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom, by Dan Busby and John Pearson. Read the blog by Jerry White with comments about the the booklet, "How to Spend a Day in Prayer," by Lorne Sanny.

To order from Amazon, click on the title for A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants, by Rueben P. Job and Norman Shawchuck. For more reviews, visit John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and subscribe to Your Weekly Staff Meeting. 

© 2024. John Pearson Associates. All rights reserved.
Pails in Comparison is posted every once in a while. We do not accept any form of compensation from authors or publishers for book reviews. As an Amazon Associate, we earn Amazon gift cards from qualifying purchases. As a Libro.fm Affiliate, we earn credits. By subscribing to Your Weekly Staff Meeting, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Typepad.com’s privacy policy here.

How Not to Age: The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You Get Older

PIC No. 56: 
• Title: How Not to Age: The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You Get Older 
• Authors: Michael Greger, M.D., FACLM
• Publisher: Flatiron Books (Dec. 5, 2023, 660 pages)
• Management Bucket #13 of 20: The Crisis Bucket
 


Welcome to Issue No. 56 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—shorter reviews of helpful books—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system.

What Do Centenarians Eat?

It’s not if, but when. Unless Jesus returns while you’re still living, you will die someday. I’ve listed this book in the Crisis Bucket, but really—this new book may keep you out of crisis mode. As Ken Blanchard wrote in Fit at Last, “Would you rather exercise for 1 hour a day or be dead for 24 hours a day?” (For more on Jesus and His return, read Lee Strobel’s new book, Is God Real?)

Bestselling author Michael Greger, M.D., calls himself an agnostic, but—really—he could be a stand-up comedian. The first 50 pages of How Not to Age hooked me. But here’s my biggest question: Will I live long enough to finish reading this 660-page book?

But it could be worse. Noting that “…we should rely not on anecdote but on evidence,” Dr. Greger said his book ended up with more than 13,000 citations, “which turned out to be a problem.” Gratefully, the author posted his citations online, otherwise the book would have run 2,150 pages (not a typo). I quote him directly: “Yikes.”

And this: “Over the last three years, my team and I read more than 20,000 papers on aging so you don’t have to…” Now, I’ll add my own exclamation: Yikes!

Agnostic? Commenting on the wild claims that scientific advancements and innovations could “…theoretically enable humanity to have an essentially unlimited lifespan,” Dr. Greger affirms, “I remain agnostic as to whether such a breakthrough is possible, but I hope this book will help regardless, whether you’re striving to live long enough to live forever or just trying to die young as old as possible.”

I laughed out loud when he asked readers to imagine if they were to die just one year before science’s "unlimited lifespan" kicked in!

Why read a 660-page book on “getting healthier as you get older?” Many reasons, not the least of which was reading former Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s tribute to his friend, Henry Kissinger (1923-2023), who died Nov. 29, 2023. Schmidt writes in the WSJ, “How did Henry make it to 100? He never retired. Until shortly before his death, he was working as hard as he did when he was 70. From the moment he woke up, he was thinking, taking joy in following a new idea, a new strategy, a new challenge.”

Before I write a review longer than this book (!), here’s my FULL DISCLOSURE: At 660 pages, today I’ve read almost 10 percent of the book—but, honest, I will read the entire book. (I won’t be able to resist.)

As I mentioned, the author’s writing style hooked me—and there is nothing to lose in becoming a student and practitioner of a healthier lifestyle. Before my own doctor stepped away from his GP role a year ago, he encouraged me to lean towards a plant-based diet and read Dr. Greger’s other bestselling books, How Not to Die, and How Not to Diet. So, I’m feeling pretty good today that my diet is healthier and I’m finally reading Dr. Greger’s latest book. (I have more to learn and more to do.)

By the way, “Eating a plant-based diet may reduce the risk of dementia as much as threefold, but the difference in dementia rates between those older than eighty-five compared to younger than sixty-five is three hundredfold.”

Today in the book, I’m reading “What Do Centenarians Eat?” followed by:
• “The Red, White, and Blue Zone”
• Then chapters on Lifestyle, Exercise, Weight Control, Sleep, Stress Management, and “Dr. Greger’s Anti-Aging Eight” (the fourth section).

AND THIS BONUS: To reduce the page count to just 660, Dr. Greger created “a full audio visual experience.” He writes, “You’ll see I’ve sprinkled video links throughout the book. My team and I produced hundreds of bite-sized videos, each about five minutes long…” The videos are amazing. I’d suggest you start with:

[ ] VIDEO OPTION 1: Book Trailer for How Not to Age (11 minutes)

[ ] VIDEO OPTION 2: How Not to Age — Presentation (1 hour, 16 min.)

What’s your learning style? Reading, listening, viewing, or doing? Take your pick….and watch for my future review(s) of this comprehensive book! This could be one of the most important books you read in 2024!

PAILS IN COMPARISON: Reading this book reminded me of more must-read books in the Crisis Bucket, plus the 19 other buckets/core competencies. 

[  ] Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, by Atul Gawande (read my review)

[  ] Fit at Last: Look and Feel Better Once and for All, by Ken Blanchard and Tim Kearin (read my review)

[  ] Fit After 40: 3 Keys to Looking Good & Feeling Great, by Coach Don Nava (read my review)

[  ] Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives, by Richard A Swenson, M.D. (read my review)

[  ] The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More With Less, by Richard Koch (read my review)

To order from Amazon, click on the title for How Not to Age: The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You Get Older, by Michael Greger, M.D., FACLM. Listen on Libro (27 hours, 57 minutes). And thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy. For more book reviews, visit John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and subscribe to Your Weekly Staff Meeting. 

© 2023 John Pearson Associates. All rights reserved.
Pails in Comparison is posted every once in a while. We do not accept any form of compensation from authors or publishers for book reviews. As an Amazon Associate, we earn Amazon gift cards from qualifying purchases. As a Libro.fm Affiliate, we earn credits. By subscribing to Your Weekly Staff Meeting, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Typepad.com’s privacy policy here.

Finishing Well

PIC No. 47: 
• Title: Finishing Well
• Author: Ron Cline
• Publisher: Leader Mundial Press (March 5, 2018, 76 pages)
• Management Bucket #13 of 20: The Crisis Bucket
 


Welcome to Issue No. 47 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—shorter reviews of helpful books—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system.

“This is the book I wish I had read 60 years ago.”

Ron Cline, a leader of leaders, writes, “This is the book I wish I had read 60 years ago.”

Asked to speak at a “very special leader’s summit in Thailand that involved national leaders from several closed or restricted countries,” he was enthusiastic about the opportunity. He sensed the Holy Spirit’s direction to speak on the topic, “finish well the ministry that the Lord has once for all entrusted to you, His people.”

But then he confesses, “I never thought about the finish.” After decades of effective ministry, including president of a large international mission group—visiting 100 countries over 20 years—Ron Cline writes, “It wasn’t until then that I started thinking about what I was going to do when I grew up, how and when I would finish. Mostly wondering what that meant and when that time would come.”

So when God told him to speak about “finishing well,” he admits that “for the first time in my life I spent days studying the subject. I read books, checked the web and did a whole lot of soul searching. I had conversations with God and with other leaders. I became fascinated with the subject and found myself having to answer the same questions I will be asking you.”

Oh, my. Don’t let the brevity of this book camouflage its critical content. You’ll likely read this 76-page powerhouse in one sitting, but you’ll talk incessantly about it to others. (Ask my wife and son!) Have you ever read a book on finishing well? Thought about…finishing well? Prayed about…finishing well?

“Here is what I have discovered,” writes Cline when introducing his bottom line: “It doesn’t make any difference how you start. The only thing that matters is how well you finish.”

CRISIS! You’ll be shocked to read the shaky start that Ron Cline endured as a young child, as a teenager, and as a first-year struggling college student. “I had been born deaf,” he writes, and so he had never learned how to correctly pronounce his words. A young doctor discovered calcium deposits against his ear drums—and then a miracle! He experienced “the sudden arrival of full sound.”

Yet, he still mispronounced words, like his own name, Ronald, and his classmates made fun of him. “Every time, try as I would, my name came out ‘Wonald Cline,’ I sounded like Donald Duck and the kids would howl.”

Do you have children and youth in your circle of family and friends who suffer from physical and/or emotional challenges? This book will give you hope! Cline pays tribute to a holy parade of encouragers—including a college prof and his mother—who would remind him, “God has something really special for you.” The stories are stunning.

So with that challenging backdrop, Cline walks us through his “finishing well” insights and exercises, including:
• “What do you want on your tomb stone?
• What do you want people to say about you at your memorial service?
• What do you want Christ to say to you?”

Initially, as he prepared his thoughts on finishing well for those leaders at the Thailand meeting, he got a bit carried away! First he made a list of 12 things to do today. Then it got longer! (Time for Plan B!)

“I decided that I didn’t want to spend time just reading off a long list of things to do. I knew that these leaders already knew their own list.” So he changed directions for his four morning speaking sessions. He also “wanted them to be able to translate and reteach these things.”

The result—the last 20 pages of Finishing Well feature three substantive aspirations:

IF I WANT TO FINISH WELL…
1) “…I need to understand and stay true to my calling.
2)  …I need to obey His commands.
3)  …I need to totally trust God.”

That will preach—and you’ll appreciate Cline’s commentary and transparent personal examples for these three pillars. He concludes with this encouragement:

“You can’t go back and change the beginning,
but you can start where you are and change the ending.”
C.S. Lewis

P.S. For such a short book, you’ll be amazed at the number of delightful morsels. Cline played trombone in the San Diego Symphony, writes songs as a hobby, and he can also read lips! So be careful what you might whisper in his presence!

PAILS IN COMPARISON: Reading this book reminded me of several other must-read books in the Crisis Bucket, plus other buckets/core competencies. 

[  ] Finish Line: Dispelling Fear, Finding Peace, and Preparing for the End of Your Life, by Robert Wolgemuth. (Read my review.)

[  ] The Joseph Road: Choices That Determine Your Destiny, by Jerry White. (Read my review.)

[  ] Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry, by Ruth Haley Barton. (Read my review.)

[  ] Finishing Well: What People Who REALLY Live Do Differently! – Based on Inspiring Interviews with 60 Remarkable People, by Bob Buford. (Order from Amazon. Watch for my review.)

To order from Amazon, click on the title Finishing Well, by Ron Cline. For more book reviews, visit John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and subscribe to Your Weekly Staff Meeting. 

© 2023 John Pearson Associates. All rights reserved.
Pails in Comparison is posted every once in a while. We do not accept any form of compensation from authors or publishers for book reviews. As an Amazon Associate, we earn Amazon gift cards from qualifying purchases. As a Libro.fm Affiliate, we earn credits. By subscribing to Your Weekly Staff Meeting, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Typepad.com’s privacy policy here.

Count Zinzendorf and the Spirit of the Moravians

PIC No. 43: 
• Title: Count Zinzendorf and the Spirit of the Moravians
• Author: Paul Wemmer
• Publisher: Xulon Press (Oct. 8, 2013, 270 pages)
• Management Bucket #13 of 20: The Crisis Bucket
 


Welcome to Issue No. 43 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—shorter reviews of helpful books—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system.

Just One Crisis After Another! The Amazing Story of Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians

Honest. You don’t have to be a spiritual giant to read this fascinating biography, but—warning—you will ask yourself, “Do I exhibit any signs of spirituality in my comfortable life?” Whew.

Paul Wemmer, the author of Count Zinzendorf and the Spirit of the Moravians, walks us through the deep-and-wide history of the 18th century global movement of the Moravians. Have you ever read anything about Count Zinzendorf and his hearty band of brothers and sisters? (No? Me neither!)

Who would be on your list for the Top-100 most important religious figures in history (would we call them “influencers” today?)—and how much do you know about them? Would Count Nicholaus Ludwig van Zinzendorf (1700-1760) be on your list?

Earlier this year, I listened to a hymn written by Zinzendorf—and I realized I knew absolutely nothing about this spiritual giant and prolific hymnwriter. It was high time to widen my reading! I googled the Count, watched some YouTube videos, and scanned the books on Amazon. I landed on this one, published in 2013.

Paul Wemmer is a first-time author. Born into a Catholic family in Germany in 1940, he shares his own story in the first chapter—context for his fascination with Zinzendorf. He immigrated to the U.S., served in the U.S. Army, and lived in the Los Angeles area where he was a printing supervisor in the L.A. election department. The Registrar of Voters once described him: “Here is a German who runs the print shop as smoothly as a Swiss clock.”

Wemmer and his wife discovered the charismatic movement of the Catholic Church—and “within a few days…we had an insatiable hunger for reading the Bible.” He adds, “I read at home, during my lunch hour, and at break time. I couldn’t get enough.” Not a theologian, but a serious student of the Bible, he eventually became a Protestant and has a few comments about Catholics in his book that, perhaps, are influenced by the persecution that Zinzendorf and his Christian community endured. 

I’ve decided not to summarize this book—even though I made 25 notes to share with you. I’ll spare you my thoughts and inspire you to enjoy two short videos. Click on this two-minute promo video from the publisher—with highlights from the book.

And here is a theologian’s nine-minute overview on “Zinzendorf and Early Moravians: 11 Things to Know about Their Work.” The presenter, J. D. Payne, serves as professor of Christian Ministry at Samford University. Click here.


Listen to J.D. Payne’s short video on 11 things to know about Zinzendorf and the Moravians, including their team approach for outreach.

Spoiler Alert! The author’s bullet-pointed 16-page summary in Chapter 26, “The Moravian Spirit,” is a helpful reference. He notes:
• “Zinzendorf was a resourceful, energetic, strong leader, but he did not dominate the congregation and community.”
• “Their experience being refugees themselves gave them an unusual compassion for oppressed people.”
• Excerpts from a poem by Zinzendorf: “Inactivity is not our attractiveness, Working and sweating refreshes and makes you rocklike. Our eyes are clear; our minds are in high spirits. There is nothing more beautiful than a dusty worker.”

Paul Wemmer’s sidebars and commentary add bulk to his narrative of Count Zinzendorf’s amazing story. I hope you’ll read this book—and it will touch you like it touched me.

PAILS IN COMPARISON: Reading this book reminded me of several other must-read books in the Crisis Bucket, plus other buckets/core competencies. 

[  ] Broken and Whole: A Leader’s Path to Spiritual Transformation, by Stephen A. Macchia (Read my review.)
[  ] Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry, by Ruth Haley Barton (Read my review.)
[  ] Outrageous: Awake to the Unexpected Adventures of Everyday Faith, by Aaron Tredway (Read my review.)
[  ] Serve Strong: Biblical Encouragement to Sustain God’s Servants, by Terry Powell (Read my review.)
[  ] Experiencing God (2021 Edition): Knowing and Doing the Will of God, by Henry Blackaby, Richard Blackaby, and Claude King (Read my review.)

To order from Amazon, click on the title for Count Zinzendorf and the Spirit of the Moravians, by Paul Wemmer. For more book reviews, visit John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and subscribe to Your Weekly Staff Meeting. 

© 2023 John Pearson Associates. All rights reserved.
Pails in Comparison is posted every once in a while. We do not accept any form of compensation from authors or publishers for book reviews. As an Amazon Associate, we earn Amazon gift cards from qualifying purchases. As a Libro.fm Affiliate, we earn credits. By subscribing to Your Weekly Staff Meeting, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Typepad.com’s privacy policy here.

Evangelical Exodus: Evangelical Seminarians and Their Paths to Rome

PIC No. 13: 
• Title: Evangelical Exodus: Evangelical Seminarians and Their Paths to Rome
• Author: Douglas M. Beaumont (Editor) and Francis J. Beckwith (Foreword)
• Publisher: Ignatius Press (April 15, 2016, 286 pages)
• Management Bucket #13 of 20: The Crisis Bucket



 Welcome to Issue No. 13 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—short reviews of helpful books—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system."

"Baptists Are Learning to Love Mary!"

In the very intriguing book, Evangelical Exodus, the author of the chapter, “Moved and Sustained by the Blessed Virgin,” quotes from Peter Kreeft’s lecture on ecumenism. Kraft says, “Baptists are learning to love Mary and pray the Rosary, and Catholics are asking, ‘Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?’”

I was raised in a Baptist church in Seattle, graduated from a Free Methodist-affiliated college (SPU), and received a master’s degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS), part of the Evangelical Free Church denomination. I served five years in the Midwest district office and camp of the Baptist General Conference (now called Converge). I have been a tithing member of an Evangelical Covenant Church and a non-denominational megachurch, so I thought I was somewhat ecumenical.

But I had never prayed the Rosary! Until this year! In February 2022, I was the only Protestant among 80 Catholic men at an all-day retreat—and (honest!) we prayed the Rosary together 250 times (over a four-hour teaching session)! We enjoyed three meals together and many informal conversations with my brothers in Christ. I still treasure that day and yearn for more.

Coincidently, over the last few months, I have read, reflected, and chewed on Evangelical Exodus and the personal and thoughtful narratives of nine evangelical seminarians (among dozens) who converted to Catholicism over a decade. Even more striking is that the seminary, Southern Evangelical Seminary, was led by Dr. Norman Geisler (1932-2019), “the seminary's founder, long-time president, and popular professor,” who had “written two full-length books and several scholarly articles criticizing Catholicism from an Evangelical point of view.” (I was a seminarian at TEDS when Geisler was on the TEDS faculty, before he launched SES.)

Subtitled, “Evangelical Seminarians and Their Paths to Rome,” Evangelical Exodus is edited by Douglas M. Beaumont (he shares his own story) and the book begins with a helpful and thoughtful foreword by Francis J. Beckwith. My neighborhood is religiously diverse, so when a Catholic neighbor and I were sharing our stories, he loaned me his copy of Evangelical Exodus. (He has a similar story and resonates with the narratives in the book.)

I’m reviewing this book because I urge my clients and colleagues to be lifelong learners. I’m embarrassed that—at my age—I’ve never dipped into Catholic theology or practice, even though my evangelical theology aligns far more with Catholic faith and practice than with the more liberal and mainstream brands of Protestantism. (And I should mention, during COVID I was privileged to attend mass on dozens of Sunday mornings— invited by the tech team, and sitting alone near them in the balcony, while the priest and musicians were the only in-person congregants to facilitate the online streaming of the mass.)

For the record, I don’t plan to convert—but I do appreciate much from my Catholic brothers and sisters. The book was helpful. Often, I longed for a conversation with the editor and the nine contributors. I wanted to go deeper—to push back a bit (“Was that decision out of personal preference or theologically-based?”). But also to affirm truths. I will think more about Christian unity, Christian history, and the massive disunity among Christian churches—at least in the U.S. (Does this really honor God? But…then maybe the Lord is OK with the disparate expression of His church on earth?)

The concluding chapter, “Why Evangelicals (Really) Become Catholic,” quotes Thomistic philosopher Gerald B. Phelan, who notes that believers convert for many reasons and enter through a variety of gates, including ancient tradition, truth, beauty, family, good, intellectual tradition, and other portals. One size/one story doesn’t fit all, of course.

The appendix includes four issues: the Biblical canon, Christian orthodoxy, Sola Scripture, and Sola Fide. Well-researched with an abundance of footnotes, the book also includes helpful short bios about the contributors. Evangelicals will also recognize footnotes citing (for a variety of reasons) many leading evangelicals including John MacArthur, Hank Hanegraaff, Gary Habermas, and others.

Note: I was especially pleased to see a footnote citing Bernard Ramm (1916-1992), the noted evangelical theologian and prolific author. For six years in the 1970s, I had the privilege of serving as executive director of Lake Sammamish Bible Camp (now SAMBICA) in Bellevue, Wash. It was reported that when Bernard Ramm attended the camp as a student, he happened to be on second base on the baseball field when he invited Jesus Christ to be his personal Savior. (I wish I knew “the rest of the story!”)

PAILS IN COMPARISON: Reading this book reminded me of several other must-read books in the Crisis Bucket (and other buckets/core competencies):

• 30 Days Unplugged: How a Catholic Priest Turned Off His iPhone and Took a Call From God (Full Color Edition), by Father Darrin Merlino, CMF (read my review)
• Wisdom from Lyle E. Schaller: The Elder Statesman of Church Leadership, edited by Warren Bird (read my review)
• Next Sunday: An Honest Dialogue About the Future of the Church, by Nancy Beach and Samantha Beach Kiley (order from Amazon) 
• The Pope & The CEO: John Paul II's Leadership Lessons to a Young Swiss Guard, by Andreas Widmer (read my review)
• Barna Trends 2018: What's New and What's Next at the Intersection of Faith and Culture (read my review) 

To order from Amazon, click on the title for Evangelical Exodus: Evangelical Seminarians and Their Paths to Rome, by Douglas M. Beaumont (Editor). For more book reviews, visit John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and subscribe to Your Weekly Staff Meeting.

© 2022 John Pearson Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.
Pails in Comparison is posted every once in a while. We do not accept any form of compensation from authors or publishers for book reviews. As an Amazon Associate, we earn Amazon gift cards from qualifying purchases. As a Libro.fm Affiliate, we earn credits. By subscribing to Your Weekly Staff Meeting, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Typepad.com’s privacy policy here.