I need to confess, I'm a bit of a leadership geek. I've probably read every Maxwell, Lencioni, and Godin book available. I follow blogs, read articles and pay pretty close attention to what's happening in the world of leadership both inside and outside the church. OK, maybe I'm more than just a bit obsessed. So, when I was given the opportunity to get an advance copy of The Eric Trap I naturally said yes, please!
While I have learned lots of things from the authors I've mentioned; their work doesn't always translate easily to Kids Ministry and to the people I lead who are just a little less enthusiastic. I've handed these books to people on my teams only to have them respond with something like, "I just want to do ministry" or "how does this apply to kidmin?" I can't wait to hand the people on my team The Eric Trap!
The Eric Trap is a leadership fable by Kenny Conley, Sam Luce, and Jim Wideman with several other contributors.
We are immediately drawn into a week in the life of Eric Newman - a gifted Children's Pastor whose leadership is a bit off track. Eric is confronted with 5 areas of leadership that he has to get right in order to get out of the messy place he finds himself. In addition to a compelling story, we get some great insight from some terrific leaders.
Here's my recommendation:
If you feel like everything in life and ministry is great - read this book. It's a great reminder to pay attention to those 5 things we must do well.
If you feel like your ministry world is caving in just a bit - read this book. You may learn some things by experiencing Eric's "no good, very bad week."
By the way, I was given an advance copy of The Eric Trap for the purposes of giving it an honest review, but you can get your very own copy beginning on April 25th at The Orange Conference and at Amazon soon after. You can also pre-order the book for a huge discount over at Jim Wideman’s site! In the meantime, you can check out the book’s website at TheEricTrap.com.
