Book Shelf
Pastor's library: Chris Ong Arrow 6
My reading strategy is really to get exposure to a wide spectrum of topics that intersect my life. I draw my list from friends and best seller lists and so not everything I read is overtly 'Christian', however, I do read it all with a 'Christ' lens.
Drive by Daniel Pink
A fantastic book on motivation. If you thought that motivation was basically two words (carrot and stick), you'll learn a lot from Daniel Pink's new research into intrinsic motivation. Applicable to not-for-profit ministries as well as addressing motivation in our own family. I've revamped our household pocket money system based on this :)
Irresistible Church by Wayne Cordiero
I love the accessibility of this book. Our senior leadership team is currently reading through this and it gives us a good platform for discussing our church culture and the kinds of things we'd like to change. Very much aimed at the layman, but packed with great concepts and engaging stories. It's also really current (came out in 2011). I like Wayne Cordiero's books and would recommend most of them including "Doing Church as a Team" and "Culture Shift".
Lying by Sam Harris
OK. Sam Harris is definitely not a Christian. However, this short e-book does a fantastic job of promoting honestly and making the case against lying to a secular person. I found it a really insightful read, and it helped me better articulate the advantages of honesty for when I do marriage counselling or mentoring.
Christian Mission: How Christianity Became a World Religion by Dana L. Robert
Find out how Christianity grew through the ages, not just by big acts done by highly influential rulers and kingdoms but through the ground level impact of ordinary people living out Christian lives. Another good book that helps us understand how Christianity got to spread from one small part of the world to most of the world. As a Malaysian-born Chinese living in Australia I'm always amazed (and grateful) that Gospel made it to me and changed my whole life.
Civilization: The West and the Rest by Niall Ferguson
A secular take on the Rise of the West by a professor of History at Harvard. He credits Protestant Work Ethic as one of the key forces of the growth of the West (among other things).
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath
If you like reading change management books, and books by Malcolm Gladwell or Seth Godin, books by Dan and Chip Heath are always good value. I love the analogy of change being like the Rider, Elephant and the Path. The Rider being the Thinking element, the Elephant being the emotional side and the Path the surrounding environment.
*These books are not endorsed by Arrow Australia, nor do they necessarily represent the values of Arrow.
(Links to Amazon)
Glenda's choice
Who sank the boat? by Pamela Allen
Sometimes just the littlest of things seem to 'sink' our boat.
A life lesson...
who or what really did sink the boat?
What doesn't kill us: 
The new psychology of posttraumatic growth by Prof. Stephen Joseph
We have been told that suffering will be part of life. This book challenges current notions about trauma being a curse.
All cats have asperger syndrome by Kathy Hoopmann
If you talk to; counsel or wish to affirm or help a parent this is a must buy. Beautiful.
*These books are not endorsed by Arrow Australia, nor do they necessarily represent the values of Arrow.