Dan’s Bio:

As president of one of the nation’s largest family owned businesses, Dan Cathy represents the next generation of leadership for the Atlanta-based quick- service chicken restaurant chain founded by his father, S. Truett Cathy.  Eager to incorporate his own skills and talents into the business, Dan has taken an unconventional, yet personally and professionally rewarding approach to Chick-fil-A leadership.

Since 2001, Dan has served as the president and chief operating officer of Chick-fil-A, Inc., and he has personally challenged himself with upholding Chick-fil-A’s efforts to provide genuine, heartfelt hospitality, and ensuring that customers have an exceptional dining experience when visiting a Chick-fil-A Restaurant.  In his quest to provide customers with “2nd Mile Service” (exceeding even the highest expectations of a typical fast-food restaurant), Dan has defined a special role for himself – humbly saying, “I work in customer service.”

His personal passion is to see the fulfillment of the Chick-fil-A Corporate Purpose: “To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.”

For those outside of the South and now some on the West Coast, Chick-fil-A is one of the most amazing organizations on the planet. They have more than great food, they have great people.  I am blessed to know a great handful of people that work as operators of restaurants and also those that work at the corporate headquarters**.  The people you lead are a direct representation of your own leadership; thus, Dan has got a lot to share.  His main goal is to be a good steward of what God’s entrusted to them first, then worry about selling chicken.  That is unheard of in most of the business world. It doesn’t matter if you are in business or not, you can learn a lot from Dan and Chick-fil-A.

Apply today to be a part of Backstage Leadership and learn directly from Dan.

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** Thanks David, Jason, John, Chris, Lauren, DeeAnn, and many other. You guys are awesome.

Courageous Leadership, Bill Hybels

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This is the manuscript, blue print, text book for one of the best leaders today.  I devoured this book when it first came out.  Everyone knows Bill Hybels and the impact that his leadership through Willow Creek have had on the entire world.  The best part of this book is the very first sentence in the introduction.  I was floored when I read this.  I had the opportunity to meet him a few years ago and told him how much that sentence impacted me.  Bill has the ear of so many leaders, not to mention millions of people.  He’s built huge churches, help fund thousands of others, written books, spoken to Congress, been on every stage imaginable, but his sense of humility and eagerness to get better are incredible.  The first sentence of the book says, “I’ve waited thirty years to write this book.”  In other words, he didn’t think he was quite ready to share as he still had more to learn, more to grow, more to work on.  (Guess I should put on hold any plan of writing that leadership book!)
This is an incredible book with great insights into the life of Bill and Willow Creek, but it also has so many practical truths that can be implemented today.

Favorite Quotes:

“The local church is the hope of the world.”

“Leaders see the big picture and understand how to help others find their place of service within that picture.”

“Vision is at the very core of leadership.  Take vision away from a leader and you cut out his or her heart.”

“Visions are priceless. They are the holy entrustments from God that must be taken seriously.”

“If God has given you a kingdom vision, if you see it clearly and feel it deeply, you had better take responsibility for it. You had better give your life to it.  That’s why God made you a leader.  That’s your unique calling.  That’s what you and I will be held accountable for someday.”

“When I’m thinking clearly, I realize that I’d rather be known for being a man of love than a man of vision.”

Have you read this book?  Thoughts?

Visioneering, Andy Stanley

What do you know?  Andy made the list again.  This is by far my favorite of all of Andy’s books and really close to my favorite book by anyone.  This book opened my eyes to see ideas and vision in a brand new way.   I love ideas.  I have tons of ideas.  This book helped me figure out what to do with those ideas and how to process them.  Andy did such an amazing job of walking through the entire idea process.  More importantly though, he helps distinguish between an idea and a vision.  Vision goes beyond an idea.  An idea is “what could be.”  A vision carries with it a conviction.  A vision is not something that could be done, its something that should be done.  After reading this book, Nehemiah jumped way up the list of favorite leaders and heroes.

Favorite Quotes (there are way too many, so I’ll list a few)

“ A vision does not necessarily require immediate action.”

“Pray for opportunities and plan as if you expect God to answer your prayers.”

“God is using your circumstances to position and prepare you to accomplish his vision for your life.”

“What God originates, he orchestrates.”

“Communicate your vision as a solution to a problem that must be addressed immediately.”

“Don’t confuse your plans with God’s vision.”

“The end of a God-ordained vision is God.”

“The best way to silence your critics is to see your vision through to completion.”

“When you make a personal sacrifice for something you believe in, it gives you moral authority.”

Carlos’s official bio:
Carlos Whittaker is an artist, pastor, thinker, experience architect, and Web 2.0 junkie. Carlos was at  Sandals Church in Riverside California where he served for 10 years as the Pastor of Worship and Creative Arts.  Sandals Church is an authentic community of believers whose goal is to be real with themselves, others, and God.  His passion for leading the church into a relational worship experience each and every Sunday was his hearts goal.  In August of  2007 Carlos became the Director of Service Programming at Buckhead Church which is one of the three North Point Community Church campuses.  He oversees all the Sunday adult experience and design.  He directly oversees all areas Hosting, Production, Creative, Video, Music, and Programming at Buckhead Church.  He also sits on the creative sermon planning team for Andy Stanley. His widely read blog is Raggamuffinsoul.com.  Carlos and his wife Heather have 3 children and reside in Atlanta, GA.

To me Carlos was the worship leader at my brother’s church in California who had a cool blog. Now he’s much more, including a great example of character and love for God and people.   Carlos is unique in that you get to know a lot about him through his blog and tweets, but what’s awesome is that when you spend time with him offline, you find out he’s the real deal.  He loves his family.  He loves the church.  He loves people.  A few months ago my brother changed jobs and needed a place to stay for an indefinite amount of time.  Carlos let them live in his basement until they could buy a house.  Did I mention my brother has 3 kids under age 4 and Carlos has 3 children of his own?  It was an amazing example of serving others.  You will undoubtedly learn a lot from Carlos.  Whether you are a worship leader or business owner, you’re going to learn a lot from him.

Apply for Backstage Leadership today.  Spots are limited.

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Tribes, Seth Godin

There is no doubt that Seth Godin is incredibly brilliant.  His observations are sometimes so simple, yet so profound you are frustrated you didn’t see it first.  His books and blog are widely read and Tribes is by far his best. (Well, I really liked Free Prize Inside too).  Usually writing about marketing and branding and the like, Tribes is about leadership.  Its about how leading has changed in our world and how we need you to lead.  This is another book that is heavily underlined and written through.  It is a fairly short book, but could take you months to fully work through it.  I got it this past October and am currently on the third time through.

Favorite Quotes

“Management is about manipulating resources to get a known job done.”

“Leadership, on the other hand, is about creating change you believe in.”

“Managers make widgets.  Leaders make change.”

“Too many organizations care about numbers, not fans.”

“We choose not to be remarkable because we’re worried about criticism.”

“Leadership is scarce because few people are willing to go through the discomfort required to lead.”

“If you’re not uncomfortable in your work as a leader, it’s almost certain you’re not reaching your potential as a leader.”

“If no one cares, then you have no tribe.  If you don’t care—really and deeply care—then you can’t possibly lead.”

“There’s no record of Martin Luther King, Jr., or Gandhi whining about credit.  Credit isn’t the point.  Change is.”

Have you read this book?  Thoughts?

Whatever Happened to Worship?  A.W. Tozer

I first read this in college when I was leading worship for a fairly large weekly ministry.  There has been so much written on worship lately: Is it music?, what style is best?, who can lead worship?, how do you lead worship?  One of the issues with such questions is that they miss the point when it comes to worship.  The question that Tozer asks is Is our worship acceptable to God?  This book is a short but must read for all worship leaders, but even for those that long for a more intimate encounter with God.  While this is a far lesson known book of Tozer’s, it is a must read.

Favorite Quotes:

“Sometimes evangelical Christians seem to be fuzzy and uncertain about the nature of God and His purposes in creation and redemption. In such instances, the preachers are often to blame. There are still preachers and teachers who say that Christ died so we would not drink and not smoke and not to the theater.”

“God has never actually needed any of us—not one.”

“I would  rather worship God than do any other thing I know of in all this wide world.  I would not even attempt to tell you how many hymnbooks are piled up in my study. I cannot sing a lick, but that is nobody’s business.  God thinks I am an opera star!”

“A survey of church history will prove that it was those who were the yearning worshipers who also became the great workers.  Those great saints whose hymns we so tenderly sing were active in their faith to the point that we must wonder how the did it all.”

“There are too many weird ideas about God in our day and therefore there are all kinds of substitutes for true worship.”

“Today, it is not a question of whether we have Isaiah’s cleanness, but a question of whether we have his awareness.”

“That which I can explain will never bring me to the place of awe.  It can never fill me with astonishment or wonder or admiration.”

Mark’s official Bio

Mark Batterson serves as lead pastor of National Community Church (www.theaterchurch.com) in Washington, DC. NCC was recognized as one of the Most Innovative and Most Influential Churches in America by Outreach Magazine in 2008. One church with nine services in five locations, NCC is focused on reaching emerging generations. Approximately 70% of NCCers are single twenty-somethings.
The vision of NCC is to meet in movie theaters at metro stops throughout the DC area. NCC also owns and operates the largest coffeehouse on Capitol Hill. In 2008, Ebenezers was recognized as the #1 coffeehouse in the metro DC area by AOL CityGuide.  Mark has two Masters Degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago, Illinois. He is the author of a best-selling book, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. His latest release is Wild Goose Chase. And he is a daily blogger @ www.markbatterson.com.  Mark is married to Lora and they live on Capitol Hill with their three children: Parker, Summer, and Josiah.

I’ve only known Mark for a little while, but if you count his writing and speaking, then its a relationship of many years.  If you’ve read any of Mark’s books or his blog, then you know he’s an amazing communicator. In fact, Wild Goose Chase was a catalyst in the ministry of Backstage Leadership.  He once wrote on his blog that the reason he writes is because it gives him the opportunity to communicate to more people. More people learned from A.W. Tozer after his death than while he was alive.  Mark is sooooo down to earth and humble, yet you can not be around him and NOT get excited.  His passion to learn and grow as a leader and teacher is awesome. Mark told me he reads at least 100 books a year!!! But before kids it was 150 +.  He shared a little wisdom nugget on how he does that and I’ve thought about it almost every day for 5 months. I’m hoping to read 50+ this year.  You will learn a lot from him, I guarantee it. Check out Mark’s blog, follow him on twitter and check out his church if you’re in D.C.

Come be a part of the conversation with Mark. Join us on a learning journey where you’ll get to dialogue with Mark and ask him the questions you want to.

www.backstageleadership.org. Apply today.  Church planters, email apply@backstageleadership.org for possible scholarship opportunities.

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Communicating for a Change, Andy Stanley

For years, we’ve all been amazed at the messages that Andy would deliver, week after week, year after year.  Each given with such clarity and all so applicable to your life.  How in the world does he do that?  Well, I’m sure after thousands of people asking, Andy gave us this gem that takes us behind the scenes into his process of writing and delivering a message.  And even after reading this, we’re still amazed!  Andy is a truly gifted communicator and if you ever speak in public, at church,  or even have to lead the class in the pledge of allegiance, you’ll want to read this book!
This book has helped me so much in my teaching and speaking.

Favorite Quotes:

“Preaching for life change requires far less information and more application.”

“While I’m a firm believer that all Scripture is equally inspired, observation tells me that all Scripture is not equally applicable.”

“We don’t live our lives by points.  We live by our emotions.  We respond to what we see, taste, and feel.  So there’s no compelling reason to remember a list of points.”

“If YOU don’t know what it is you are dying to communicate, the audience certainly isn’t going to be able to figure it out.”

“If you preach from your weakness, you will never run out of material.”

“I find something very disingenuous about the speaker who says, ‘This is very, very important,’ and then reads something from his notes.”

“I never preach an entire message at home out loud.  But there are portions I do rehearse out loud the night before.  I always rehearse stories.”

“People engage easily when they are convinced that you are about to answer a question they’ve been asking, solve a mystery they have been unable to solve, or resolve a tension they have  been unable to resolve.”

“When you get stuck. Pray.”

Have you read this book?  Favorite quotes?

Next Generation Leader, Andy Stanley

I love leadership books.  I love Andy Stanley.  I love to be challenged to grow.  I first read this the year I graduated college during my first real job.  Man did it mess me up.  The is the first of 3 Andy books that made my reread top books.  One problem I have with this book is I find myself underlining every other sentence.  There are so many amazing truths and principles in there that I had to get a second pen to finish the book.  I’ve gone through this book numerous times and it always serves as a great refresher during down times. This is a must read for aspiring and seasoned leaders alike.

Favorite Quotes:

“Only do what only you can do”

“The moment a leader steps away from his core competencies, his effectiveness as a leader diminishes.”

“Capital follow courage, and what always precedes how.”

“If the pathway into the future were well lit, it would be crowded.”

“Don’t allow the many good opportunities to divert your attention from the one opportunity that has the greatest potential.”

“When the vision is fuzzy, people can’t follow.”

“When leaders are no longer willing to dream, it is only a short time before followers are unwilling to follow.”

“The more responsibility you assume as a leader, the more uncertainty you will be expected to manage.”

“Plans change; visions remain the same.”

“You can lead without character, but character is what makes you a leader worth following.”

Have you read this book?  Favorite quotes?

I’m a reader. I love a good book.  I love a new book.  I love old books.  I also have a certain affinity to a couple books that I find myself reading for a second, third or fourth time.

Besides the Bible, here are a few that I really enjoy to come back to-often.

How Now Shall We Live?, Chuck Colson.

This book radically changed my life.  After reading this book, I entered Chuck’s Centurion program so I could learn more from him.  This is one of the longest (maybe longest?) non-fiction books I’ve ever read.  I go through certain parts of this book every few months.  It is so rich and deep.  In this book I first saw that Christianity is more than a religion or a faith.  It is in fact a worldview where we can see all of reality.  This book opened my eyes to the potential that the church can have in radically changing the world. A must, must read.

Favorite Quotes:

Favorite quotes:

“Don’t get me wrong.  We need prayer, Bible study, worship, fellowship and witnessing.  But if we focus exclusively on these disciplines—and if in the process we ignore our responsibility to redeem the surrounding culture—our Christianity will remain privatized and marginalized.”

“Our choices are shaped by what we believe is real and true, right and wrong, good  and beautiful.  Our choices are shaped by our worldview.”

“Christianity cannot be limited to only one component of our lives, a mere religious practice or observance, or even a salvation experience.  We are compelled to see Christianity as the all-encompassing truth, the root of everything else. It is ultimate reality.”