Daniels, T. Scott - The First 100 Days: A Pastor's Guide

[Dan Ross]

For those of you who actually purchase new books, would someone buy a copy of Scott Daniels new book coming soon an post a review?

http://www.amazon.com/First-100-Days-Pastors-Guide/dp/0834125544/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1301168441&sr=1-1

[Dan Ross]

Oh, also, if you plan on applying for the position of Sr Pastor at Aurora Church of the Nazarene in Shoreline, Wa. this book might be a good head start.:ihe_cowboy:

[Ryan Scott]

I have this one coming in the mail soon.

[Matt Zimmer]

I just finished reading The First 100 Days: A Pastor's Guide (http://www.nph.com/nphweb/html/bhol/itempage.jsp?itemId=9780834125544&nid=srch&catalogId=NA&catSecCd=NA&subCatSecCd=NA&subSubCatSecCd=NA) by T. Scott Daniels. Again, because I am an "insider" here at Beacon Hill Press (NPH) I tried to pick up this book and simply read it as one who simply needs this kind of guidance, but may not have a mentor to guide me, or the luxury of many years of pastoral experience and multiple transitions. I tried to read this with no preconceived ideas of Scott as a "mega-church pastor." Rather I tried to read as one standing in need of the advise one could desperately need in order to make his/her first 100 days as a new pastor as meaningful and healthy as possible.

What I discovered first in reading this is Scott's candid approach about "not knowing it all!" Scott is not simply being self-effacing, he just realizes that no one really can "know it all." In fact, Scott is candid about mistakes, even ones he regretted and maybe still regrets when it came to making moves to new ministry assignments. In this regard I think you get a tone and feel in Scott's writing that is humble yet sage. Along these lines, I never got the feeling that Scott was talking "down" to me as a reader but as one professional to another. I liked that a lot!

Trajectory. This is the word Scott uses to launch all other discussions and topics in the book. A solid trajectory is key in launching anything deemed important in our lives. With trajectory we want our social and political capital as pastors to rise in healthy and steady fashion and unlike a president (FDR) who coined the "first 100 days" phraseology, a pastor has little to no social and political capital to establish policies or power much like a president would. So, with this, Scott, in narrative fashion, of course, leads us down the path of what earning the needed capital and transitioning into healthy new ministry can look like.

Highlights of this book are that it is sold in hard-bound fashion. This book could get beat up and you want to keep it. It'll look nice on your shelf. This book also contains great ideas on "early wins" "taking care of your family" "how to be a historian" "how to pick battles that matter" and "how to care for yourself in transition." I also admired how Scott shared from some personal hurt with ways that he might have been more patient and saved his wife and kids some grief and heart-ache with past decisions and transitions. These are all helpful things to us all on the road.

If you are a younger pastor and "mentor-less" right now, you should get this book and read it through with a trusted pastoral mentor. If you are coming up on retirement or are retired as a pastor and you have the inner fortitude and leading from God to mentor some young ministers, you should get this book and make a phone call to offer some personal insight. Finally, this book is for all pastors seeking to better serve Christ's Church in new or potentially new ministry assignments.

Matt Zimmer

[Ryan Scott]

It says mine will ship May 3. When I get it, I will read it.

[Ryan Scott]

It finally arrived last week and I took the time to read it this morning (only about an hour - it moves quickly). As good as advertised. I listen to Scott's sermon every week, so he's already been a bit of a mentor to me, even though we've only met one time, briefly. I really appreciate the detailed simplicity of this book. I've already made plans to re-read it with a pen and paper to make a checklist of all the things he suggest doing in moving to a new ministry setting. I'm not planning to move in the near future, but there's also a lot of things that will be really helpful in strengthening my current assignment and improving the effort I am able to give.

Many thanks to Scott and NPH for putting this book together.