I’m going to spend the week reviewing some great books that I’ve read over the last couple of weeks.

But I did want to mention that Nelson Searcy and I just did a podcast covering what we thought were the top 8 books of 2008.

You can listen to the podcast here.

It was tough to narrow it down to just 8 books, but I hope they are a benefit to you as you think about what to read in 2009.

I’m a big fan of Rick Warren’s, so when I saw “The Purpose of Christmas” I naturally picked it up. I really this book. I thought it was just going to be a transcription of a series by the same name that he did a couple of years ago, but it was much more.

I think this book is a great evangelistic tool as well as a great resource for Pastors who have to write Christmas messages every year

I encourage you to pick up the book. I believe you’ll enjoy the conversational style and the heavy Scriptural content.

If you’ve never experienced at night at the Ritz-Carlton, then you’re missing out on some of the greatest customer service available on the planet. That’s why I’m so glad that Joseph Michell wrote “The New Gold Standard: 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company”. The book was incredibly thorough and tells the story of the Ritz-Carlton not just for the sake of telling a good story, but to paint the picture of their commitment to serve those that are staying at their hotel.

I was blown away by the commitment to the common vision of the Ritz by each employee, the training they give each employee, and the dedication each staff member gives for this vision.

I was challenged personally by the book and asked myself if I am as committed to the vision God has given me as they as to the vision the CEO of the Ritz has handed down to them.

If you’re a Pastor or serve in an area of first impressions, hospitality, or assimilation, then pick this book up and devour it! You’ll be glad you did.

If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, then you know that I’m a huge fan of Disney. I’ve probably been to Disney World more than 30 times and I look forward to going every chance I get.

What I’ve also become a fan of is their leadership and training materials. Their book, “Be our Guest” is required reading on our staff as Disney has really set the bar on how to create a “Wow” experience. So when I saw that the Disney Institute had put out a book on leadership, I ordered Creating Magic: 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney immediately and put every other book of hold until this one was done.

Needles to say, they didn’t disappoint. Lee Cockerell, one of the Disney Institute’s trainers and former Disney exec. talks about the 10 leadership principles that makes Disney who they are. It was great stuff. You’ll be nodding your head agreeing with stud on every page.

One of my favorite sections is the riff on “Guestology” at Disney. This is where they become students of their guest and try to anticipate the needs of their guests. The parallels to church are endless. This book crosses over nicely to our role as leaders in the church.

So I highly recommend the book and look forward to hearing your feedback about it.

Here’s a couple of books I’ve read over the last week that I want to put on your radar:

101 Ways to Market Your Business – This is obviously a business book, but it has some great ideas that churches could use. I walked away with about 25 ideas ideas that we couple implement immediately. If you’re a Pastor, this is a good book to pick up.

Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln – I’ve been hearing about this book for a couple of years and I finally got around to reading it. It’s 21 principles for public speaking. I found this book very helpful.

Comeback Churches – I really enjoyed this book. It’s not just a book for churches that have gotten stuck, but I believe these principles can be applied to an area in your church or the church as a whole.

Happy reading!