Book Review – “Culture to Culture” by Nan Leaptrott

Posted by admin in Culture to Culture on December 21, 2011

Culture to Culture: Mission Trip Do’s and Don’ts

by Nan Leaptrott

340 pages, $14.99

ISBN: 0-89957-156-5

Nonfiction – Practical Theology/Anthropology

Review by Steven King, MBA, MEd

Nan Leaptrott, an internationally renowned speaker and founder of Global Business Consultants, has written an indispensible aid for those entertaining activities in global mission work. Her Culture to Culture should be required reading for anyone contemplating service on the mission field-it should be in all church libraries; a required part of the curriculum in Bible college and/or seminary; and given to all who are ordained as a missionary. Read the rest of this entry »

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Book Summary: Better – A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance – Written by Atul Gawande

Posted by admin in Book Summary on December 21, 2011

Dr. Gawande is an excellent author. Anytime I can learn from a Harvard graduate then I will spend the time on it. “Better” talks about certain simplistic conclusions from complex problems. Being a positive deviant is how Dr. Gawande characterizes being successful and making progress in medicine or any endeavor.

Why is this important to me? Inevitably you will come across complex issues in your life. Taking a diligent approach to solving these issues will usually result in simple solutions. Better talks about how to do that. What does it take to be good at something in which failure is so easy, so effortless? Dr. Gawande tells a story of one of his patients that was admitted under his care when he was in medical school. The patient was stable and needed to be put under observation. She complained of insomnia and sweats the night before. The senior resident told him to keep a close eye on her and he agreed to see her mid-day. That one simple assumption almost cost the patient her life. The senior resident checked on her first and she had a fever and needed to be put into the ICU. She lived and was sent home fine a few days later. The point of this story is that a simple assumption to check on the patient in a couple hours could have cost her – her life. One simple thing to do separates life and death.

Better is broken down in three main parts which I will touch on briefly and then we will talk about Dr. Gawande’s recommendations for becoming a positive deviant. Read the rest of this entry »

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The Public Library – Are Public Libraries Still Relevant?

Posted by admin in Public Library on December 21, 2011

The internet has competition. There is another, long neglected source of information available. Like the World Wide Web, it’s mostly free and is an excellent source of entertainment and research, but it’s been around much longer than any website.

It had been far too long since I’d set foot in my local library. I’d simply lost the habit. Life, as they say, had got in the way. It’s one of those things that you don’t do unless you make a special effort. So I made that special effort, and I’m extremely glad that I did.

The slightly stuffy atmosphere that I remembered from my youth was gone, replaced by a helpful, friendly ambience. The dark wood shelves and heavy velvet drapes had been replaced too, by a light welcome airiness. Most delightfully, I felt a return of the sense of wonder that visits to the library had always conjured up in my youth. The endless possibilities held within each book was still there, but now they had been joined by computer terminals and data discs which, just like their paper cousins, were filled with everything that an inquisitive mind might desire. The adventure, the horror, the learning of the ages and so much more were still there to be rediscovered by each generation just as I had done all those years ago. More information than any one person could ever hope to learn was held within this building, a living and growing thing available to anyone prepared to make the smallest of efforts. Read the rest of this entry »

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