5 Must-Reads for Students – Dr. Heather Thompson Day
What are your 60? In the Fall 2020 CCU Review, President Sweeting challenged CCU students to find 60 books that will guide your life. To get you started, we asked Dr. Heather Thompson Day for 5 books that every CCU student should read. Dr. Day is an associate professor of Communication and Rhetoric at CCU. She is an interdenominational speaker, contributor for Newsweek, and author of six books.
1. Radical by David Platt
David Platt asks us what it means to fully commit to Christ in his book Radical. Platt argues that the American Dream’s pursuit of prosperity, comfort, and materialism clashes with Christ’s call on our life. As Christians, we have altered the gospel to fit our culture and make Jesus more palatable to others.
We want to be dependent on ourselves and desire monetary gain. To us, God and the church are a part-time commitment. How can we change this? Can we make God the center of our lives? Platt calls us to take part in a one-year radical experiment. This experiment of radical obedience will turn your life upside down and orient your life towards the truth.
2. Start with Why by Simon Sinek
Why do you get up in the morning every day? Simon Sinek’s book Start with Why, explores the power of having purpose. Many organizations can explain how or what they do, but few can explain why they do what they do. There are clear biological and neurological reasons that make having a “why” so crucial and effective.
Sinek argues that when you start with why you start with the end goal in mind instead of manipulating the circumstances to get the end result. Instead of competing with everyone around you, you should always be competing against yourself. Starting with why gives people a reason to care about your product, gives your employees drive, and gives your life purpose.
3. The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson
The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson tells us the story of Honi the circle maker. During droughts, Honi drew a circle in the sand and prayed radically for his people. He refused to leave the circle until God answered his prayer. We should be just as bold in our prayer. Our God is all powerful so our prayers should accurately reflect his attributes.
Batterson shows us a new way to pray by drawing circles around our biggest prayers. He invites us to emulate Honi and pray circles around college, debt, and our futures. Batterson believes that bold prayers honor God and God honors bold prayers.
4. Words Can Change Your Brain by Andrew Newberg, M.D., and Mark Robert Waldman
Andrew Newberg, M.D. and Mark Waldman’s book Words Can Change Your Brain explains that people are generally unskilled at communicating with other people. To remedy this issue, they offer their communication model, “compassionate communication.”
Newberg and Waldman’s model argues that when we begin to use both sides of our brains, our brains physically change. Not only do our brains change, but the people we talk to change. What do we do with this information? How can compassionate communication be practically used? Newberg and Waldman present 12 steps to become a compassionate communicator. These 12 steps will lead you to use both sides of your brain which will change your communication with others.
5. Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman and Greg Mckeown
In her book, Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, Liz Wiseman tells us that the workplace is rapidly changing and is in need of leaders with a specific leadership style. These leaders are Multipliers. Multipliers see, value, and strengthen the people around them. Multipliers work with the assumption that the people around them are smart and will figure things out on their own.
Wiseman uses her research to show how crucial it is for an organization to have leaders who are Multipliers. She believes that anyone can become a Multiplier and offers practical strategies to become a better leader. As Christians, we are called to be Multipliers inside and outside the workplace. We need to be people who value and uplift those around us.
