How many times have you met someone and immediately formed a favorable or an unfavorable opinion about them?  Honestly, we’ve all made what I’d like to call, “snap-judgments.”  Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking is written by Malcolm Gladwell on how we make decisions about people (and many other things) without full knowledge.

The author describes the main subject of his book as “thin-slicing:” our ability to gauge what is really important from a very narrow period of experience.  In other words, spontaneous decisions are often as good as—or even better than—carefully planned and considered ones.   Gladwell explains how an expert’s ability to “thin slice” can be corrupted by their likes and dislikes, prejudices and stereotypes.

Whew, that was pretty heavy.
Take a deep breath…relax…are you still with me?

Here’s what Gladwell is saying:  People rarely make decisions as a product of long deliberation.  They make take weeks to announce a decision but often make the decision in minutes, perhaps seconds.

People do not gather data to make a decision;
they often gather it to JUSTIFY their decision!

They are not accumulating understanding; they are seeking comfort and support.  Most decisions are made, and then justified, rather than the other way around.

Therefore, that leads me to one obvious implication: “First impressions are really lasting impressions.”  The first impression, with startling frequency, is also the FINAL DECISION.

HERE’S THE POINT:
The first thing to plan for is your first impression.
Why, once a mind is made up, seldom does it change.

Has anyone judged you based on their first impression?

Have you ever judged someone based on your first impression?

As I mentioned in my previous post, I absolutely love reading books!  Consequently, I’ve read a lot of books in the last 10 years.  There are many books that I consider to have greatly been a part of literally transforming my life.  There were many great books that didn’t make my list that are classics and didn’t meet the criteria that I considered.

Additionally, since I have so many recommendations, I’ve decided to break them down into the following categories: Church Growth, Theology, Christian Living, Leadership, Self-Improvement, Business, Sociology, and African-American Studies.  I will devote blog space to cover each category in subsequent posts.

Here we go:

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I love reading books, and like many of you, I read a lot of books in the last 10 years.  Half of the decade I spent in graduate school (finishing up my Doctor of Ministry degree) so there were a lot of books to be read and I just really enjoy reading anyways.  I read about 500 books this last decade and there were a lot of great ones….some good ones….and some not so good ones. But there were definitely some books that stood out and really changed my life.

There are many books that I consider to have greatly been a part of spiritually transforming my life.  When I chose my books there were some basic criteria that I considered:

1. I didn’t list the bible, because I’m hoping you assume that that is the book that has spiritually transformed me the most.
2. They were memorable (some books are just forgettable, and these were not)
3. They didn’t have to be written this decade
4. They are ones that I recommend to everyone
5. They are leading works in their field
6. They are ones that I have read multiple times, or are back on the reading rotation to read again
7. They needed to have fundamentally shifted some area of my thinking–paradigm shifting influence
8. They transformed me spiritually (my theology, my ministry, my prayer life, my leadership, my preaching, my counseling, my pastoring, my understanding of humanity, my relationship with God, etc.)

Additionally, since I have so many recommendations, I’ve decided to break them down into the following categories: Church Growth, Theology, Christian Living, Leadership, Self-Improvement, Business, Sociology, and African-American Studies.  I will devote blog space to cover each category in subsequent posts.

Here we go:

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