David Davenport Libri

President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal is widely understood as a turning point in American history. Roosevelt’s decisions of 1933 reset the balance of power away from Congress and the states toward a strong executive branch. They shifted the federal government away from the Founders’ vision of deliberation and moderation toward war and action. Modern-day presidents have declared war on everything from poverty and drugs to crime and terror. Exploring the consequences of these ill-defined (and never-ending) wars, this book calls for a re-examination of this destructive approach to governance.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me bedside the still waters; He restoreth my soul. Today's professionals need reliable models to teach them how to become better leaders. In this remarkable book, leadership experts Blaine McCormick and David Davenport introduce us to a new kind of leader by offering a new image of leadership— the leader as shepherd. Drawing on the wisdom of the timeless Twenty-Third Psalm, King David's psalm, the authors provide professionals with ancient wisdom for grappling with today's leadership challenges. Shepherd Leadership offers a much-needed lens through which to consider our own leadership as well as the leadership of those around us. This important book teaches us important lessons about leadership: we can be vigilant without being adversarial, we can serve without being passive, and we can guide without commanding. Shepherd Leadership offers a visionary new model for transforming leadership practices in both corporate and small business settings. This is whole-person leadership. It's not just a matter of thinking or doing things a certain way. It's a fully integrated life— a matter of head and hand and heart. It's a way of thinking and doing and being.

The Civic Education Crisis: How We Got Here, What We Must Do is a call to action, an effort to save our republic through better civic education. America faces a crisis in civic education that imperils the long-term health of the country. Too many Americans--especially young people--do not have the knowledge of history and principles necessary to sustain the republic. In what has become a vicious cycle, young people are not learning about their country--its history and how it works--and they grow up disengaged and distrustful. Too many young people do not understand the principles of self-government on which America was founded. And they do not understand America's history as the story of the struggle to live up to those principles of freedom articulated in documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Instead, too many believe that America's story is essentially one of oppression, not freedom--injustice, not hope. In the first half of the book, authors Jeff Sikkenga and David Davenport diagnose the problem while proposing solutions in the second half. Truly, America faces a civics crisis and action is needed now to reverse the trend.