David Canada, Spiritual Leadership in the Small-Membership Church (Ministry in the Small Membership Church Series). Abingdon Press, 2005.
Referenced in: Small Church Leadership
LifeandLeadership Summary
Canada’s themes are that the congregation’s spiritual growth is an outgrowth of the leader’s personal development, and that the two ways this most tangibly expresses itself are inclusiveness and hospitality.
Using a parable of a garden, Canada suggests that a leader must first prepare and cultivate the soil of his own heart, “experiencing God’s presence in time and space.” Some of this is individual work, but most of it must be worked out in community through a process of integrating feeling, knowing, and doing. This results in integrity, inner wholeness, which in turn allows one to welcome others into his/her life. He then proposes that small membership churches may become spiritually forming communities as the leader tills the congregational soil through the practices of worship, Holy Communion, Bible study, prayer, spiritual friendship, and deeds of kindness and mercy. He explores the conflicts and fears that often block this development and how the leader can overcome these, primarily through pastoral care. The last chapters cover strategies for arriving at inclusive and welcoming small churches.
Not all will share Canada’s emphases on and definitions of inclusiveness and hospitality, and those who expect strong theological integration will be disappointed. This may not be a primary source on small church development or even congregational spiritual formation (see resource guide on Spiritual Formation), but it is a helpful supplement.
From the Publisher
Helps small membership church pastors see the spiritual development of their church in ways that tie directly to their own spiritual formation, resulting in a spiritual maturity as evidenced by inclusiveness and hospitality. The pressures of the church “doing business” often push pastors to the point that they neglect that which is central to all that they and the church are supposed to be doing – spiritual growth or leadership. Too few resources are specifically designed to address this subject from within the context of the small-membership church. This book will address both of these issues. Spiritual leadership is defined as the art or practice through which the leader helps others move toward spiritual maturation. It begins with spiritual instincts and moves to spiritual insights to spiritual initiative to spiritual integrity and finally to spiritual inclusiveness. This book focus on how this process works within the life of the pastor and moves to the life of the small membership church, and includes concrete examples of how the pastor functions as a facilitator of spiritual formation will be given. Particular attention is given to ways in which the setting of the small-membership church both hinder and encourage spiritual growth.
About the Author
David Canada is a United Methodist Pastor.
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