Ruth Haley Barton, Pursuing God’s Will Together: A Discernment Practice for Leadership Groups (Transforming Center Set). IVP Books, 2012. Referenced in: Church Staff, Ministry Staff, Leadership Teams Ministry Transitions (Pastoral Search) Plural Elder Church Leadership (Elder Selection) LifeandLeadership.com Summary In the introduction, Barton provides some important definitions. First, she says of discernment, Discernment literally means
Danny E. Morris and Charles M. Olsen, Discerning God’s Will Together: A Spiritual Practice for the Church. Revised and Updated. Alban Institute, 2012. Related volumes: Olsen and Morseth, Selecting Church Leaders: A Practice in Spiritual Discernment Olsen and Morris, Transforming Church Boards Into Communities of Spiritual Leaders Referenced in: Church Staff, Ministry Staff, Leadership Teams
John and Miriam Carver, Policy Governance Model Referenced in: Policy Governance Model on Church Leadership LifeandLeadership.com Summary John and Miriam Carver are the originators of the Policy Governance Model, which is one of the most widely used board governance models in the world. Though not addressed specifically to churches, it is adopted by many congregations
Timothy Z. Witmer, The Shepherd Leader: Achieving Effective Shepherding In Your Church. P and R Publishing, 2010. Referenced in: Plural-Elder Congregational Leadership LifeandLeadership.com Summary As a professor at Westminster Theological Seminary, Witmer writes from a Reformed Presbyterian perspective. What he suggests fits better within Presbyterian church governance, and may not be as applicable for Plural-Elder/Congregational
Blaine McCormick and David Davenport, Shepherd Leadership: Wisdom for Leaders from Psalm 23. Jossey-Bass, 2003. Referenced in: Shepherd Leadership LifeandLeadership.com Summary Some literature on shepherd leadership focuses on intense pastoral identification with those a leader serves, e.g. Lynn Anderson, They Smell Like Sheep. Others, such as this volume by McCormick and Davenport, use the shepherd
Ron Clark, Emerging Elders: Developing Shepherds in God’s Image. Leafwood Publishers, 2008. Referenced in: Plural-Elder Congregational Leadership Empowering Ministry Belief Systems and Structures LifeandLeadership.com Summary This one-of-a-kind text comes out of Ron Clark’s experience as a minister with the Agape Church of Christ in Portland, Oregon. Clark’s thesis is that congregations ought to continually seek
Aubrey Malphurs, Leading Leaders: Empowering Church Boards for Ministry Excellence, A New Paradigm for Board Leadership. Baker, 2005. Prequels: Malphurs, Being Leaders Malphurs and Mancini, Building Leaders Referenced in: Policy Governance Models for Church Leaders LifeandLeadership.com Summary This is the third in a series on leadership development by Aubrey Malphurs. The first was Being Leaders
Aubrey Malphurs and Will Mancini, Building Leaders: Blueprints for Developing Leadership at Every Level of Your Church. Baker, 2004. Prequel: Malphurs, Being Leaders (2003) Sequel: Malphurs, Leading Leaders (2005) Referenced in: Leadership Development in Congregations Congregational Ministry Teams LifeandLeadership.com Summary This is the second of a trilogy on leadership by Aubrey Malphurs, this time co-authored
Timothy Laniak, Shepherds After My Own Heart: Pastoral Tradition and Leadership in the Bible. New Studies in Biblical Theology, Volume 20. IVP Academic, 2006. Companion volume (less academic version): While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks: Rediscovering Biblical Leadership Referenced in: Plural-Elder Congregational Leadership Pastoral Theology Shepherd Leadership LifeandLeadership.com Summary These are two separate texts, one that
Les Stahlke with Jennifer Loughlin, Governance Matters: Balancing Client and Staff Fulfillment in Faith-based Not-for-Profit Organizations. GovernanceMatters.com, 2003. Companion volume: Stahlke, Church Governance Matters Referenced in: Policy Governance Models for Church Leadership LifeandLeadership.com Summary This is similar to the Policy Governance Model as originated by John and Miriam Carver and applied to churches by Dan
