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
Cynthia Woolever and Deborah Bruce, Leadership That Fits Your Church: What Kind of Pastor for What Kind of Congregation. Chalice Press, 2012. Referenced in: Ministry Transitions Ministry Burnout, Preventing Minister Self-Care Minister Support Systems LifeandLeadership.com Summary Anything in The Columbia Partnership (TCP) Leadership Series is worth reading. This text is no different. It shares part
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
Henry Cloud, Necessary Endings: The Employees, Businesses, and Relationships That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Move Forward. HarperBusiness, 2011. Referenced in: Ministry Transitions, Ending Ministry, Leave-Taking LifeandLeadership.com Summary Cloud is one of the authors of the famed Boundaries series, and this book is written in that vein, i.e. helping people
Molly Dale Smith, Editor, Transitional Ministry: A Time of Opportunity. Church Publishing, 2009. Referenced in: Ministry Transitions, Interim Ministry LifeandLeadership.com Summary This is a good collection of articles on all the dynamics of intentional interim ministry. The chapters are very informative, and the appendices list a number of resources for further help. The authors prefer
James E. Hightower and W. Craig Gilliam, A Time for Change? Re-Visioning Your Call. Alban Institute, 2000. Referenced in: Ministry Transitions LifeandLeadership.com Summary This makes a unique contribution to literature on ministry transitions, speaking strictly to situations where ministers may migrate out of ministry into another career field. From the Publisher Many professional ministers struggle
Dennis R. Maynard, When Sheep Attack. CreateSpace, 2010. Referenced in: Church Conflict, Difficult People Ministry Transitions LifeandLeadership.com Summary Maynard addresses what happens when a small group of antagonists maneuver successfully to completely derail a ministry, despite strong support from the vast majority of the congregation. This is not the norm, but neither is it uncommon,
Bob Buford, Finishing Well: What People Who Really Live Do Differently!. Integrity Publishers, 2005. Referenced in: Ministry Transitions and Interim Ministry From the Publisher ON THE EDGE OF A NEW FRONTIER Author Bob Buford calls them “pathfinders” — individuals for whom age 40 and beyond has been an opportunity to further their significance rather than
Robert M. Galford and Regina Fazio Maruca, Your Leadership Legacy: Why Looking to the Future Will Make You a Better Leader. Perseus Distribution Services, 2006. Referenced in: Ministry Transitions and Interim Ministry From the Publisher You should worry about your legacy later in your career, at the edge of retirement—right? Not according to Robert Galford
David L. McKenna, The Leader’s Legacy. Barclay Press, 2006. Referenced in: Ministry Transitions and Interim Ministry From the Publisher “Succession begins before we assume a position of leadership, not when we get ready to leave it,” writes David McKenna. Instead of focusing narrowly on how a leader can maximize his or her role, McKenna illuminates
