This page will contain links to files on the topic of leadership. The files will either be Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF. To download the free Adobe Reader program, click here. To open any file, click on the underlined title/link.
Leading Your Church Through Grief and Loss is a 3 page article by Pete Scazzero from Rick Warren's weekly email newsletter, "Ministry Toolbox," www.pastors.com. There are lots of good books and articles out there about grief and loss. What I particularly liked about Pete's article is the way he candidly addresses some of the ways Christian faith is used to squelch healthy expressions of grief and loss. I also like the way Pete links leadership, emotional health, and spiritual practices. I've just ordered his book, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, and can recommend his first book, The Emotionally Healthy Church.
Planning Maps is a one page PDF file that contains a brief description of 3 dichotomies:
- Adaptive Challenges vs. Technical Problems
- God's Work vs. Our Work
- Gifts vs. Skills
Follow Me is an article posted with permission from the September 4, 2007 issue the Christian Century, www.christiancentury.org. In this article, Anthony Robinson gives a helpful review of 5 new books on re-claiming discipleship in mainline protestant denominations. (In passing he also makes reference to two now older books, Purpose Driven Church, by Rick Warren, and Power Surge, by Michael Foss.
Loosen Up: When Chaos Is Creative is an article posted with permission from the September 18, 2007 issue of the Christian Century, www.christiancentury.org. In this article, Barabara Brown Zikmund reviews the book, The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations, by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom. The review (and book) gives a helpful description of resilient, de-centralized organizations, and suggestions for how this analysis applies to mainstream protestant organizations. Unfortunately there are no real aids for suggesting how to get from where we are as highly centralized beauraucratic to the new ideal.
