Ministry leadership has evolved substantially. Vital faith communities are finding creative ways to develop leaders for service in the congregation and community. Find out more about new and exciting ways to nurture and renew leadership in your congregation and beyond.

LEADERSHIP

Church Leadership: Vision, Team, Culture and Integrity (Book)
Lovett H. Weems Jr., Author.  Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1993.
Lovett Weems makes the case for a leadership that is heroic only in the context of the larger community.

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't (Book)
Jim Collins, Author.  New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2001.
Through a major study of companies that consistently produced great results, Jim Collins has distilled the factors that contribute to organizational greatness.

Heart, Mind, and Strength: Theory and Practice for Congregational Leadership (Book)
Jeffrey D. Jones, Author.  Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2008.
Drawing from extensive scholarship on leadership and his many years of pastoral experience, Jeffrey Jones summarizes inspiring theories of leadership and offers practical advice for implementing these theories in the congregation.

Humble Leadership: Being Radically Open to God's Guidance and Grace (Book)
N. Graham Standish, Author.  Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2007.
This book defines humble leadership and compares it with other approaches to leadership. Graham Standish explains how humble leadership is self-aware, prayerful, unifying, and Spirit-led; he also names the essential skills of such leadership.

Leadership in Congregations (Book)
Richard Bass, Editor.  Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2007.
The articles in this book deal with a wide array of leadership issues—including pastoring a small congregation, leading when consensus fails, and leading for the future. It will offer all leaders some starting point for their own ministries.

Leadership That Works: Hope and Direction for Church and Parachurch Leaders in Today's Complex World (Book)
Leith Anderson, Author.  Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 1999.
Jargon-free and experientially based, Leadership That Works addresses the numerous complexities and tensions of leadership.

Leadership Without Easy Answers (Book)
Ronald A. Heifetz, Author.  Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1994.
The book offers key distinctions regarding leadership and works through them in theoretical and practical ways. Although not aimed at religious leaders, it will be useful to them.

Transforming Christian Leaders (Web Resource)
Grounded in the belief that adults learn best through narratives, this web site provides a collection of resources centered around stories about congregational life and challenges.

"So That..."—Leadership, Accountability, and The Future Church (Web Resource)
Weems’ work brings together experience with young clergy, youth ministry, and the future of the church. This interview draws on his research and current trends in business and academic leadership thinking, offering new thoughts on leadership.

Better Than Success: 8 Principles of Faithful Leadership (Book)
C. Jeff Woods, Author.  Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 2001.
Jeff Woods lays out the principles for faithful leadership, including the capacity to help church leaders discern God's vision and to serve as an agent of growth and change.

Beyond Certainty: The Changing Worlds of Organizations (Book)
Charles Handy, Author.  Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1996.
While not intentionally directed toward religious organizations this book would be of interest to those concerned with leadership development, as well as spirituality and the workplace.

Building Community: Christian, Caring, Vital (Book)
Loughlan Sofield, Rosine Hammett, Carroll Juliano, Authors.  Ava Maria Press, 1998.
These authors appreciate the realities of living in community, call the difficulties normal, and offer strategies for working through the tensions and problems.

The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership (Book)
Steven B. Sample, Author.  San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2003.
Steven Sample challenges leaders to think counterintuitively or as a contrarian. He also challenges leaders to develop strong moral centers as they lead their institutions through change.

Executive Values: A Christian Approach to Organizational Leadership (Book)
Kurt Senske, Author.  Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress Press, 2003.
Executive Values offers provocative reading on such issues as becoming a servant-leader, creating an effective organizational culture, applying values to strategic planning, and intentionally taking time to be healthy.

Faith-Based Management: Leading Organizations That Are Based on More Than Just Mission (Book)
Peter C. Brinckerhoff, Author.  John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1999.
This management resource is geared to the needs of churches and other not-for-profit organizations, recognizing that leadership, finances, marketing, and organizational structure take on a distinctive color in the faith-based organization.

Leaders That Last: How Covenant Friendships Can Help Pastors Thrive (Book)
Gary D. Kinnaman, Alfred H. Ells, Authors.  Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 2003.
This book illustrates, through numerous stories, the need for pastors to have safe, supportive, and mutually accountable relationships with their peers if they are to survive, thrive, and serve effectively.

Leadership Jazz (Book)
Max Depree, Author.  New York, NY: Doubleday, 1993.
Like good jazz musicians, effective leaders must joyously embrace the expected and unexpected, and easily adapt to a changing environment and group of players.

The Leadership Labyrinth: Negotiating the Paradoxes of Ministry (Book)
Judson Edwards, Author.  Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys Publishers, 2005.
Drawing on years of pastoral experience, Judson Edwards explains 21 paradoxes of ministerial life. Recognizing such truths about our relationships, issues, and lives may make ministry more satisfying—and perhaps more fun.

Leadership: A Practical Journal for Church Leaders (Periodical)
Carol Stream, IL: Christianity Today, Inc.
This quarterly journal for clergy and church leaders offers practical counsel on the many facets of church leadership, along with book reviews and information about other leadership resources.

Leading at the Edge: Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Saga of Shackleton’s Antarctic Expedition (Book)
Dennis N.T. Perkins, Author.  New York, NY: AMACOM Books, 2000.
Originally written for business leaders, Leading at the Edge contains wisdom that is easily translatable to the language of the church. At the same time, the book uses a fascinating adventure story to breathe life into its concepts.

Leading Quietly: An Unorthodox Guide to Doing the Right Thing (Book)
Joseph L. Badaracco Jr., Author.  Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 2002.
Exploring "quiet leadership," leadership’s common and least-acknowledged form, the author affirms incremental change and describes eight characteristics of quiet leadership. Case studies and close analysis of problem resolution are included.

Narcissistic Leaders: Who Succeeds and Who Fails (Book)
Michael Maccoby, Author.  Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2007.
Narcissistic leaders are often charismatic and visionary, but these same leaders have weaknesses that can undermine their efforts. Michael Maccoby examines both sides of this leadership personality.

Not Trying Too Hard: New Basics for Sustainable Congregations (Book)
Bob Sitze, Author.  Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2001.
Sitze illustrates the perils of church leaders who try too hard to control, be, do, and understand all things. He then offers a light and playful approach build on the notions of small-step change and simplicity.

The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World (Book)
Ronald A. Heifetz, Alexander Grashow, Marty Linsky, Authors.  Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 2009.
The authors have written a practical guide for those seeking to understand and implement adaptive leadership ("the practice of mobilizing people to tackle tough challenges and thrive") in their congregations.

Reinventing Leadership (Media)
Distributed by Guilford Publications.  Duration: 40 minutes. 
This video describes how communities become dysfunctional when they are gripped by anxiety and how such communities tend to sabotage healthy leadership.

Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership (Organization)
This organization seeks to improve the quality of caring of institutions by helping people understand the principles and practices of servant leaders and providing resources and opportunities for sharing on the subject.

Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness (Book)
Robert K. Greenleaf, Author.  Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1977.
Calling for institutions to continually develop people’s servant leadership capacity, author Robert Greenleaf explores the “servant leadership” concept in three institutional settings: the church, the academy, and the corporation.

Wave Rider: Leadership for High Performance in a Self-Organizing World (Book)
Harrison Owen, Author.  San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2008.
Harrison Owen, the developer of Open Space Technology, reviews the history of Open Space and explains why it works. He further explores the practices that leaders can apply to foster high performance among those they are leading.

Weaving the Web with Conversation: A New Model for Effective Leadership (Web Resource)
For this interview, Meg Wheatley draws on experience working with living systems, encouraging congregations to move from hierarchical church models based on control and careful planning and opt, instead, for those based on human relationships.