Christian Leadership Essentials includes a number of helpful essays that address such topics as vision development and communication, the nuts-and-bolts of management, leadership development, fundraising, and biblical and theological reflections on leadership. While most of the chapters are written from the perspective of Christian higher education leadership, the principles advanced have a wide application, especially in denominational agencies and parachurch ministries. Pastors and other church staff will also find many of the chapters helpful, even if not all are directly applicable to local church ministry.
The book includes the following chapters:
Introduction – David S. Dockery
Chapter 1: A Biblical Model of Leadership – Robert B. Sloan
Chapter 2: Christian Leadership and the Identity and Mission of an Organization – David J. Gyertson
Chapter 3: Leadership, Vision, and Strategic Planning – Bob R. Agee
Chapter 4: Governance and Board Relations – Robert Andringa
Chapter 5: Managing the Organization – R. Judson Carlberg
Chapter 6: Financial Oversight and Budget Planning – Jon Wallace
Chapter 7: Development, Campaigns, and Building Projects – Evans P. Whitaker
Chapter 8: Institutions, Organizations, and Foundation Relations – Alvin O. Austin
Chapter 9: Leadership, Organizations, and External Relations – Carl Zylstra
Chapter 10: Relationships with Multiple and Various Constituencies – James Edwards
Chapter 11: Selecting and Building Leadership Teams – Thom S. Rainer
Chapter 12: From Peer to Manager – Carla Sanderson
Chapter 13: Employee Relations in a Grace-Filled Community – Philip W. Eaton
Chapter 14: Engaging the Culture – Barry H. Corey
Chapter 15: Crisis Management – Kimberly Thornbury
Chapter 16: The Leader as Mentor and Pastor – Randall O’Brien
Chapter 17: Leadership for a Global World – Charles A. Fowler
Chapter 18: Leadership Transitions and the Search Process – Tommy Thomas
Some Closing Thoughts – David S. Dockery
Each of the chapters is well worth your time, but one of the great advantages of Christian Leadership Essentials is that it can be read through in one shot or can be delved into here and there, based upon interests and/or responsibilities. From my context as a younger leader working in a theological seminary, I particularly enjoyed the chapters by Sloan, Rainer, Sanderson, and O’Brien, along with Dockery’s brief introduction and conclusion.
I highly recommend Christian Leadership Essentials for current ministry leaders or those who aspire to such positions. It is the perfect complement to more introductory overviews of Christian leadership such as J. Oswald Sanders’ Spiritual Leadership or John Stott’s Basic Christian Leadership.
[...] debates about orthodoxy and heresy among the Early Church Fathers. On Thursday, I wrote a commendation of David Dockery’s new book Christian Leadership Essentials for Between the Times. I hope [...]
Pingback by Two Recent Posts Elsewhere | Nathan Finn l Christian Thought & Tradition — August 27, 2011 @ 2:02 pm