What are the core values of your ministry? Values-Driven Leadership is a pioneering work designed to help church and parachurch leaders understand the cutting-edge concept of organizational core values. Every ministry organization has a set of core values that guides what the ministry seeks to accomplish. Understanding these core values is key to a high-performing ministry. In this revised edition, Aubrey Malphurs offers important insights on new research in the field of leadership and delineates techniques for their practical implementation. After exploring the concepts in Values-Driven Leadership, you'll be able to take concrete steps to write your ministry's values in a credo or value statement and focus in on your mission. This edition includes helpful discussion questions, core values audits, and even a readiness-for-change inventory to help you and your ministry identify areas in need of attention. This is a useful book for individuals, boards, committees, and leadership teams. Aubrey Malphurs is professor of pastoral ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary. He is the author of more than fifteen books as well as president of The Malphurs Group (www.malphursgroup.com), a training and consulting firm.

What are the distinctive characteristics of Christian leaders? Too many churches and parachurch groups are blindly operating under secular leadership principles and strategies. Concerned to counter this drift, leadership expert Aubrey Malphurs 1) articulates a working definition of a Christian leader and leadership based on Scripture and his own extensive research, and 2) challenges you to define and develop leadership in your ministry. Malphurs then describes in detail the specific characteristics of leaders, such as commitment to Christ, caring, trustworthiness, a servant attitude, and having followers. Each chapter ends with helpful questions for reflection and discussion. Included in the appendices are several inventories that will help you assess your strengths and weaknesses in leadership as well as your leadership style, ideal ministry circumstances, and much more. Aubrey Malphurs is professor of pastoral ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary. A nationally recognized expert on leadership issues, he is the author of a dozen books and the president of The Malphurs Group (www.malphursgroup.com), a training and consulting organization.

'Tim Alford has learnt these lessons not in the classroom but in the hurly-burly, heart breaking, inspiring world of Christian leadership. It's required reading for every leader who wants to leave a legacy of fired up leaders who totally follow Jesus. Is there really anything more important than that?' Andy Hawthorne OBE, Director of The Message Trust Youth and childrens' ministry is impacted by many things - from training and resources to demographic. But ultimately it is leadership skills that determine how fruitful our ministries can be. Leadership 101 is a manual designed to equip youth and kids workers with the tools they need not just to lead, but to lead well. Taking a holistic look at leadership, Tim Alford, national director of Limitless, explores the principles of self-leadership, culture and team building, vision and strategy and offers practical, experienced advice how to implement those principles in our Christian leadership. Thoroughly readable and entirely applicable, Leadership 101 is the perfect leadership book for childrens' and youth workers to refer to again and again as you lead your ministry into a brighter, more fruitful, future.

Many colleges and universities informally highlight the value of mentoring among academic professionals. Yet scholars often lack clear definitions, goals, practices, and commitments that help them actually reap the benefits mentoring offers. As new faculty members from younger generations continue to face evolving challenges while also reshaping institutions, their ability to connect with more experienced mentors is critical to their vocations-and to the future of higher education. In Cultivating Mentors, a distinguished group of contributors explores the practice of mentoring in Christian higher education. Drawing on traditional theological understandings of the mentee-mentor relationship, they consider what goals should define such relationships and what practices make their cultivation possible among educators. With special attention to generational dynamics, they discuss how mentoring can help institutions navigate generational faculty transitions and cultivate rising leaders. Contributors include: David Kinnaman Tim Clydesdale Margaret Diddams Edgardo Colon-Emeric Rebecca C. Hong Tim Elmore Beck A. Taylor Stacy A. Hammons This book offers valuable insights and practical recommendations for faculty members, administrators, and policy makers. Whether pursuing their vocation in Christian or secular institutions, Christian scholars will benefit from the sharing of wisdom mapped out in Cultivating Mentors.

Pastor and author Michael P. Fletcher asserts that a leadership pipeline can't be bought, rather it has to be built from the ground up. Fletcher guides the reader on how to build better leaders faster by creating a leadership development culture in your church or organization.

The key to continued success in any church or organization is a steady stream of healthy, growing leaders; but not just any leaders-leaders who carry the culture and embody its core values. But where can you find leaders like this?

Author and leadership consultant Michael Fletcher says these types of leaders can't simply be "bought" nor can they be hired off of someone else's "assembly line." These types of leaders have to be built through a leadership pipeline.

A good leadership pipeline will help articulate the values of the church or organization and define the process required to move forward in it. However, to develop leaders at every level in the organization, to create an environment that attracts potential leaders, and to build better leaders faster, an organization needs more than a pipeline-it will need a culture that develops leaders organically.

This book examines the partnerships and power struggles between American missionaries and Korean Protestant leaders in both nations from the late 19th century to the aftermath of the Korean War. Yoo analyzes American and Korean sources, including a plethora of unpublished archival materials, to uncover the complicated histories of cooperation and contestation behind the evolving relationships between Americans and Koreans at the same time the majority of the world Christian population shifted from the Global North to the Global South. American and Korean Protestants cultivated deep bonds with one another, but they also clashed over essential matters of ecclesial authority, cultural difference, geopolitics, and women's leadership. This multifaceted approach - incorporating the perspectives of missionaries, migrants, ministers, diplomats, and interracial couples - casts new light on American and Korean Christianities and captures American and Korean Protestants mutually engaged in a global movement that helped give birth to new Christian traditions in Korea, created new transnational religious and humanitarian partnerships such as the World Vision organization, and transformed global Christian traditions ranging from Pentecostalism to Presbyterianism.

These stories of St. Francis and his first followers have inspired millions of people over the centuries. Since they were first committed to paper, they were told to inspire people to become better followers of Jesus (not St. Francis). For that reason, they have endured unlike any other early Franciscan literature. This new paperback edition edition of The Little Flowers is unique in its physical beauty as well as its editorial arrangement. For the first time, the stories have been arranged in the most likely chronological ordering of when they happened-rather than following the traditional ordering of them handed down for centuries. As a result, today's reader is now able to read The Little Flowers as a biographical narrative of the life of St. Francis and the world-transforming movement that he founded.

Equip church leaders with the tools and insights needed to rally people around renewed purpose. Drawing from biblical principles and the experience of Real Life Ministries, this workbook guides users to evaluate the power of ministry alignment and personal influence for the sake of each church's God-given mission to make disciples.* 9 weeks of material designed for a church staff or ministry leadership team* Each week includes four personal exercises and one collaborative session for a team meeting* A thorough outline of practical steps for leading a new or established church toward a unified mission of disciple-making* Interactive workbook includes assessments for areas of ministry and leadership* Clear plan of action unique to each church built around common biblical principles

Clergy suffer from certain health issues at a rate higher than the general population. Why are pastors in such poor health? And what can be done to help them step into the abundant life God desires for them? Although anecdotal observations about poor clergy health abound, concrete data from multiple sources supporting this claim hasn't been made accessible--until now. Duke's Clergy Health Initiative (CHI), a major, decade-long research project, provides a true picture of the clergy health crisis over time and demonstrates that improving the health of pastors is possible. Bringing together the best in social science and medical research, this book quantifies the poor health of clergy with theological engagement. Although the study focused on United Methodist ministers, the authors interpret CHI's groundbreaking data for a broad ecumenical readership. In addition to physical health, the book examines mental health and spiritual well-being, and suggests that increasing positive mental health may prevent future physical and mental health problems for clergy. Concrete suggestions tailored to clergy are woven throughout the book.

Seven out of ten Christian leaders feel overworked, four in ten suffer financial pressures, only two in ten have had management training and 1,500 give up their job over a ten-year period. At the same time, as financial restrictions affect the availability of full-time ministers, more people are needed for leadership roles in local congregations, for every area of church work. This book faces the challenge of raising up new leaders and helping existing leaders to mature, using the model for growing leaders at the heart of the Arrow Leadership Programme, a ministry of the Church Pastoral Aid Society (CPAS). It comprehensively surveys leadership skills and styles, discerning our personal calling, avoiding the 'red zone' of stress, developing character, and living as part of the community of God's people. The book contains twelve chapters, in six sections, plus a resources section: Part 1: Leadership today, Part 2: Growing leaders know they're chosen, Part 3: Growing leaders discern God's call, Part 4: Growing leaders develop Christ-like character, Part 5: Growing leaders cultivate competence, Part 6: Growing leaders lead in community. First published in 2004.

In 1889 the Jesuit Richard F. Clarke published this biography of Charles Lavigerie (1825-1892), the French cardinal and Primate of Africa. From the moment of his arrival in Algeria in 1868, Lavigerie became a key, if sometimes controversial, figure in organising Catholic missions in Africa. In 1874 he founded the Society of Missionaries for Africa, otherwise known as the White Fathers after the white Arab dress they wore. Lavigerie's later career was devoted to the battle against slavery and in 1888 he conducted a campaign in several European capitals denouncing the practice. Clarke's book, which appeared a year after Lavigerie's visit to London, provides an account of the cardinal's career in France and Africa up to that date. It emphasises and praises Lavigerie's anti-slavery message, referring to him in the preface as 'the apostle of the slaves of all Africa'.

A deeply inspiring clarion call for Christian women's empowerment in the face of pressure to choose between seemingly mutually exclusive options. You can be lovely and fierce, broken but also whole, satisfied but also ambitious. Leadership-lifestyle blogger and inspirational TV personality, Caitlyn Scaggs draws from her eclectic background and Christian principles to offer practical insight and encouragement to women striving to lead a fulfilling and complete life. She champions a new approach-how to find balance between seemingly opposing forces and live out what you were created to do. With inspirational stories from her life and career alongside those of others' she's met along the way, Scaggs provides fellow women insight on how to thrive no matter where your individual path takes you. With her unique and powerful guiding voice, she shows women can boldly embrace all their dichotomies, even when facing obstacles or inner conflict. She encourages readers to contemplate the choices they feel torn between and live in the space between. She then urges a different approach to navigating personal and professional lives, with the goal of finding balance, purpose, and satisfaction. Each chapter includes motivational call outs, practical takeaways and actionable steps that invite readers to apply the insight shared to their own lives. Scaggs writes with the modern Christian woman in mind, but her engaging style and thoughtful insight will also appeal to women of all faiths and backgrounds.

With the exception of the life of St. Nino, none of the biographies here had been previously translated into English when this book was originally published in 1956. The lives of the Georgian saints are rich and many-sided, not dry chronicles of monkish trivialities. They contain vivid descriptions of life in the Caucasus, Byzantium and Palestine. They give the reader insight into the history and aspirations of an important branch of the Eastern Church and into its relationships with Zoroastrian Persia, the Arab Caliphate, the Imperial Court of Constantinople and the whole world of mediaeval Christendom.

A must for every Catholic bookshelf, this fresh and inspiring book distils the essential thoughts of Pope John Paul II on matters of belief and conscience into one volume. Throughout his more than two decades as the leader of the world's Catholics, John Paul II has spoken both officially and informally on all aspects of life in the modern world. Whether defining the Church's teachings or passionately espousing the basic human rights of all people, he has always eloquently and clearly stated his hopes for the Church and the world. Collected from his encyclicals, speeches, homilies, and statements to fellow bishops, this book includes the pontiff's thoughts at the beginning of the third millennium of Christianity.

Women and men are designed to work together in fulfilling God's mission on earth. Yet God's original intent for equal partnership has been so distorted that churches and organizations continually struggle to foster healthy mixed-gender ministry collaboration. Is it even possible to return to the Genesis ideal of co-laborers in today's contexts? Longtime ministry leader Rob Dixon knows it's possible-though it takes intentionality, courage, and wisdom. Based on qualitative field research among ministry practitioners, Together in Ministry offers a prophetic roadmap for individuals and communities as they seek to develop flourishing ministry partnerships for women and men. Organized around the key domains of inner life, community culture, and intentional practices, this model identifies ten key attributes of partnerships that are both personally satisfying and missionally effective. For each attribute Dixon presents research findings and biblical examples, along with benefits, barriers, and practical next steps. With plenty of real-life stories from ministry leaders and reflection questions in each chapter, Together in Ministry casts a compelling-and encouraging-vision for flourishing partnerships and equips teams and individuals with next steps for making that vision a reality.