Becoming the preacher God wants you to be.

As understanding and awareness of abuse has grown, many revelations of church leaders abusing their power have come to light. How did the church get here? Is there a way we can address both individual and institutional failings to counter the misuse of power and, more importantly, prevent it in first place? Powerful Leaders? exposes and explores how leaders are tempted away from a biblical model of leadership into illegitimate - and in the worst cases abusive - use of authority and power. Director of Living Leadership, a charity that focuses on healthy leadership and church culture, Marcus Honeysett traces how leaders move along a spectrum of healthy to unhealthy uses of power and position and offers practical wisdom for countering and preventing harmful leadership. Drawing on his years of experience in the local church and working with leaders and congregations, Honeysett unpacks how to spot danger signs of abuse in the church and provides advice on what to do if you see or are under unhealthy leadership. He also explores why people don't blow the whistle and encourages critical self-examination in existing leaders to ensure they maintain a healthy use of power - and offers guidance to help leaders improve their skills and move back towards healthy, biblically-based leadership. For anyone concerned about improving safeguarding in the church, Powerful Leaders? will prove a valuable resource. It challenges and equips both those in leadership and those in a position to hold leaders accountable, and will empower them to take the necessary steps forward to create healthier church cultures in which everyone can thrive.

What motivates you to serve Christ? Is it a sense of nagging obligation as you struggle to achieve a host of impossible targets? Or is it a heart full of joy? God's grace is neither earned nor deserved. We receive grace, and with it the blessings of forgiveness, peace, hope, security, rescue, reconciliation and eternal life. God's grace needs no additions, no subtractions. Yet it's so easy, so tempting, like the Galatians in the New Testament, to slip back into a legalistic mindset. We want to build on what God has done; we want to make ourselves more attractive and acceptable. Marcus Honeysett challenges us to live as sons and daughters of God, not as slaves. He helps us to understand the law and its place in the Old and New Testaments. He accompanies us as we go joy-spotting in Philippians. Joy should be the hallmark of our Christian service. Understanding God's grace is the foundation to releasing that joy. Marcus Honeysett spent ten years leading UCCF's student ministry in London before moving into pastoral work and training. He studied English and Theatre, and subsequently Postmodern Culture and Contemporary Theory. He is the author of Meltdown: Making Sense of a Culture in Crisis which was nominated for Christian Book of the Year in 2003. Marcus is married to Ros, a teacher, and together they enjoy entertaining, music, reading, skiing and golf.