Ministry is complicated, and every leadership challenge is unique. How can you lead effectively when there isn't a clear path forward? Real life ministry is complicated--far more complicated than is typically captured in leadership books. There are moving parts and people who require adept, agile, adaptive leadership. Unlike technical challenges with a clear or known solution, adaptive challenges are complex and dynamic, requiring creative leaderships. Adaptive leadership is art, not science. It is an exercise in wisdom, not just knowledge. It requires leaders to ascertain the issues, values, and stakes unique to a given situation, to consider the potential courses of action, and decide which courses are best. The case study method is a proven and effective tool to help leaders chart their course by learning from complex, real-life situations. Leaders learn to integrate multiple leadership strategies and concepts by reading and reflecting on multiple case studies, helping them clarify their own unique context, values, challenges, opportunities, and potential actions. Like real ministry, case studies are complex. There is not always an easy solution, or even a fast understanding of the real problem(s). The case studies in Uncharted Leadership promote learning at the deepest level: helping leaders move beyond simple answers to deep individual and organizational understanding and transformation. Uncharted Leadership applies the case study method to ministry leadership. Through a series of relevant, real-life case studies in ministry leadership, Angie Ward brings the classroom to the reader, using thought-provoking questions, commentary, and recommended resources to expand the leader's empathy, understanding, awareness, and skill.

Christian Book Award Finalist What type of leadership is needed in a moment that demands adaptive change? Tod Bolsinger, author of Canoeing the Mountains, is uniquely positioned to explore the qualities of adaptive leadership in contexts ranging from churches to nonprofit organizations. He deftly examines both the external challenges we face and the internal resistance that holds us back. Bolsinger writes: "To temper describes the process of heating, holding, hammering, cooling, and reheating that adds stress to raw iron until it becomes a glistening knife blade or chisel tip." When reflection and relationships are combined into a life of deliberate practice, leaders become both stronger and more flexible. As a result, these resilient leaders are able to offer greater wisdom and skill to the organizations they serve. Also available: Tempered Resilience Study Guide

Leadership leads to vulnerability that requires the security of relationships to endure. Tempered Resilience: How Leaders Are Formed in the Crucible of Change is about forming resilience so leaders can lead through the resistance that always accompanies change. Tod Bolsinger, an organizational and pastoral leader, writes that experiencing resistance leaves us feeling "exposed, unsure, and often discouraged." Honest and supportive relationships are key to flourishing in these moments of vulnerability. Thus the sessions in this guide are designed to lead to honest conversations for self-discovery as well as offering practices that leaders and their teams can take on together. Following the structure of review, reflect, relate, and practice, this guide for both individuals and groups will help you to forge the kind of tempered and resilient leadership that the times demand.

Want to unleash the "remarkable" in your team? The potential of a team of God-inspired, talented, committed people is boundless. But without resilience—including the savvy and skill to get up again (and again) when the going gets tough—teams simply cannot thrive or lead well. Resilience is what sets great leaders and teams apart from those that literally fall apart. It's what's missing when great organizations lose steam. Ryan T. Hartwig, Léonce B. Crump Jr., and Warren Bird have worked with team members in many kinds of churches and Christian organizations, served on numerous teams, and surfaced the best research on teams. In The Resilience Factor, they distill this wisdom into a series of practical steps that promise to both inspire and equip teams to move from floundering to flourishing. Filled with examples of top-performing teams, individual and group reflection questions, diagnostic tools, and team activities, The Resilience Factor promises to become the go-to resource for leaders who want to release remarkable resilience in their teams.

Over 100,000 Copies Sold Worldwide! 14th Annual Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year Explorers Lewis and Clark had to adapt. While they had prepared to find a waterway to the Pacific Ocean, instead they found themselves in the Rocky Mountains. You too may feel that you are leading in a cultural context you were not expecting. You may even feel that your training holds you back more often than it carries you along. Drawing from his extensive experience as a pastor and consultant, Tod Bolsinger brings decades of expertise in guiding churches and organizations through uncharted territory. He offers a combination of illuminating insights and practical tools to help you reimagine what effective leadership looks like in our rapidly changing world. If you're going to scale the mountains of ministry, you need to leave behind canoes and find new navigational tools. Now expanded with a study guide, this book will set you on the right course to lead with confidence and courage.