This insightful book explores the intersection of spirituality and leadership, examining cutting edge research, theory, and practices that help build healthy and long‐term effective leadership. Showcasing non‐Western views of leadership across a range of backgrounds, the book looks at leadership styles that raise and expand consciousness to enable better problem solving when addressing the complex challenges of organizations and societies. Across four sections, the book considers a myriad of themes from surrender to compassion, the dark and shadow side to the illuminating light of love, as well as offering a spotlight on individual leader development to highlight the role of the collective. Each chapter individually and collectively represents the essence of a profound shift in how leadership is approached in the 21st century. The volume offers a variety of viewpoints addressing this spiritual turn in leadership scholarship, and provides leadership tools to assist leaders in honing their practices to address contemporary challenges and unleash their full potential. In a world where the challenges are immense and multifaceted, this anthology explores leadership that transcends the mundane and ventures into the extraordinary. Leadership at the Spiritual Edge will be of use to researchers, scholars, and students of leadership studies, particularly those interested in new ways of viewing and developing leadership.

How does a Christian lead? By following today's secular business models, or by simply studying the life of Christ and pursuing a servant-based style? In this insightful, practical book, George Barna has pulled together some of today's top Christian leaders to talk about the subject of Christian leadership. Articles include: The Tasks of a Leader by Ken Gangel, The Character of a Leader by Jack Hayford, Prayer in Leading People by Peter Wagner, and much more. See what today's leaders have to say about leadership, and learn what it takes to serve the Church as a Christ-centered change agent.

`It is refreshing when you come across a clear, well-written book about leadership that is not peddling the latest gimmick, buzzword or quick fix. What makes this work really refreshing is the emphasis on the critical dimension in the title and the breadth of the author's own experience of work' - Times Higher Education `An excellent resource for examining and analyzing leadership from different perspectives' - New Horizons in Adult Education and Human Resource Development `In a highly original way, taking “Critical Theory” as a point of departure, Dr Western helps us to obtain greater insight into the enigma of leadership' - Manfred Kets de Vries `One of the "most promising" forthcoming management books for 2007' - European Academy of Management (EURAM) `Leadership A Critical Text is an outstanding addition to the Leadership literature. This is an excellent text which takes the field to new heights in the first decade of the 21st Century' - Professor Cary L. Cooper, CBE, Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health at Lancaster University `The book provides a unique and much needed 'voice' to the field of leadership studies, and will have a significant impact worldwide' - Professor Jonathan Gosling, Director of the Leadership Centre Exeter University Providing a critical review and analysis of the key debates within leadership, this book challenges the notion of the individual or hero leader. The author develops the idea of leadership as a distributed process between lots of agents in an organization. In doing so he provides a new framework which readers can use to understand and implement this distributed type of leadership. Chapters include vignettes and case studies to support readers' understanding of ideas, and pedagogical features emphasize core learning points. To aid course tutors a teaching guide to accompany the book is available online from here The author's own website can be found here

In 1992 Dick Gruber's Children's Church: Turning Your Circus into a Service hit the market, challenging children's leaders worldwide. Gruber's experience and insight have provided godly direction for the children's church service to generations of children's leaders. The practical application of that work is still being realized in churches today. In Cultivating a Cutting-Edge Children's Church, Gruber has reviewed and updated the core of his first book, adding more insights, more information, and more inspiration for children's leaders of today and for those of the future. This book will help the children's church leader develop a life-changing service in which boys and girls will be inspired to worship, develop ministry gifts, and respond to the work of God's Holy Spirit. Gruber's heart for children and those who serve them is evident on every page of this writing.

Over the Past few decades mainline Protestant congregations have not easily embraced the notion of spirituality. As much as any aspect of church life, spirituality has been misunderstood, misused, and resisted by both clergy and laity. Yet times are changing. Today many people feel a deep spiritual hunger and are out looking for fulfillment in a wide variety of settings. In this new context, mainline congregations need to awaken to the presence of the Spirit in their midst and equip leaders to nurture both the personal and corporate spirituality of their congregations. Beyond the Ordinary is explicitly written to help church leaders who have had no formal training in spiritual formation. Drawing from years of experience teaching Christian spirituality, Ben Campbell Johnson and Andrew Dreitcer explore the spiritual dimensions of leadership, looking in depth at the meaning of spirituality as it relates to the tasks of ministry. This friendly, inspiring book will enable readers to erase the negative stereotypes of spirituality and develop vital models and practices for the church today. The book introduces a faithful understanding and practice of the spiritual life to those who have not yet dipped into the well that is Christian spirituality. For those who have already tasted this water and still thirst, it offers a way to dip even more deeply. Chapters discuss the issues surrounding a meaningful spirituality for our changing times, the importance of holding prayer and mission in tension, and the crucial role of Scripture in the formation of our lives. The authors also underscore the importance of vision, myth, and discernment in the spiritual life of the church. And they discuss the power of spiritual practices like discernment and visioning for enhancing the spirituality of congregations and helping them become agents of social transformation. Intended for personal and group use by pastors, elders, other church leaders, and those preparing for service in the church, the book includes questions for reflection and discussion as well as journaling exercises to encourage learning and growth.

Most leadership in today’s churches comes from “solo practitioners”--individuals who bear the burden of providing all the direction the ministry they direct requires. Inevitably, this results not only in burned-out leaders, but underutilized lay people who merely attend and observe rather than becoming actively engaged in ministry, growing in discipleship, and freeing professional staff to focus on pastoral priorities. In The Power of Team Leadership, noted researcher George Barna demonstrates the incredible difference lay-team leadership can make in a church’s ministry. Based on Barna’s latest national studies, the book sets forth clearly what churches need to know in order to recruit, train, and deploy lay leadership teams for maximum effectiveness in the Kingdom of God.

As the first woman in the Anglican Communion to become a diocesan bishop, she brought to her diocese an experience of beng an outsider, a woman in a hierarchical church in which women were second class citizens. In this, her first book, she asks how outsiders who win power may exercise that power without making others outsiders.

Seminary president Jeff Iorg looks at the life of Peter in the Bible to explain and inspire the seasons in a leader's life: learning, leading, and leaving a legacy.

"In the NIV Leadership Bible, you’ll learn from both ancient and contemporary experts in leadership theory. This Bible is designed around 52 “Home Pages” that offer topical studies divided into three categories: personal development, relationships, and skills. It’s true! You can spend just 15 minutes a day to increase your leadership effectiveness. Plus, it’s organized so that you can easily look up related verses when you’re looking for guidance on a specific topic. Each week, you'll cover a specific leadership topic. One week, you’ll study a personal quality such as Courage, Humility, or Vision. Another week will hold lessons about practical skills like Conflict Management or Systems Thinking. You’ll also find relevant topics relating to interpersonal relationships such as Healthy Alliances, Power and Influence, and Servant Leadership. This edition includes helpful tools to help you grow as you lead others: Complete NIV text • Book Introductions underscore key leadership concepts • Home Pages and Daily Studies offer 52 weeks of studies on important leadership topics • Study Windows reinforce your understanding of Biblical leadership • Character Profiles show how personal attributes of biblical characters affected their relationships • Topical Index helps you find verses on particular subjects • Character Profile Index • Bibliography Order your NIV Leadership Bible today, and reinvigorate your leadership skills day by day. This Bible offers supplemental information on the following topics: Character, Commitment, Courage, Dependence, Humility, Integrity, Obedience, Priorities, Purpose, Self-discipline, Values, Vision, Wisdom, Encouragement, Exhortation, Alliances, Interpersonal Relationships, Power, Leadership, Accountability, Change, Innovation, Communication, Conflict Management, Decision Making, Double-loop Learning, Empowerment, Justice, Organization, Long-range Planning, Human Resources, Problem Solving, Excellence, Rewards, Situational Leadership, Stress Management, Structure, Organization, Systems Thinking, Team Building, Time Management"

Imagine yourself sitting on the cool damp earth, surrounded by deep night sky and fields full of fireflies, anticipating the ritual of initiation that you are about to undergo. Suddenly you hear the sounds of far-off singing and chanting, drums booming, rattles "snaking," voices raised in harmony. The casting of the Circle is complete. You are led to the edge of the Circle, where Death, your challenge, is waiting for you. With the passwords of "perfect love" and "perfect trust" you enter Death's realm. The Guardians of the four quarters purify you, and you are finally reborn into the Circle as a newly made Witch.Coming to the Edge of the Circle offers an ethnographic study of the initiation ritual practiced by one coven of Witches located in Ohio. As a High Priestess within the coven as well as a scholar of religion, Nikki Bado-Fralick is in a unique position to contribute to our understanding of this ceremony and the tradition to which it belongs. Bado-Fralick's analysis of this coven's initiation ceremony offers an important challenge to the commonly accepted model of "rites of passage." Rather than a single linear event, initiation is deeply embedded within a total process of becoming a Witch in practice and in community with others.Coming to the Edge of the Circle expands our concept of initiation while giving us insight into one coven's practice of Wicca. An important addition to Ritual Studies, it also introduces readers to the contemporary nature religion variously called Wicca, Witchcraft, the Old Religion, or the Craft.