Guided by humble, yet focused pastoral leaders who find joy in promoting the giftedness of others, people in healthy congregations are empowered to take on new challenges and test their leadership abilities.

Books

	The Ascent of a Leader by Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol, and Ken McElrath (forward by Ken Blanchard), (Jossey-Bass, 1999). This compelling guide leads you through a process by which you can cultivate extraordinary character in leadership. Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol, and Ken McElrath demonstrate, through compelling stories and inspiring messages, what happens when leaders of character nurture an environment filled with grace.
	Developing the Leaders Around You by John Maxwell (Thomas Nelson Inc, 1995). According to Maxwell, “The bottom line—and message of this book—is that you can’t do it alone. If you really want to be a leader, you must develop other leaders around you.” Knowing that a company cannot grow without until its leaders grow within, John Maxwell encourages you to develop your organization by developing your leaders.
	The Empowered Leader: 10 Keys to Servant Leadership by Calvin Miller (B&H Publishing Group, 1995). Miller tells us that “leadership is the compass of living,” and that “every Christian who desires to become a leader must first know how to follow.” In this study, based on King David, Miller asserts that it is vital that leadership be “consistent with the biblical model,” and only then can it truly be called “servant leadership.”
	God’s Potters: Pastoral Leadership and the Shaping of Congregations by Jackson Carroll (Eerdmans, 2006) takes the Apostle Paul’s image of Christians as “clay jars” and paints a picture of “God’s potters”—pastors whose calling is to form their congregational jars so that they reveal rather than hide God’s treasure. Packed full of pertinent tables and figures, the book culminates with specific strategies for strengthening pastoral leadership and nurturing excellence in ministry.
	The Leader’s Journey: Accepting the Call of Personal and Congregational Transformation by Jim Herrington, Robert Creech and Trisha L. Taylor (Jossey-Bass, 2003). Many books describe elements of church leadership—what it is and how to do it—but very few focus on the process of personal transformation that is central to being able to lead well. The Leader’s Journey provides a blueprint and the practical tools needed to transform the lives of pastors and congregational lay leaders so that they can become truly effective leaders.
	The Leadership Challenge (Third Edition) by James M. Kouzes and Harry Z. Posner (Jossey-Bass, 2002). The Leadership Challenge is grounded in extensive research and based on interviews with all kinds of leaders at all levels in public and private organizations from around the world. It is based on fundamentals of leadership that have existed for centuries.
	Leadership Essentials: Practical Tools for Leading in the Church by Carol Cartmill and Yvonne Gentile (Abingdon, 2006) provides pointers on making meetings productive, planning, communicating, leading change, and managing conflict. The appendix includes 19 templates and worksheets to assist readers in utilizing the lessons from the book.
	Leading from the Second Chair—Serving Your Church, Fulfilling Your Role, and Realizing Your Dreams by Mike Bonem and Roger Patterson (Jossey-Bass, 2005). This book offers an invaluable resource to leaders who serve in second (and third and fourth) chair roles, enabling them to become more productive, proactive, and fulfilled. It reveals how these leaders can lead in their own right—through developing a deep expertise but a wide perspective.
	Ordering your Private World by Gordon MacDonald (Thomas Nelson Inc, 2003). Gordon MacDonald tells us that, “One of the great battlegrounds of the new century is within the private world of the individual.” In this timely update of his classic Ordering Your Private World, Gordon MacDonald equips a new generation to live life from the inside out, cultivating the inner victory necessary for public effectiveness.
	The Radical Edge by Steve Farber (Kaplan Publishing, 2006). This book details how taking responsibility for making the future better than the present improves the world, explaining how personal responsibility strengthens the business experience for all involved.
	The Radical Leap by Steve Farber (Dearborn Trade Publishing, 2004). Farber’s book details an energetic new approach to leadership, where leaders cultivate love, generate energy, inspire audacity and provide proof (L.E.A.P.). It is part of Farber’s new leadership model, teaching leaders how to interact with others in a more personal and dynamic way.
	Resurrecting Excellence: Shaping Faithful Christian Ministry by Gregory Jones and Kevin Armstrong (Eerdmans, 2006) aims to rekindle and encourage among Christian leaders an unselfish ambition for the gospel that shuns both competition and mediocrity and focuses on the beauty, power, and excellence of living as disciples of the crucified and living Christ.
	Upside Down—The Paradox of Servant Leadership by Stacy T. Rinehart (NavPress, 1998). Servant leadership—the kind of leadership Jesus practiced—is something that sets believers apart. The true spiritual leader, Rinehart writes, is one who turns his or her focus away from self and the creation of a ministry in order to selflessly serve others.

Visioneering by Andy Stanley (Multnomah Publishers, 1999). “ Vision,” writes Andy Stanley, “is a clear mental picture of what could be, fueled by the conviction that it should be.” Stanley builds a compelling case for the necessity of a clear, God-ordained vision for each of the roles of your life.

A Work of Heart by Reggie McNeal (Jossey-Bass, 2000). This book details how “spiritual leaders must become experts in matters of the heart. They must learn to discern God at work in their own lives, shaping their hearts to embrace the particular ministries to which they are called. A Work of Heart shows how God prepares leaders today just as he did in biblical times—and how God creates these leaders in order to share his heart with his people.”

Magazines and online publications

Calling: A Journal for Leaders Who Nurture Vocation is offered free of charge by the Fund for Theological Education to churches that are serious about raising up a new generation of Christian workers.

Leading Ideas: A Resource for Church Leaders is a free, bi-weekly electronic newsletter issued by the Lewis Center for Church Leadership at Wesley Theological Seminary (Washington, D.C.). It is built around the premise that leaders don’t need answers. They need to know the right questions.

Study Guides

Callings: Twenty Centuries of Christian Wisdom on Vocation by Elaine C. Nocks (Fund for Theological Education) was written with a particular audience in mind—congregations seeking to rediscover and reclaim God’s vocational promises both for the individual and for the church, as revealed in Scripture and in tradition. 

Other helpful websites

The Source for Youth Ministry
The purpose of this site, according to its creator, is “to reach 21st century youth with the life-changing message of Christ Jesus, develop student and adult leaders with effective ministry skills, and provide cutting-edge youth ministry tools and resources.” Almost everything offered on the site is free.

Youthspecialties.com
This website provides an amazing array of free, downloadable resources for teens and the adults who minister to them, including several free-for-the-asking e-newsletters, articles on virtually any topic you can imagine, and videos, podcasts, and study guides.