The Leadership Baton: An Intentional Strategy for Developing Leaders in Your Church

By Bruce B. Miller, Rowland Forman, Jeff Jones, et al.

Book Overview

The demand for quality leaders constantly outstrips the supply. If you're a pastor, team leader, staff member, or board member, you're always challenged with a leadership shortage. But what can you do about it More than you've ever imagined. The Leadership Baton equips you with a solution that's time-proven and right at hand: church-based leadership development. More and more churches are adopting it, and no wonder--the principles that made the early church such a spiritual powerhouse are just as effective today. Leadership was never a matter of institutional learning or professional expertise. Rather, starting with Jesus and his apostles, it involved seasoned leaders passing the baton to ordinary people right within the local body of believers. That same approach can help ensure your own church is never at a loss for dependable men and women to enter the leadership race with wisdom, vision and passion. Drawing on the field-tested expertise of the Center for Church Based Training, The Leadership Baton will help you get the leaders you need up and running, developing leadership qualities they can in turn hand off to other up-and-coming leaders. Part 1 casts a vision for church-based leadership training--not merely a program, but a leadership development culture based on biblical and historical foundations. Part 2 presents a whole-life approach to leadership development that is wisdom-based (through courses), relationship-based (through the church community), and personal (through mentoring). Part 3 describes a comprehensive plan for leadership development, then breaks it down to target the needs of governing boards, emerging leaders, pastoral staffs, and interns. With discussion questions at the end of each chapter, this book concludes with two appendices, including a self-inventory for church leaders to help them assess their personal strengths and weak areas that need development. Put the principles in The Leadership Baton to work with patience, and in time your church will never lack the right people at the right time to help it fulfill its kingdom mission.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0310284805
• ISBN13: 9780310284802
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.73 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 8.9"
• Age Range: 18 years and up

Customer Reviews

Forward thinking

I believe we are all given a brief time to share the gospel with others. And in the process, we should always be looking for others to "take our place"...so to speak. The Leadership Baton gives a practical view on how to do just that. These are people (the authors) who have obviously "practiced what they preached" and are genuinely serving God, remembering we are all here for a brief time. And we all should be asking the Lord how we can help others become servant leaders. I recommend it to anyone in leadership roles in the church, be it as a profession or a layman.

Fantastic plan from a fantastic church!

This group writes from the perspective of the Fellowship Bible Church, founded by Gene Getz. FBC is one of the exceptional equipping churches in America, not only growing to great size using a "mini-church" or house church model, but also successfully planting dozens of other local churches mostly in Texas, Arkansas, and the Rocky Mountain states. They have founded the Center for Church Based Training which propagates the FBC approach to leadership development. Their excellent training material is interactive and suited for use in small groups and classes. The book has a section on personal mentoring that is brief but good. - Dennis McCallum, author Organic Disciplemaking: How to promote Christian leadership development through personal relationships, biblical discipleship, mentoring, and Christian community

Great work written by men who know what leadership is all about

This book is a great resource for church leaders that are feeling the vacuum of a lack of leadership development in their church. It is well written, and is loaded with relevant information.