Team Leadership in Christian Ministry: Using Multiple Gifts to Build a Unified Vision

Rating:
Summary: Sensative to the Organization & the Integrity of the Leader.
Review: Kenneth Gangel takes the subject of team leadership and then addresses the matrix of issues that leadership in church organizations deal with. From the top of the organizational chart to the part-time volunteer leader, this will truly help you become a better leader and person yet will enable you to maintain a focus on the people that you and your organization serve.

This book has a wealth of information and experience that can be applied to any size organization. There is no way to touch on every issue and it's difficult to summarize the volume of information in a nut shell, but rest assured if you've run into it as a leader, it's in here.

The one thing that should be stressed is that Gangel is clear that these concepts are "team leadership" oriented, meaning that if you are in church leadership where one person does the bulk of the decision making and work, this book may not be for you. If you're a new Pastor, Youth Pastor or the head of a new ministry, this book will be of value and a good resource for you. In your daily interaction with those on your staff/those you lead, you will probably be picking this up more than once so it good information to read it every so often. Consider this mentorship at your fingertips!

The book seems like formulated reading and does cover a lot of ideas and materials. However, they are not the dry, theoritical paradigms that seem to conjure up horrible images. This is really nuts and bolts in the best sense. However, the material isn't best applied by skimming and picking. It's would really be a benefit to your ministry and yourself to treat this as study material. This as a "sit down dinner" so to speak, rather than a mad dash through the drive-thru at the fast food place. There is value by investing time in digesting the principles and giving thought to how they apply to the names and faces in your ministry.

Rating:
Summary: Unity in Love is the Final Apologetic
Review: Many churches function as if the pastor is a hired hand, hired to do all the work of the church. These churches can never grow larger than what their overworked, burned out pastors can handle.

Other churches allow the pastor so much unilateral authority that it becomes dangerous. These churches may grow larger, but they are susceptible to a host of problems. What happens when the pastor leaves? What if the pastor is wrong?

This book offers a team based approach to leadership. The team still needs a leader, but the load is carried on several shoulders. Virtually any question one might have concerning team based ministry is addressed in the manual.