Crisis Leadership---Personal Accounts From Leaders Who Found Their Way And Thrived - Softcover

D. Scott Barfoot

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0985555912 ISBN 13: 9780985555917

Publisher: XP-Press, 2014

About this title

Review

  In leadership, it’s a matter of when, not if, you will be confronted by crises.  Spiritual leaders are not immune from this critical challenge of leadership.  In fact, no one observes leadership more closely than when performing under pressure. Yet this dynamic of leadership is too often absent in the training of leaders who lead in spiritual circles. Thank you, Scott and David, for this incredibly practical and insightful look into the lives of leaders doing what leaders are called on to do—crisis leadership.

-Reggie McNeal
Best-selling author and leadership coach
Missional Leadership Specialist, Leadership Network

  If you’re a leader, crisis leadership is part of your job description.  There is no way to avoid it. We can’t plan our way, pray our way, or think our way around it. We have to work our way through it. In Crisis Leadership, Barfoot and Fletcher share real-life stories from frontline leaders—and, more importantly, they share the important life and ministry lessons learned along the way.

-Larry Osborne
Pastor of North Coast Church and Bestselling author of Sticky Teams and many more!

Bleedership is a realistic way to describe crisis in leadership. In fact, leading successfully in and through crisis separates the mediocre from the exceptional. No soldier wins a medal or gains notoriety of valor in peacetime. It’s only in times of war and conflict, yes crisis, that exceptional bravery is needed and leadership is evidenced. My friends, Dr. David Fletcher and Dr. Scott Barfoot, have coordinated a wide array of real-life leaders leading in crisis. Others have bled as leadership personifying bleedership. You will laugh, cry, get angry, celebrate and often say “me too.” No leader reading this book will be disappointed.

-Samuel R. Chand
Leadership Consultant
Author of Cracking Your Church’s Culture Code, among many others!

  Leadership is not always a cakewalk. Often it includes kicks in the gut. If you want good advice about the difficult backside of leadership in a variety of scenarios, this book is full of great wisdom and solid advice. Digest what is here. It can help you in and through a crisis.

-Darrell Bock
Bestselling author
Senior Research Professor, Dallas Theological Seminary

In this practical volume showcasing a professional, advanced degree in formal theological education, pastoral leaders will find common themes of crisis that impede or improve their leadership impact. Crises in marriage or ministry reveal leaders as those willing to learn and live out new learning. Dr. Scott Barfoot and Dr. David Fletcher who shepherd respective DMin programs at Dallas Seminary and India—I belong to both the institution and nation—here present growth options from the crisis-fires of the leadership crucible for multipurpose application. Read with pen in hand. When meeting external complexity, uncertainty and ambiguity with internal discouragement, unbelief and regret, you will find your notes immediately beneficial.

-Ramesh Richard
Professor, Dallas Theological Seminary
President, Ramesh Richard Evangelism and Church Health

Having spent sixty years in college and seminary teaching, pastoral ministry in churches and military chaplaincy, I agree with Jesus as quoted in Matthew 6:34, “Each day has enough trouble of its own” (NIV). Crisis is an adequate synonym for trouble. Dealing with crises saps personal and corporate time and energy. Crisis Leadership, authored and edited by Barfoot and Fletcher, takes us into the dust and mud of battlefield crisis struggles, focusing on solutions. I look forward to more such intensely practical books from these authors.

-John W. Reed
Senior Professor, Emeritus; Director of DMin Studies, Emeritus, Dallas Theological Seminary
Chaplain Lt. Col. USAF, Res. Retired
Associate Pastor, Lakeview Congregation, Dallas

  I often hear the statistic that 60-80% of pastors in ministry today will leave the ministry in the next decade.  How many would remain in ministry if adequately prepared to handle the inevitable crisis? Crisis Leadership addresses the real situations that ministry leaders face—from the resignation of a senior pastor, to moral failure, to personal conflict.  Any pastor can glean wisdom from the varied authors and their experiences in facing the trying moments when leading a ministry.

-Sutton Turner
Executive Pastor
Mars Hill Church

  Trials are tests. They are not designed to cause a person to “pass out” but to pass. Barfoot and Fletcher’s Crisis Leadership is an amazing collection of stories of men and women who found victory in times of inevitable trials.  The issues from real-life experiences range from complicated church staffing and radical change to high-pressure challenges and a threatening divorce. The book provides both inspiration and instruction, including a very beneficial chapter on trust relationships that is essential in times of crisis. Here is a helpful manual to help you pass the test.

-J. Ron Blue
President Emeritus of Camino Global (formally CAM International)
Coordinator of Spanish Doctor of Ministry, Dallas Theological Seminary

When crises erupt, too many Christian leaders fold. They abandon their sacred callings, fall prey to the enemy’s ploys and pranks, and leave wounded people scratching their heads. In Crisis Leadership, nine seasoned leaders reveal how they survived and even thrived in ministry crucibles that sometimes lead others to quit. Their stories teach on topics like leaving well, conflict, change, people problems, marital challenges, stagnation and growth, creating cultures of trust, and hiring the right staff. I highly recommend this book. It’s a must read, a captivating read, for serious leaders who want to fill their tool boxes with practical wisdom that equips them for the ups and downs of long-term joyful ministry in a fallen world.

-Sue Edwards
Associate Professor of Educational Ministries and Leadership
Dallas Theological Seminary
Author of The Discovery Series Bible Studies

All leaders face crises in their lives and ministries. Crises are a part of life. It is with refreshing openness that the authors of Crisis Leadership tell engaging stories of their experiences with personal and professional crises. This book provides insights from Scripture and experience into how leaders successfully handle crises. This book examines the causes and contexts for the crises and provides guiding principles for turning them into victories, through God’s mercy and grace. If you are seeking wisdom for handling leadership crises, this book is for you.

-Jerry Wofford
Founder and President, Training Centers for Church Planters
Professor Emeritus, The University of Texas at Arlington

  So many misguided notions and expectations are associated with the term “leader.” Crisis Leadership pulls together the stories of leaders who made the long, painful, but healthy journey toward personal insight and reflection. This book has healing qualities hidden inside.

-Michael Lawson
Senior Professor, Educational Ministries and Leadership Department
Coordinator, Doctor of Educational Ministries
Dallas Theological Seminary

  Crisis Leadership offers a personal, honest look into the lives of leaders who have made mistakes or have faced great trials in the crucible of Christian ministry. This is a book filled with redeeming hope, needed encouragement, and valuable insights—to help all leaders not only survive but thrive in the midst of the challenges of life and ministry.

-Joye Baker
Adjunct Professor
Educational Ministries and Leadership
Dallas Theological Seminary

    Prepared for your next leadership crisis? It’s easy to be blindsided by the unexpected.  This book brilliantly captures nine stories of leaders who navigated painful challenges. What they learned prepares you for life’s unexpected road bumps. Read it now and be ready for tomorrow.

-Dianne Miller
former Minister to Women, Northwest Bible Church

As a church planter, the insights in this book are a must-read. Many of the practical, personal and leadership challenges of pastoral ministry are represented in this compilation. Although it is primarily about crisis leadership, the wisdom of this book covers the unique intricacies of change management, hiring, interpersonal leadership and much more. I recommend that every pastor read this book long before you get into the crises of ministry!

-Jeff Fritsche
Lead Pastor
White Rock Fellowship

A surprising amount of wisdom from such a small book!  Through stories of challenges and crisis in the crucible of ministry, the reader can feel the struggle of each author.  It pulls us in to identify with something in each story, allowing us to see God’s hidden purposes as He draws into intimacy, purifies and matures His loved servants.  The authors share their personal thoughts and the resources that helped and guided them—a gift to the rest of us in the journey.  Crisis Leadership is not only an easy read but is also faith-building and God glorifying.

-Linda Marten
Associate Professor
Dallas Theological Seminary

‘Leaders are made not born.’ But what happens while in the process of growing as a good leader a crisis arises that sideswipes you, which will no doubt happen to all leaders at one point of their lives? Barfoot and Fletcher have put together a masterpiece that will go a long way in helping leaders manage critical issues that arise. No leader of any kind (sacred or secular) should be without this book on their shelf, since the principles to implement and practical examples illustrated by authors are proven to work when a leader encounters crisis. I strongly recommend this work!

-René A. López
Adjunct Professor of Biblical Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary
Assistant Professor of New Testament Studies, Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary

Ministry is both glorious and messy at the same time. What Scott Barfoot and David Fletcher have done in Crisis Leadership is to allow ministry leaders themselves to tell their stories from the front lines. There is no greater teacher than a storyteller; listening to the real-life accounts of these ministry leaders is a great reminder of the fundamentals of ministry with God’s people. May we listen well to the lives of others.

-George M. Hillman
Chair and Associate Professor of Education Ministries and Leadership
Dallas Theological Seminary

About this edition

• Publisher: XP-Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0985555912
• ISBN 13: 9780985555917
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 152
• Editor: D. Scott Barfoot, David R. Fletcher