Sketches of Leadership Book Project

I have been writing Sketches of Leadership during the pandemic. These are short Bible studies on leadership topics, often developed because I have been asked to develop a course on a topic like Leadership during a Time of Crisis or Missional Leadership, or the course I am currently teaching, "Personal Leadership: Navigating Life's Turns and Disappointments." This course is addressing topics like fear, burnout, failure, disillusionment, conflict, suffering, and death. Though the topics are mostly negative, the passages and the promises we discuss are mostly hopeful, and the class has been very well received. Here is the list of the ten books I am writing. I have second drafts of Books 1-6, first drafts of books 7-8, and outlines of books 9-10. I hope to complete these books simultaneously and self-publish them in Kindle format very soon. I do not need to make money on them, but I do hope they generate some revenue that could help me to pay for the costs of translating them into the languages of the people I am teaching in Asia. Watch this space for news about how to download your own copies of these books coming soon!

• Book 1: Shepherds and Servants. A look at the two most common images the scripture uses for leadership and how Jesus both teaches and models these classic leadership images for us. He calls us to be like him, shepherding the flock of God as he did and serving those in need, just as he did.
• Book 2: The Master Who Serves: Leaders can be tempted to believe they are working for God, which makes them God’s heroes. We don’t work for God—he works for us. That makes him the hero of our lives, and he likes it that way.
• Book 3: Gentle Influence and Wise Leadership: Studies on verbal influence, asking questions, addressing sin and conflict, reconciliation, and forgiveness. It also includes three studies on leading people into inductive, transformative Bible discussions in small groups.
• Book 4: Focus on the Few for the Sake of the Many: Developing Disciples and Reproducing Leaders. Studies in the Gospel of Mark on the methods, model, and message of Jesus regarding how we grow as disciples and multiply our ministry and character in others.
• Book 5: Developing Disciples and Other Treasure in Heaven: Studies on the surprising and surprisingly relevant Parables of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke.
• Book 6: Personal Leadership: Navigating Life’s Turns and Disappointments: A look at topics on burnout, failure, resistance to God’s work, disillusionment, anxiety, fear, suffering, loss, and death.
• Book 7: Vision and Management: A look at the leadership wisdom of Moses, David, Solomon, Haggai, Elisha, Nehemiah, and Jesus regarding mobilizing teams and groups to accomplish the mission.
• Book 8: Leadership in a Time of Crisis: A look at leadership choices when your original plan isn’t working or when facing internal or external opposition: leading when you don’t know what to do, leadership without authority.
• Book 9: Missional Leadership: What principles can we glean from the teachings of Jesus and the stories of Peter and Paul in the book of Acts? How do we prepare for cross-cultural mission as servant leaders? How can we faithfully incarnate the gospel in our words and deeds?
• Book 10: Judgment and Mercy: God’s Work in the World and Our Response. Studies in the first 11 chapters of Genesis, from the creation to the calling of Abraham at the beginning of chapter 12, and in the book of Habakkuk. Looking at God’s intentions with creation and the corruption of human nature due to the fall. This is a clear-eyed but surprisingly hopeful and relevant message for disciples today.