Building Below The Waterline: Shoring Up the Foundations of Leadership [Hardcover]

Gordon MacDonald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2011

Christian professionals and church leaders alike will find benefit in Gordon MacDonald's "Building Below the Waterline." In this collection of writings from the pages of Leadership Journal, he imparts wisdom to Christian leaders in all areas of ministry and encourages them to grow-- from the ground up--a strong, spiritual foundation. Anchored in Biblical truth, spiritual guidance, and life experience, his collection of essays covers a wide range of matters.

Articles from "Leadership Journal" included in this collection:
- Building Below the Water Line
- Finding Your Center
- Cultivating the Soul
- What I Want to Be When I Grow Up
- Searching Your Motivations
- Extreme Faith
- The Root of Leadership
- The 3:00 Phone Call
- Saying the Hard Stuff
- When Things Get Ugly
- The Cleansing Power of Public Prayer - Monday Morning Restoration
- The Private Times of a Public Minister
- Knee Driven Ministry
- Did Not Finish
- How A Mighty Church Falls
- The Right Way to Handle Church Conflict
- Sometimes You Just Need to Disappear
- Pastor's Progress
- Ten Conditions for Church Growth
- When It's Time to Leave

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Shoddy work on the deep, unseen foundations of your life will be your downfall. This is the warning from Gordon MacDonald in his latest work stemming from his many years of experience. MacDonald points out the key components that determine the strength of our foundation. Beginning with the inner life of a leader, the author addresses issues of character, attitudes, and spiritual practices. The second half of the book deals with the outer life of a leader: presenting Christ and modeling Christ to those we lead. We must constantly maintain the integrity of our foundations to enjoy a lasting, fulfilling life and ministry.

"Although the book covers a broad range of topics and can become a bit tedious at times, it has an important message for leaders at every stage of ministry. The style and prose will likely appeal to mid- or late-life ministers; however, the content is essential for young, emerging leaders who wish to make a lasting impression on their generation.

"Perhaps the best way to read this book is with a group of peers. Each relatively short chapter concludes with three coaching questions or assignments. These are conducive for inspiring one another and holding each other accountable as you strive to build solid foundations for life and ministry.

""Building Below the Waterline" is worth reading, and the foundations it addresses are worth building. Take time to read this book and apply its principles before attempting to build anything else above the waterline."
--"Enrichment"

About the Author

Gordon MacDonald has been a pastor and author for over forty years. For many years he pastored Grace Chapel in Lexington, Massachusetts, and continues to serve as Pastor Emeritus. He has also provided leadership to influential ministries such as Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, which he served as president for three years, and World Relief, which he currently serves as chairman. Gordon's best-selling books include Ordering Your Private World, Mid-Course Correction and, most recently, A Resilient Life. He also writes and serves as Editor-at-Large for Christianity Today's Leadership Journal. When not writing, leading or speaking at conferences, Gordon and his wife Gail can be found hiking the trails of New England.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Hendrickson Pub (April 30, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598566695
• ISBN-13: 978-1598566697
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #771,603 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Super book, even if you're not a pastor May 29, 2011

By T. Pryor

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I am a big fan of Gordon MacDonald. This book is one of his best.

The primary intended audience for this book is young pastors. If you know one, buy this book for them. They will be eternally grateful. It contains great wisdom and discernment from a successful, seasoned, 60+ year old pastor.

If you are not a pastor, this book provides great insight, stories and ideas to improve any man's life.

Some of the highpoints of the book for me are:
- The 4 qualities of a leader: commuicate vision, sensitive to people, immediate assessment sense and keen self knowledge.

- People will trust you only for a short while because of you college degree, ideas or dreams. Trust will be sustained only due to wisdom, keeping my word and integrity.

- Charm and charisma are like a glider ... they work, but not indifinitely.

- We hear more about vision, mission and leadership than trust in churches and pastors today.

- We build trust with consistency, being dependable, being open, hard work, being impartial, longevity and seeking Jesus.

- Gordon talks about why Jesus never experienced burnout.

- Psalm 23 is a good job description for a pastor.

- Megachurch preachers are CEO's, not pastors.

- Every sermon (or speech) should have an intended outcome of which you tell the crowd at the beginning.

- There are 5 stages of decline: arrogant conceit, undisciplined pursuit of more, denial of risk & perial, grasping for a silver bullet solution and becoming irrelevant.

- When you want to quit, do what the Air Force does and take a 72-hour stand down.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My read on "Building Below the Waterline'. April 27, 2012

By Charles W. Powell

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I think that this is a great book and follows in a great line of other books by Gordon MacDonald. I deeply appreciate that he tells stories, and is incredibly open about his own life and experience. I recommend anything he has published.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Motives Over Methods February 13, 2012

By D. P. Dwight

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is one of the better books I've read in a long time on leadership. Maybe it's that I'm getting older - and this book is Gordon's reflections from many years of experience, but the book stresses character over charisma and motives over methods. In a world where sadly, we now have lots of celebrity among Christian leaders, this book is a strong call to the quality of the leader's inner world. In a culture where the Twitter, Facebook and YouTube can make anyone famous in short order, this book warns against the flashy, and exhorts toward the quality of the leader's heart.