Courageous Leadership [Hardcover]

Bill Hybels (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2002

The book you hold resonates with this conviction: that leaders such as you have the potential to be the most influential forces on planet Earth. Yours is the staggering responsibility and the matchless privilege of rallying believers and mobilizing their spiritual gifts in order to help people who are far from God become fully devoted followers of Christ. Life transformation and the eternal destinies of real people depend on the redemptive message entrusted to the local church. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to lead your church effectively so God's message of hope can change the world? Then this book is for you. Courageous Leadership is Bill Hybels' magnum opus, a book far too important to be written before its time. Only now, after nearly thirty years leading his own church from a handful of people with a burning vision into a globe-spanning kingdom force---only after almost three decades of victories and setbacks, of praying hard and risking big---is Hybels ready at last to share the lessons he has learned, and continues to learn, about Christian leadership. Too much is at stake for you not to maximize your spiritual gift of leadership, insists Hybels. In this passionate, powerful book, he unpacks the tools, tasks, and challenges of your calling. You'll discover the power of vision and how to turn it into action. You'll gain frontline insights for developing a kingdom dream team, discovering your leadership style, developing other leaders, making decisions, walking with God, embracing change, staying your God-given course, and much, much more. Drawing on his own richly varied life experiences, Hybels fleshes out vital principles with riveting firsthand stories. This is far more than another book on leadership strategies and techniques. You'll find those topics in here, to be sure. But beyond them, you'll find the very essence of one of today's foremost Christian leaders---his fervent commitment to evangelism and discipleship and his zeal to inspire fellow church leaders even as he seeks to keep growing as a leader himself. If unchurched people matter to you . . . if you love seeing believers serve passionately with their spiritual gifts . . . if God's heartbeat for the church is your heartbeat as well . . . then this book is a must. Courageous Leadership will convince you to lead with all your might, all your skill, and all your faith. And it will give you the tools to do just that.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

By any standard contemporary measure, Hybels ranks among the North American Protestantism's most significant leaders. As senior pastor at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., he leads an all-star team of lay and ordained people ministering to tens of thousands each week. Through his other books (among them Rediscovering Church and Descending into Greatness), and through the Willow Creek Association, he influences thousands of congregations. So his voice on the subject of leadership commands immediate attention. Fortunately, after 30 years, he's got something worthwhile to say and better yet, he says it well. Written in an easy, colorful, anecdote-sprinkled style, this is an inspiring and informative pep talk for pastors who share Hybels's conviction that when it's working right, the "local church is the hope of the world." That hope hinges, he says, on churches being led by those who "possess and deploy the spiritual gift of leadership." While not theologically deep or biblically rigorous, it is full of wise principles, useful lists and practical leadership tips. Hybels covers some of the same territory as other leadership books styles of leadership, team-building, decision-making, developing emerging leaders, etc. but he does so remarkably free of the double-talk and jargon that so often plague them. For example, he graciously disagrees with those leadership gurus who distinguish between a "vision" statement, a "mission" statement, and a "purpose" statement. What folks really need to know and remember, says Hybels, is "the main thing." This is a welcome addition to any pastor's library.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

Hybels writes with a confidence born of successful leadership...but is at his best when admitting his struggles and mistakes. -- Christianity Today, October 7, 2002

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (August 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031024823X
• ISBN-13: 978-0310248231
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #97,770 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bill Hybels is the founding and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., and chairman of the board for the Willow Creek Association. The bestselling author of more than twenty books, including Axiom, Holy Discontent, Just Walk Across the Room, The Volunteer Revolution, Courageous Leadership, and classics such as Too Busy Not to Pray and Becoming a Contagious Christian, Hybels is known worldwide as an expert in training Christian leaders to transform individuals and their communities through the local church. Hybels received a bachelor's degree in Biblical Studies and an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Trinity College in Deerfield, Ill. He and his wife, Lynne, have two adult children and one grandson, Henry.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "Hybels-Haters" need to read this. I think it would help them shut their mouths. June 30, 2007

By Joel Munyon

Format:Hardcover

I have lived an hour south of Willow Creek most of my life. My father, a pastor, goes there almost weekly to get refreshed and then drives the hour home with new ideas from the Holy Spirit. We are both saddened by the vast numbers of people who criticize Hybels and Willow Creek without knowing their heartbeat or, suprisingly, even stepping foot on the churches main campus.

Courageous Leadership is a book that will act as a portrait of the heartbeat of Pastor Hybels and what makes him tick. It is also a book that acts as a tremendous source for church leaders of all shades and descripitions, even if you are not a pastor.

Covered in this 252 page book are the following....

* Finding leaders who have chemistry and who fit with your current team.
* Establishing clear goals for everyone, and making them tangible.
* Excellence in church is a must. He discusses how people will use excellence in their worldly jobs, but have a hard time using those same critical methods for the kingdom of God.
* The vitality of vision and recasting that vision.
* The importance of celebration and giving honor to church workers, especially volunteers. Hybels tells of a story on page 175 in which all the volunteers were honored in a quasi-parade in which they all marched onto the stage as the church cheered them on. One of Willow's pastors, John Ortberg and drama leader Nancy Beach, acted the parts of Regis and Kathy Lee as they described each ministry group as they marched by.
* Praying to become like Biblical warriors and adopting the best attributes of people like Esther, Joshua, and David.
* Emulating the tenacity of Christ and the Apostle Paul.
* The importance of saying no to certain things and ideas in order to use your energy on what God really wants in your life.
* The importance of staying focused and cleaning up our own secret, inner problems first and foremost.
* The crucial importance of finding a team that is big on character, competence, and chemistry.

I found it interesting that nowhere in this book does Hybels ask leaders to emulate Willow Creek's worship style or vision methodology. He does, however, ask leaders to emulate his own dependence on the living God through different forms of prayer and team-building, accountability, as well as seeking out what our own gifts are while utilizing them where we're at.

Hybels also discusses the importance of getting away from the church at times to be alone with his family and the Lord. I thought this part of the book was probably the best because he talks about how it has revolutionized his own life and turned his children, instead of turning on the faith, into dynamic lovers of the Lord. The summer break, as he calls it, is something that all leaders need in some form or another.

All-in-all, Courageous Leadership is a great book for Christian leaders of any sort, not just pastors.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Leading with new eyes March 26, 2005

By Bryon Harvey

Format:Hardcover

After reading two other book for a class on leadership, the last thing I wanted to do was read another book on leadership. It is not that I believe I have learned all that I can. I am tired of reading and rereading the same thing. It does not help that during this semester I was also enrolled in Airman Leadership School (ALS) for the Air Force, and reviewed for the final examination while reading Hybels' book. I expected to be reminded more than taught in his book. Unfortunately, Courageous Leadership met my expectations, at least the first four chapters. It took me as long to read the first 93 pages as it did to read the last 128. The first four chapters are similar to what Stanley wrote in The Next Generation Leader. A majority of the course material for ALS dealt with building, maintaining, and leading teams. The last eight chapters, however, were a refreshing surprise.

Although the book provided ample information for a young leader to chew on, the chapter on self-leadership was incredibly challenging and edifying. Hybels pigeon-holed me exactly in his generalization about leaders; when I think about leadership I think about the people I supervise or for whom I am responsible. As I continued to read the chapter I felt pretty good about making the value changes necessary to be a 360° leader. Then, out of nowhere, the author hits me with the necessity of leading myself.

That was a great set up. The whole concept slapped me in the face. I am not effectively leading myself. I am so busy leading the ministry in which I serve and wearing all the pretty hats that I have, I have not spent a lot of time thinking about the needs I am required to provide for myself. The chapter offers ten diagnostic questions to determine how effectively the reader is self-leading. Although I need to reread that chapter much more carefully to fully internalize the lessons, I am confident that the diagnosis is bad. As I took the brief seconds I had to reflect, I realized that I have to find a lot more time to reflect on how I should be leading myself. There are major change is need to make in me to become the leader God has designed me to be. I just need to find out what they are.

There is wide range of information provided in Courageous Leadership, too much to absorb in one reading. It would be, however, a vital addition to the library of any pastor. I am not convinced that the Willow model or any other model will work in every congregation. Cookie cutter churches only work for cookie cutter people. The lessons Hybels offers will cause pastors to rethink how they lead and how they could lead more effectively. The biggest benefit the church will receive is a leader living life with their eyes open. If pastors will read and apply Hybels' thoughts, they will look at their churches differently, their teams differently and themselves differently. As they take the time to see things differently they will learn to lead more effectively.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Read for Pastors! January 27, 2003

By David R. Bess VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Many younger and older pastors alike have stood in awe at the way God has used Bill Hybels at the Willow Creek Community Church outside of Chicago. Willow is currently the largest church in North America. Hybels is a dynamic speaker and author, in addition to being an extremely successful pastor. Now, he has gathered his leadership thoughts together in this volume, which is sure to be a great help to all Christian leaders.

Throughout this book, Hybels emphasizes the importance of possessing a Divine vision for God's people, then pursuing that vision relentlessly and casting it consistently. The author offers various thoughts and insights into what makes a great leader. Many of these lessons he has learned through his own "school of hard knocks" at Willow.

I recommend this book very highly to all pastors, regardless of church size or denomination. I always enjoy Hybels' writings, and this volume is undoubtedly one of his best. Don't pass on this one!