Leadership from the Inside Out: Examining the Inner Life of a Healthy Church Leader (Leadership Network Innovation Series) [Paperback]

Kevin G. Harney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 13, 2007 | Series: Leadership Network Innovation Series

You can serve God and his people for a lifetime and do it with passion and joy. You do not have to become another casualty in the growing number of leaders who have compromised their integrity, character, and ministry because they failed to lead an examined and accountable life. The road forward is clearly marked. Leaders must make a decision to humbly and consistently examine their inner lives and identify areas of needed change and growth. Also, wise leaders commit to listen to the voices of those who will love them enough to speak the truth and point out problems and potential pitfalls. Kevin Harney writes, 'The vision of this book is to assist leaders as they discover the health, wisdom, and joy of living an examined life. It is also to give practical tools for self-examination.' Sharing stories and wisdom from his years in ministry, Harney shows you how to maintain the most powerful tool in your leadership toolbox: YOU. Your heart, so you can love well. Your mind, so you can continue to learn and grow. Your ears, your eyes, your mouth ... consider this your essential guide to conducting your own complete interior health exam, so you can spot and fix any problems, preserve the things that matter most, and grow as a source of vision, strength, and hope to others.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Why is it that so many gifted and passionate leaders end up on the sidelines of ministry rather than finishing well? How can you avoid the pitfalls that face those who serve Christ and his church? What steps can you take that will propel you forward into a more faithful and fruitful ministry than you ever dreamed? These questions and more are addressed in Leadership from the Inside Out.

From the Author

"The vision of this book is to assist leaders as they discover the health, wisdom, and joy of living an examined life. It is also to give practical tools for self-examination."

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (November 13, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310259436
• ISBN-13: 978-0310259435
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #733,324 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kevin G. Harney serves at Shoreline Community Church in Monterey, California. Harney is the author of Leadership from the Inside Out: Examining the Inner Life of a Healthy Church Leader; Seismic Shifts: The Little Changes That Make a Big Difference in Your Life; Finding a Church You Can Love and Loving the Church You've Found; and more than sixty small-group Bible studies.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Practical and insightful, May 5, 2008

By 

Jeffrey Thiemann "jtlibrary" (Walnut Creek, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Leadership from the Inside Out: Examining the Inner Life of a Healthy Church Leader (Leadership Network Innovation Series) (Paperback)

This is a great book that deals directly with key issues facing leaders. With personal examples and wonderful tips, Kevin Harney goes through many facets of the life of a leader. I am in a group of pastors that have all bought the book and we're working through it together, chapter by chapter.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great look at the inner life of a leader, March 19, 2009

By 

Joshua Reich - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Leadership from the Inside Out: Examining the Inner Life of a Healthy Church Leader (Leadership Network Innovation Series) (Paperback)

Just finished Leadership from the Inside Out by Kevin Harney for my next class.

What a great read. One of the things I appreciated about this book is that it had very little to do with outward leadership principles. This book dealt strictly with what is beneath the surface of a leader, knowing that what is beneath the surface greatly affects outward leadership. I think there has been a shift in leadership writing (especially in the church) away from leadership principles and understanding what is on the inside of a leader. This is a good thing.

Harney said, "Few leaders drop out of ministry because they lack the skills. Instead, too often they lack an examined inner life shaped by the Holy Spirit."

Harney covers things like balance, purity, our words, learning, humility, how we see things.

These are all topics that pastors deal with. How do you balance ministry and family? How do you live a life of integrity so as to not lose your ministry and family? What do you say to people, do you bless them or put them down?

For me, the chapter on balance was a great reminder. It is so easy to put your ministry over your family. Notice I didn't say job, but your ministry. I think a lot of pastors can fall into the trap of providing for their church but not their family when it comes to spiritual things. As a pastor, my first ministry is to my family. If you lose your family or marriage, you lose your ministry, you're done as a pastor. Changes your perspective doesn't it. Because you can lose your ministry and not your family. The best way for a church to be ministered to is to make sure that the pastor is ministering to his family. When that is working and hitting on all cylinders it makes a huge difference in the church. For Katie and I, we have become stricter about family night and date night. It is scheduled and there has to be a great emergency for it get canceled. I expect the leaders at Revolution to do the same thing. I love what I do, wouldn't do anything else with my life, but I love my wife and kids more.

One of the best chapters was on boundaries when it comes to your sexuality. It was nice to hear another leader layout boundaries that he has that are similar to mine. I've heard from countless people that my boundaries are too rigid. Here are mine. As we grow at Revolution and continue adding staff, these will be the boundaries put in place for all of our pastors and staff. The stakes are too high. Again, you fail here, that's the ballgame.

I think one of the best chapters was on vision. Harney looked at the idea that most talk about vision has to do with looking forward, which is true. But for a vision to be effective, one must also look back, be a student of the past as you move forward. This does not mean that you are hindered by the past or that you can't get past the past but that you understand the past in a way that enables you to be effective in the future.

He had some great ways to discern vision and cast it:

God's vision will always be bigger than you can manage on your own.

God's vision will always cost us more than we think we can give.

God's vision will always drive us toward the needs of the world and the hearts of the lost.

Here are a couple of other things I highlighted:

Wise leaders know how to leverage every relationship as a tool for spiritual growth.

The best leaders know that the long journey of faithfulness and effectiveness is well-marked by others who have gone before them. None of us stands high enough to see the future with clarity. We need people in our lives who will stoop to life us onto their spiritual shoulders.

Quite possibly my favorite line in the book: "In ministry, every detail has a name attached to it. When you forget a detail, you forget a person." For me, that line was worth the price of the book.

Definitely worth checking out and a great book to work through with a leadership team. There are some great discussion questions at the end.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A leadership book that offers practical help!, August 12, 2008

By 

M. J. Gafa - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Leadership from the Inside Out: Examining the Inner Life of a Healthy Church Leader (Leadership Network Innovation Series) (Paperback)

I have significantly benefitted by reading and studying this book. Harney has a unique ability to take complex subject matter and make it downright accessible and absolutely applicable. I highly recommend this book for church leaders - pastoral, staff, and lay leaders.