The Missional Leader: Equipping Your Church to Reach a Changing World (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series) [Hardcover]

Alan Roxburgh (Author), Fred Romanuk (Author), Eddie Gibbs (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 7, 2006 | Series: Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series (Book 17)

In The Missional Leader, consultants Alan Roxburgh and Fred Romanuk give church and denominational leaders, pastors, and clergy a clear model for leading the change necessary to create and foster a missional church focused outward to spread the message of the Gospel into the surrounding community. The Missional Leader emphasizes principles rather than institutional forms, shows readers how to move away from “church as usual,” and demonstrates what capacities, environments, and mindsets are required to lead a missional church.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Missional Leader paints a realistic picture ... of what life could look like among churches willing to enter the chaos [of the world] and make lasting change little by little." (Christianity Today, Fall 2006)

Review

"Alan J. Roxburgh and Fred Romanuk are two of the few people in the world today who understand how we can create an environment for the missional transformation of the church for the postmodern world. Every church leader should read this book!"
—Rev. Dr. Clark D. Cowden, evangelist presbyter, Presbytery of San Joaquin, Presbyterian Church

"Discontinuous change wreaks havoc among congregations and pastors who aren’t familiar with the new terrain.  When it comes to navigating this new land, Roxburgh and Romanuk have my ear and gratitude.  Effective, dependable, useful . . .  their wisdom is helping retool our congregation for daring and robust witness.  And among my students—who feel change deep in their bones, both its threats and opportunities—this book is a vital companion as they begin their ministries."
—Chris William Erdman, senior pastor, University Presbyterian Church; adjunct faculty, MB Biblical Seminary Biblical Seminary

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (April 7, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078798325X
• ISBN-13: 978-0787983253
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #131,040 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Alan J. Roxburgh is a teacher, trainer and consultant who works with Allelon and internationally framing resources for the missional church. He coordinates an international project involving leaders from twelve nations who are examining leadership formation in a globalized world. He is the author or coauthor of several books, including The Missional Church, The Missional Leader and Leadership, Liminality and the Missionary Congregation, and Reaching a New Generation. He and his wife Jane live in Vancouver, Canada, and have three grown children.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars the real deal November 1, 2006

By Daniel Sheffield

Format:Hardcover

Alan Roxburgh has finally pulled together all the pieces that he has been writing about and teaching for a number of years. Some of this stuff he taught in a course I took with him 14 years ago at McMaster. He highlights the character required, the skills required, and the processes required, of pastors seeking to innovate toward the missionally-engaged congregation. There are far too many people using the term "missional" to signify whatever they want. Alan and the others in the Gospel and Culture Network are giving us principles, practice and definitions that do justice to what Newbigin meant when he started some of us using the term long before it became vogue.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Parts very good May 13, 2007

By Michael H. Montgomery

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'll be usng this book for a class that I am teaching. It covers the basics of "missional church" all right, but the strength of the book is chapters 3-5, where a change strategy for adopting missional church paradigm is lifted up. The last chapters, on leadership, I found less helpful in part because it is grounded not to the experience of a church becoming "missional" but to the author's evaluation instrument. The authors acknowledge but underestimate the membership loss that comes from adopting the missional paradigm: they estimate 10 to 15%, without systemmatic research I have found closer to 50% loss in several cases in the UCC.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Missional Church Leadership December 23, 2007

By David R. Bess VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Having read many books on leadership, and having read a few on the missional church, I was very pleased to find this volume with a missional approach to leadership. The author asserts that this approach can be used in any church setting to give the congregation more of a missional church direction. Although the entire book is well-worth reading, the most intensive section is chapters 3-5. I recommend this one highly.