Leading the Team-Based Church How Pastors and Church Staffs Can Grow Together into a Powerful Fellowship of Leaders A Leadership Network Publication

by Cladis, George

• ISBN13: 9780787941192
• ISBN10: 0787941190
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-05-12
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

A Leadership Network Publication In Leading the Team-Based Church, George Cladis issues a clarion call for ministry teams to embrace a fresh leadership model that is not based on hierarchy, but on a process of collaboration that mirrors the relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He reminds us that today's cultural environment--where authority has basis in trust, innovation reaps rewards, and spirituality takes root in life and work--has matured past the need for the hierarchy of traditional church leadership where the pastor had the final say. Through down-to-earth stories from his own experience and those of clergy in both mainline and evangelical churches, Cladis offers an exciting alternative to the traditional forms of church leadership, enabling pastors, congregational leaders, and staff to breathe new life into their ministries and unleash the full potential of the entire ministry team. Cladis, pastor of a fast-growing mainline congregation, demonstrates how cultural changes affecting all our institutions--not just the church--are making it easier to adopt this new model of leadership. Cladis's practical advice will enable ministry teams to work together in ways that both embody the Christian message and call forth the full creativity and love of the entire team. "Just when it seems that all that can be said has been said on the subject of 'teams', just when one has tired of the gumming of the label 'team' on everything in sight, along comes perhaps the most significant religious book on teams yet published. Cladis juxtaposes the theological and cultural context for team-based ministry in a model presentation of what a conversation between Bible, theology, and culture should look like."--Leonard Sweet, dean, The Theological School and vice president, Drew University

Author Biography

GEORGE CLADIS is senior pastor and team leader of Noroton Presbyterian Church in Darien, Connecticut. Previously he pastored Covenant Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas during eleven years of dramatic growth when membership doubled and attAndance tripled.

Table of Contents

Preface: The Critical Need for Team-Based Churches	ix
The Author	xv
PART ONE The Biblical Case for Team-Based Ministry: Reflecting the God We Serve	1	(30)
Learning the Circle Dance of God	3	(14)
Building on a Receptive Cultural Environment	17	(14)
PART TWO The Dance of Leadership: Building Graceful Ministry Teams	31	(124)
The Covenanting Team	33	(15)
The Visionary Team	48	(18)
The Culture-Creating Team	66	(22)
The Collaborative Team	88	(19)
The Trusting Team	107	(16)
The Empowering Team	123	(18)
The Learning Team	141	(14)
Epilogue: A Word of Encouragement	155	(4)
Resource: Two Examples of Staff Covenants	159	(20)
References	179	(4)
Index	183