Living Your Strengths Discover Your God-Given Talents and Inspire Your Community

by Clifton, Don; Winseman, Albert L.; Liesveld, Curt

• ISBN13: 9781595620026
• ISBN10: 1595620028
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-10-10
• Publisher: SIMON & SCHUSTER

Summary

Personal stories and actionable advice for the spiritually committed, all rooted in decades of research.
 

Even in a country as religious as the U.S., many people feel disengaged from their faith communities. More than half report that they really don't get the opportunity in their congregation to do what they do best. People just feel disconnected.

Maybe it's because those faith communities make unwitting missteps: Pastors ask shy people to be greeters or recruit innately disorganized people to coordinate church events.

The problem is simply this: Too many people's talents are going unappreciated. But it doesn't have to be this way. Living Your Strengths shows readers how to use their innate gifts to enrich their faith communities. The book — written by former pastors Albert Winseman and Curt Liesveld and Don Clifton, coauthor of the national bestseller Now, Discover Your Strengths — shows people how to identify and affirm their talents and how to use them for growth and service. Most importantly, Living Your Strengths helps people discover their true calling.

The book includes an access code to take the CliftonStrengths assessment (formerly called Clifton StrengthsFinder) that reveals a reader’s top five talent themes. Spiritual enrichment begins with turning talents into strengths. Living Your Strengths is an indispensable guide to help readers to just that.

Author Biography

Al Winseman is Global Practice Leader for Faith-Based Organizations for The Gallup Organization. Since joining Gallup in 2000 to develop this new practice area, Winseman has led research into the characteristics of effective congregations. Prior to joining Gallup, Winseman served as a pastor in the United Methodist Church for 15 years. He lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, with his wife, Jane, and their two daughters, Julie and Kaleigh.

Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D., (1924-2003) was past chairman of The Gallup Organization and coauthor of the national bestseller Now, Discover Your Strengths and other books. He was named the Grandfather of Positive Psychology and the Father of Strengths Psychology by the American Psychological Association. He is survived by his wife Shirley, four children, and nine grandchildren.

Curt Liesveld is a Senior Developmental Analyst, Consultant and Seminar Leader for The Gallup Organization. Since joining the company in 1999, Liesveld has led leadership and management seminars for many of Gallup’s clients in the corporate, education, church, and government sectors. Prior to joining Gallup he was a church leader and pastor in the Reformed Church in America for 23 years. Liesveld lives with his wife, Rosanne, in Lincoln, Nebraska

Table of Contents

Introduction	ix
Chapter 1: The Power of the Right Fit	1	(10)
Chapter 2: Identifying and Affirming Your Talents	11	(86)
Chapter 3: Using Your Talents for Growth and Service	97	(84)
Chapter 4: Helping Others Find the Right Fit	181	(12)
Chapter 5: Creating Strength-Based Congregations	193	(22)
Chapter 6: Discovering a Calling	215	(6)
A Technical Report on the Clifton StrengthsFinder	221
Acknowledgements