In this addition to the new Working Preacher Books series, prolific author William H. Willimon makes the compelling case that two key pastoral tasks--preaching and leadership--complement, correct, strengthen, and inform one another. Preaching is the distinctive function of pastoral leaders. Leadership of the church, particularly during a challenging time of transition in mainline Protestantism, has become a pressing concern for pastors. This book shows how the practices, skills, and intentions of Christian preaching can be helpful to the leadership of a congregation. It will also show how leadership is an appropriate expectation for sermons. In preaching, pastoral leaders can help a congregation face its problems and coordinate its God-given resources to address those problems. Sermons can be an opportunity to articulate, motivate, and orchestrate God's people in doing God's work in the church and in the world. Leading with the Sermon includes chapters on why pastors must be leaders, why preaching is such an essential task in telling the truth about the gospel, how preaching makes better leaders, and how better leaders make better preachers.

What makes some preaching gripping - unforgettable even? What can we learn from the best preachers? How can we appreciate great preaching, often at the click of a mouse, without devaluing the role of the local church minister? 'Without creating a guru mentality, I focus on one positive aspect from each preacher and offer hints on how other preachers might emulate them.' says author Simon Vibert. He also looks at the Bible's own take on good preaching, and focuses on the exemplary models of Jesus and Paul. This is not a how-to manual, nor a biblical theology of preaching, nor even a critique of the subjects. Rather, it is a focus on modern-day practitioners, from whom all preachers can form a composite picture of excellence, and from whom all preachers would do well to learn.

Ken Blanchard, a highly respected figure in the fields of leadership and business, invites you into the world of influence through his extensive career insights in this inspirational leadership book. In The Heart of a Leader, you’ll learn about: Uncover the significance of making value-based decisions; Learn how to pursue excellence in every aspect of your life; Explore the vital role of integrity in leadership and personal growth; Embrace change as a source of growth and development; Empower those around you to achieve their full potential. Get ready to go on a journey toward effective leadership and personal growth. Bound to become a timeless classic on Christian inspirational leadership, this book offers teachings on values, excellence, integrity, change, and empowerment that will equip you with the essential tools to not only lead effectively but also inspire those around you.

Provides pastors with a step-by-step process for creating a preaching plan that nurtures growing disciples.

Learn how to lead like Jesus, whether in the home, the church, the community, or the marketplace; moving not only from success to significance but taking a step beyond significance--surrender.

The definitive playbook for driving impact as a middle manager Leading from the Middle: A Playbook for Managers to Influence Up, Down, and Across the Organization delivers an insightful and practical guide for the backbone of an organization: those who have a boss and are a boss and must lead from the messy middle. Accomplished author and former P&G executive Scott Mautz walks readers through the unique challenges facing these managers, and the mindset and skillset necessary for managing up and down and influencing what happens across the organization. You’ll learn the winning mindset of the best middle managers, how to develop the most important skills necessary for managing from the middle, how to create your personal Middle Action Plan (MAP), and effectively influence: Up the chain of command, to your boss and those above them Down, to your direct reports and teams who report to you Laterally, to peers and teams you have no formal authority over Anyone in an organization who reports to someone and has someone reporting to them must lead from the middle. They are the most important group in an organization and have a unique opportunity to drive impact. Leading from the Middle explains how.

Lisa Cressman, founder of Backstory Preaching, offers preachers tools to craft difficult sermon messages that can be heard. The gospel changes lives, but to do that it must first be heard. For it to be heard, people have to trust they are "seen" and their concerns and fears are acknowledged. They have to feel their perspectives are real, valid, and respected. Preachers have a difficult message to preach, a message many will not want to hear: new life always emerges from death. Cressman shows preachers how to craft sermons with the right tone and how to have the courage to say what you're called to say. Part 1 of the book provides the preparatory work needed before crafting those difficult sermon messages. Here the focus is on how preachers prepare themselves, build relationships of mutual trust with listeners, and understand and appropriately use authority and leadership to proclaim the gospel. Part 2 focuses on the sermon itself with suggestions on what to say and how to say it. The preacher will find new tools and sharpen existing ones to preach difficult messages with empathy, compassion, and skill.

Change the Way You Think about Leadership At the age of thirty-three, Dr. Albert Mohler became the youngest president in the 164-year history of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was the driving force behind the school's transformation into a thriving institution with an international reputation characterized by a passionate conviction for truth. In the process he became one of the most important and prominent Christian voices in contemporary culture. What will it take to transform your leadership? Effective leaders need more than administrative skills and vision. They need to be able to change the hearts and minds of those they lead. Leadership like this requires passionate beliefs that can stand up to pressure from without and within. In this updated edition Dr. Mohler has added a new introduction and conclusion based on an additional 10 years of leadership. He has also completely rewritten the chapter "The Digital Leader." The Conviction to Lead will crystallize your convictions while revolutionizing your thinking, your decision-making, your communication, and ultimately, those you lead. "Dr. Al Mohler has written a book that shakes us up and challenges our thinking. The Conviction to Lead is poised to become one of the all-time classic works on Christian leadership."--JIM DALY, President - Focus on the Family "Having rarely thought about leadership, I was hooked from the first chapter--to my complete surprise. This is a powerful book and gracefully written."--FRED BARNES, Executive Editor--The Weekly Standard

Pastor and preaching coach, Dr. Yancey Arrington offers a new paradigm for message preparation - one that focuses on seeing sermons emotionally, where preachers will be trained on discovering a message's emotional center, charting sermon bandwidth, and leveraging one's God-given personality in the preaching event. This innovative approach to preaching can produce more effective seasons in the pulpit where congregants are carried `down the mountain' of messages in such a way they can't wait to do it again!