Seeds for the Future: Growing Organic Leaders for Living Churches (TCP Leadership Series)

After more than twenty years of leading and lecturing on leadership models based on a CEO approach to leadership, Robert Dale has taken a 180 degree turn. Rather than the "pry and push" mechanical models of industry, Dale has moved to an organic "sow and grow" approach. The issue, says Dale, is whether or not congregational leaders really believe the church of Jesus Christ is alive. If congregations are living communities, they deserve to be lead in ways that plant seeds of faith in good seedbeds and then cultivate the seeds that germinate until harvest. This very old (biblical) and very new (postmodern) way of conceptualizing leadership begins with growing leaders then moves to community health and growth. In Seeds for the Future, Robert Dale continually challenges church leaders to practice pastoral leadership in a new way. He uses examples and coaching conversations to weave three growth processes into a practice model for living churches: connecting, centering, and challenging. This new model becomes interlocking, ongoing processes for focusing living communities on growth and health.