Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry - Hardcover

by Leighton Ford (Afterword by), Ruth Haley Barton (Author), Gary a. Haugen (Foreword by)

Spiritual Practices for Burnt Out Leaders

"I'm tired of helping others enjoy God--I just want to enjoy God for myself."

With this painful admission, Ruth Haley Barton invites spiritual leaders into an honest exploration of what happens when they lose track of their souls. Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership weaves together contemporary illustrations with penetrating insights from the life of Moses to help ministry leaders care for their own souls so that they may in turn minister well to others.

Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership explores topics including:

• responding to the dynamics of calling
• facing the loneliness of leadership
• leading from your authentic self
• cultivating spiritual community
• discerning God's will together

Each chapter includes a spiritual practice to ensure your soul gets the nourishment it needs. Barton shows that forging and maintaining a life-giving connection with God is the best choice you can make for yourself and for those you lead.

What's New in the Expanded Edition

This expanded edition includes the popular "How Is It with Your Soul?" assessment for leaders and a flexible six- or twelve-week guided experience for groups.

Start Your Journey to Spiritual Health

Don't wait to transform the way you approach leadership. Discover how to lead from a place of spiritual health with Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership.

Author Biography

Leighton Ford is president of Leighton Ford Ministries. He served for many years as an evangelist with Billy Graham and was featured as the alternate speaker to Billy Graham on the Hour of Decision broadcast. He also served for nearly twentyyears as chairman of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, an international body of Christian leaders. The author of numerous books, including Transforming Leadership and The Attentive Life, Ford lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Ruth Haley Barton (DD, Northern Seminary) is founder of the Transforming Center, a ministry dedicated to strengthening the souls of pastors, leaders, and the communities they serve. Trained at the Shalem Institute and the Loyola University Chicago Institute of Pastoral Studies, she is a seasoned spiritual director, teacher, and retreat leader who has served on the pastoral staff of several churches. Ruth is the author of numerous books on the spiritual life, including Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership, Invitation to Solitude and Silence, Sacred Rhythms, and Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest.

Gary A. Haugen is CEO and founder of International Justice Mission (IJM), a global human rights agency based in Washington, DC. Before founding IJM in 1997, Haugen was a human rights attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice. He is also the author of The Locust Effect, Terrify No More, and Just Courage.