Leading On Empty

Wayne Cordeiro found himself paralyzed by burnout. He had been in ministry for 30 years, and 10 years after founding what is now the largest church in Hawaii, he found himself depleted. Wayne took a season out of his growing ministry to recharge and refocus on the truly important. He was able to get back in touch with his life, get back in proper balance, and re-energize his spirit through Christ in a way that propelled him forward to greater levels of service. Wayne first gave this message at a recent Willow Creek Leadership Summit, where it was the highest-rated presentation by those in attendance. Pulling no punches, Wayne talks about the walls leaders must break through and how to move on with integrity. Included are ways to care for oneself physically and emotionally as well as spiritually.

Most of us live with the stubborn idea that we'll always have tomorrow. But sooner or later all of our tomorrows will run out. Each day that you postpone the hard work and succumb to the clutter that chokes creativity, discipline, and innovation will result in a net deficit to the world, to your company, and to yourself. Die Empty is a tool for individuals and companies that aren't willing to put off their best work. Todd Henry explains the forces that keep people in stagnation and introduces a three-part process for tapping into your passion: Excavate: Find the bedrock of your work to discover what drives you. Cultivate: Learn how to develop the curiosity, humility, and persistence that save you from getting stuck in ruts. Resonate: Learn how your unique brilliance can inspire others. Henry shows how to find and sustain your passion and curiosity, even in tough times.

Planting and leading a new church is not easy. There are the inevtiable setbacks and challenges that come with launching anything new. And the process will test and try a leader’s faith, as they face discouragment, loneliness, and failure. In this book, pastor and seasoned chuch leader Wayne Cordeiro speaks the truth in love, offering wisdom and insight to prepare leaders as they face the difficulties and hardships of church planting, while providing encouragement and inspiration for the journey. “Sifted” is based on Jesus’ encouragement to Peter in Luke 22 to keep his faith and minister to others from his weakness. An experienced practitioner, Wayne shares the things he wishes he’d known when he was starting a new church. With additional stories from other prominent, seasoned leaders, each chapter includes a thought provoking, challenge question to develop a heart that is surrendered to God, focused on “being and becoming” versus “doing and accomplishing.” Wayne writes about a healthy integration and balance of personal care and leadership amidst the difficulties of the church planting journey. Loneliness and discouragement are normal in church planting, but God cares more about our journey of faith and who we are becoming than our worldly accomplishments and the churches we build. Church planting is an ongoing process of surrender, personal growth and character development. The book will challenge leaders to persevere and rededicate themselves to their calling, their marriage, and their family. Instead of a “how to” book on models and methods, this is a combination of a self-assessment book that challenges leaders’ scorecards of success, encourages leaders to realize that they are not alone in what they are experiencing, and provides wisdom for the long haul to position younger leaders for a life of ministry and finish strong.

"How did I get here?" These are the words of many Christian men on the brink of burnout or in the midst of breakdown. They are exhausted, depressed, anxious, stressed, and joyless. Their time is spent doing many good things, but their pace is unsustainable—lacking the rest, readjustment, and recalibration everyone needs on a regular basis. But there is good news: God has graciously provided a way for men to reset their lives at a more sustainable pace. Drawing on his own experiences—and time spent with other men who have also experienced burnout—pastor David Murray offers weary men hope for the future, helping them identify the warning signs of burnout and offering practical strategies for developing patterns that help them live a grace-paced life and reach the finish line with their joy intact.

What does it mean to be a leader? How does a person lead? And what are the features that distinguish leaders from other people in the organization, and their role from other roles or functions? Based on years of proven experience and scholarly biblical insight, Tom Marshall opens up fresh perspectives on the essence of leadership. He describes how and why it is distinct from management, administration, or ministry and provides readers with the tools necessary to implement successful, long-term leadership. Christian leaders will find clear guidance on topics such as foresight, trust, criticism, caring, status, timing, failure, honor, and the dangers of power. Packed with contemporary examples and New Testament truths, Understanding Leadership also identifies the critical capacities and characteristics of a leader. It emphasizes lifestyle, attitudes, and relationships, helping today's leaders foster interdependence while maintaining identity and integrity within their church, business, or community.

In Doing Church as a Team, Pastor Wayne Cordeiro underscores that church numbers are insignificant when every individual is not involved. However, if the team members work together as one toward a single, clearly defined goal, anything is possible, and everyone shares in the joys and rewards of success!...

The fall of Saigon in April 1975 resulted in the largest and most ambitious refugee resettlement effort in Canada’s history. Running on Empty presents the challenges and successes of this bold refugee resettlement program. It traces the actions of a few dozen men and women who travelled to seventy remote refugee camps, worked long days in humid conditions, subsisted on dried noodles and green tea, and sometimes slept on their worktables while rats scurried around them – all in order to resettle thousands of people displaced by war and oppression. After initially accepting 7,000 refugees from camps in Guam, Hong Kong, and military bases in the US in 1975, Canada passed the 1976 Immigration Act to establish new refugee procedures and introduce private refugee sponsorship. In July of 1979, the federal government under Prime Minister Joe Clark announced that Canada would accept an unprecedented 50,000 refugees – later increased to 60,000 – more than half of whom would be sponsored by ordinary Canadians. Running on Empty presents gripping first-hand accounts of the government officials tasked with selecting refugees from eight different countries, receiving and matching them with sponsors, and helping churches, civic organizations, and groups of neighbours to receive and integrate the newcomers in cities, towns, and rural communities across Canada. Timely and inspiring, Running on Empty offers essential lessons for governments, organizations, and individuals trying to come to grips with refugee crises in the twenty-first century.

"Pastor Weiss [tells] the truth about what private life can be like for women who seek to publicly serve the Church." --Lynne Silva-Breen, MDiv, MA, LMFT, former ELCA Pastor "Anyone who daily searches for a genuine faith relationship will find benefit from this work." --Bruce G. Trethaway, MDiv "What are you?" the curious man asked Pastor Marjorie Weiss when he saw her walk by him in the church corridor while she was wearing her clerical collar. That question is indeed the heartbeat of her story. Until the 1970s, "pastor" had been a male-only profession. "What am I?" she asks throughout her journey. "What am I as I stand before a congregation weekly to deliver a sermon that will inspire and guide listeners to better understand themselves and God?" And what is she when that faith, so necessary to do her job, suddenly seems to vanish? What is she when her emotional life crumbles and anger rules her landscape? Can she be a pastor without God in her life? Weiss's deeply vulnerable, often humorous, memoir speaks to universal issues experienced by the religious and nonreligious alike. Many of her experiences may seem familiar while others border on the truly toxic. Can the pastor recover her faith? Or is it God from whom she needs to recover?