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Leadership Network began a publishing partnership with Jossey-Bass in 1996, releasing 15 books to date, some 250,000 of which are in the hands of readers like you. The following article examines the top-selling books of all time and some of this year's best sellers--and why.
| Authors of Leadership Network's
best-selling books agree that a "let's
talk about this" tone rather than a "we
have all the answers" stance is hitting
home in today's learning landscape.
Whether it's a post-modern-day discussion
about the intersection of theology and practice,
a conversation regarding leadership from a
subordinate role or ideas on the changing
mindset of today's church, the books are being
received as they were intended: As a platform
for helpful dialogue on difficult church leadership
issues.
"Not a lot was being said about the tensions
of being called to be a subordinate as well
as a strong leader," says Roger Patterson,
co-author with Mike Bonem on Leading from
the Second Chair. "We intentionally created
a framework to get the conversation started."
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Authors Robert
Lewis and Wayne Cordeiro |
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Along with Culture Shift
by pastors Robert Lewis and Wayne Cordeiro,
Leading from the Second Chair is one
of two Leadership Network/Jossey-Bass titles
that have had strong starts this year.
Second Chair was released in August
and sold nearly 3,000 copies in just two months.
Culture Shift--an intense look at how to transform
a church from the inside out--sold more than
5,300 copies in its first six months.
A New Kind of Christian, Brian McLaren's fictional-but-realistic
dialogue between a pastor and his daughter's
high-school science teacher, continues to
be the top-selling book in Leadership Network's
publishing history--behind only Bob Buford's
Halftime-related works. McLaren's sequel,
The Story We Find Ourselves In, also is in
the top five.
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In The Present Future, author Reggie McNeal offers a candid
look at what might be broken in the current
church culture and presents some practical approaches
for fixing it. The title is Leadership Network's
second-leading seller this year and all-time,
and McNeal's A Work of Heart is in the Top 5
in the all-time list.
For McLaren, his books have been a well-fitting
attempt to sidestep divisive religious language
and doctrinal differences to focus on theology
in the midst of ministry practice.
"Increasing numbers of people are becoming
dissatisfied with the heated-up rhetoric of
our culture wars," said McLaren, pastor
of Cedar Ridge Community Church in Spencerville,
Maryland. "They are resonating |
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with the idea that we can have ongoing, exciting, difficult
but loving conversations about theology without always
arguing."
McNeal, with Present Future, and Lewis and
Cordeiro with Culture Shift, have waded into
the sometimes-choppy waters of transitioning church
values and structures to make them more effective in
fulfilling their God-given mission.
McNeal said his book is encouraging pastors around the
country because it affirms they aren't "crazy"
for thinking "something is wrong with this church
picture."
"So many of them are killing themselves and they
have so little progress to show for it," McNeal
says. "This book is helping them deliver the hard
news that something is wrong. They've needed something
to shift the conversation in our churches from survival
and self-absorption to adding value to the community."
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McNeal says leaders seem to appreciate
the hard questions he poses, the practical ideas
that keep the book from being "pure deconstruction,"
and its pastoral tone.
"I didn't
write this because I was angry with the church,
but seriously burdened," McNeal says. "I
would be writing at Barnes & Noble or Starbucks
and look around at the people, and wonder how
the church in its current state was going to connect
with them.
"I would write for awhile,
and then I would cry for awhile."
Likewise Cordeiro, the pastor of New Hope Christian
Fellowship in Hawaii, said he and Lewis have a
deep desire to breathe life back into struggling
churches--and their readers appreciate the input.
"With the proliferation of postmodern and emerging churches, many people are giving up on traditional churches," Cordeiro says. "There is so much potential in those churches, but the culture needs a massive shift." |
Cordeiro says readers are responding to the step-by-step
exercises outlined for getting groups of church leaders
in the same room and on the same page. Then they can
get on the path toward bringing positive change by defining
the existing culture and beginning to shift at the internal
level.
"It's like being at a big mall, and you're standing
at the kiosk to figure out what direction to go,"
Cordeiro says. "You have to find the 'You are here'
arrow first. We help leaders do that--define the culture
as it is without feeling condemnation. When you know
where you are, then you can look at the map and figure
out where you're going."
You can find these top-selling Leadership Network
books and other helpful resources at www.leadnet.org.
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