Canoeing the Mountains - by Tod Bolsinger (Hardcover)

About the Book

Do you ever feel that you are leading in uncharted territory? Pastor and consultant Tod Bolsinger draws on decades of expertise guiding churches and organizations in this expanded practical leadership resource, offering illuminating insights and practical tools to help you reimagine what effective church leadership looks like in our rapidly changing world.

Book Synopsis

Over 150,000 Copies Sold Worldwide!

Outreach Resource of the Year - Leadership

Learn to Scale the Mountains of Modern Ministry Leadership

Explorers Lewis and Clark had to adapt to the unexpected. They set out prepared to chart a waterway to the Pacific Ocean, only to find themselves face-to-face with the Rocky Mountains. In many ways, leadership today feels much the same. You may find yourself navigating an unfamiliar cultural landscape, leading in contexts you never anticipated. Perhaps the skills and training you once relied on feel inadequate for the journey ahead, holding you back more often than propelling you forward.

Drawing from his extensive experience as a pastor and consultant, Tod Bolsinger brings decades of expertise in guiding churches and organizations through uncharted territory. In Canoeing the Mountains, Bolsinger provides a thoughtful and practical guide for leaders facing the unprecedented challenges of a rapidly changing world.

Canoeing the Mountains offers:

• Fresh perspectives on the adaptive leadership needed to face today's challenges
• Practical strategies to help you rethink your approach to leading in unfamiliar and shifting environments
• An expanded study guide to help you reflect, apply, and implement these lessons in your own leadership journey

If you're ready to move beyond the tools that no longer serve you and embrace a new way of leading, Canoeing the Mountains will inspire and equip you to rise to the challenge. To scale the mountains of modern ministry, it's time to set aside your canoes and new navigational tools to give you confidence and courage to lead in places you never expected to find yourself.

Review Quotes

"Canoeing the Mountains is a must-read for pastors and church leaders who want to understand the precarious religious landscape in America today. Seasoned pastor Tod Bolsinger draws on his experience as a church consultant and student of contemporary leadership theory in order to tackle the most pressing ministry leadership issues of our day. Employing Lewis and Clark's experience of exploring the Louisiana Purchase as a driving metaphor for the leadership that is needed in the church, Bolsinger issues a bold challenge to contemporary pastors to learn how to lead all over again. With refreshing honesty and vulnerability about his own ministry, Tod does not allow the reader to wallow in discouragement over the fact that the world in front of us is different than the world behind us. Instead, he insists that this time in history offers pastors and church leaders an unparalleled opportunity to discover a deeper capacity for leadership within ourselves than ever before. He issues a clarion call 'not to try harder, but to start a new adventure' by abandoning our 'canoes' to become risk-taking mountain climbers. I am going to recommend this book not only to the hundreds of pastors in the Macedonian Ministry program, but also to church leaders across the country. Canoeing the Mountains gave me hope for the future of the church of Jesus Christ. I pray that it will do the same for you!"

--Thomas K. Tewell, executive director, Macedonian Ministry

"Combining the mind of a scholar, the heart of a pastor and the experience of a consultant, Tod Bolsinger is the rare leader who can also teach. Using the example of Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery, he also authentically shares from his own experience, both positive and negative, to make the most important concepts in organizational leadership accessible to pastors, nonprofit executives and Christians in the marketplace who are charged with giving leadership in a changing world. Canoeing the Mountains should be required reading in seminary classrooms and leadership seminars. I know it will be for the pastors and leaders we coach."

--Kevin Graham Ford, principal of TAG Consulting, author of The Secret Sauce

"Contemporary pastors and church leaders face a daunting challenge. The world and the church have changed dramatically. Congregational expectations have never been higher or more complex. How can we lead our churches with wisdom and kingdom impact in the ever-changing world of today and tomorrow? Tod Bolsinger answers this pressing question in his timely book Canoeing the Mountains. Combining solid biblical theology, contemporary leadership theory and years of experience as a pastor and church consultant, Bolsinger offers a new vision of pastoral leadership as well as dozens of practical examples that bring this vision to life. All pastors and church leaders need to read this book, for their own sake, for the good of their churches and for the advance of God's kingdom in the world."

--Mark D. Roberts, executive director, Max De Pree Center for Leadership

"Do not canoe another stroke or portage another step without Canoeing the Mountains in hand. In today's post-Christian world, we are navigating uncharted waters where our churches demand innovation at every turn. How do we lead for transformation when the world is transforming even faster? For anyone committed to and dazed by the changing realities of today's church, Tod Bolsinger offers a needed vision."

--Meritt Lohr Sawyer, executive director, Paul Carlson Partnership, Evangelical Covenant Church

"I see many pastors and leaders of churches who are exhausted by the daunting task of leading churches in a culture that is changing faster than it ever has before. There are many books that tell us we need to change, and there are also many books that give a vision of what a new kind of church could look like. There are very few that address the difficult task of helping leaders navigate the complexities of leading that is necessary for a changing world. Tod Bolsinger's Canoeing the Mountains provides the right mixture of theological insight, leadership theory and relevant stories that will give the necessary principles to help leaders face unfamiliar terrain."

--Dana S. Allin, synod executive, ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians

"Tod Bolsinger, a colleague of mine at Fuller Seminary . . . uses the metaphor of 'canoeing the mountains' based on the experience of Lewis and Clark, who successfully completed the mission of the Corps of Discovery because of their ability to lead creatively in light of unexpected circumstances. . . . Whether you're a pastor, a small business owner, a branch manager, or a CEO of a major company, you are probably facing challenges not unlike those confronting . . . Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. If so, I encourage you to get a copy of Canoeing the Mountains. You and those you lead will be glad you did."

--Mark D. Roberts, Patheos, January 18, 2016

"Unlike leadership books from the business world, Canoeing the Mountains is written by a churchman for church people. He understands the unique pressures and complexity of relationships that exist in a local church. Instead of giving a 'one-size-fits-all' solution, Bolsinger provides guiding principles for doing church in this new era. . . . The book left me hopeful and eager for the adventure ahead."

--Matt Merrill, The Presbyterian Outlook, July 4, 2016

About the Author

Tod Bolsinger is the vice president for vocation and formation and teaches practical theology at Fuller Theological Seminary. He has also served as senior pastor of San Clemente Presbyterian Church and associate pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood.