Forgiveness and Power in the Age of Atrocity - by Shann Ray Ferch (Paperback)

About the Book

Forgiveness and Power in the Age of Atrocity: Servant Leadership as a Way of Life speaks to categorical human transgressions in the hope that readers will be compelled to examine their own prejudices and engage the moral responsibility to evoke in their own personal life, work...

Book Synopsis

Forgiveness and Power in the Age of Atrocity: Servant Leadership as a Way of Life speaks to categorical human transgressions in the hope that readers will be compelled to examine their own prejudices and engage the moral responsibility to evoke in their own personal life, work life, and larger national communities a more humane and life-giving coexistence. In Forgiveness and Power, leaders are not coercive but persuasive, and recognized as those who love, serve, and heal others.

Review Quotes

Dr. Shann Ferch has written a remarkably comprehensive and convincing exploration of forgiveness as the ground of healing and service, and then applied it to the principles and activities of leadership in the contemporary world. I enthusiastically recommend this volume to those who are not only interested in leadership studies, but also in the deepest dimensions and possibilities of love and the human condition. It is a remarkable antidote to the cynicism underlying some of the new purely pragmatic (and frequently inhuman) leadership theories.


In a world where hurt and hate dominate the headlines, Shann Ray Ferch is a bold purveyor of peace and love, much in the tradition of Robert Greenleaf. One cannot read this book without experiencing a reflective resolve to live with greater intentionality and purpose.


In Forgiveness and Power in the Age of Atrocity Shann Ray Ferch succeeds in creating one of the most beautiful, inspiring, and lyrical books that I have read on servant leadership, or any subject. Shann gets to the heart and soul of what it means to embrace and practice servant leadership. In these, the most cynical of times that our world has ever known, this book points the way toward a more hopeful and compassionate world--a world where misplaced power and aggression are countered by Martin Luther King's unarmed truth and unconditional love--through the power of servant leadership.


Read this book if you are ready to live a new horizon. It is unsettling and worthy of every precious moment to read--each page creates an asymmetrical balance of joy, tears, laughter, and resolve. To end atrocity through love and forgiveness... this book is a beam of hope for humankind.


The greatest figures in history, both human and divine, led with forgiveness. In this book, Shann Ferch uncovers the beauty and grit of vulnerable leadership, forgiving leadership, servant leadership. The power of leading with forgiveness offers high hope for our world's atrocious history and terrifying future.

About the Author

Shann Ray Ferch serves as Professor of Leadership with the internationally-recognized Ph.D. Program in Leadership Studies at Gonzaga University. He is the editor of The International Journal of Servant Leadership and his work regarding conflict and the human will to forgive and reconcile has appeared in scientific journals internationally.