Pursuing God's Will Together - (Transforming Resources) by Ruth Haley Barton (Hardcover)

About the Book

Church boards and other Christian leadership teams have long relied on secular models for leadership practice. Ruth Haley Barton, president of the Transforming Center, helps teams transition to a much more fitting model--the spiritual community that practices discernment together.

Book Synopsis

Logos Book of the Year; Leadership Journal Leadership Book Award Winner

Create a Leadership Team Led by the Spirit

Meetings can sap our energy, rupture community, and thoroughly demoralize us. They can go on forever with no resolution. Or they can rush along without consensus just to "get through the agenda." What if there was another way?

Church boards and other Christian leadership teams have long relied on models adapted from the business world. Ruth Haley Barton, president of the Transforming Center, helps teams transition to a better model--a spiritual community that discerns God's will together.

With Pursuing God's Will Together, you'll find

• personal and group practices that will lead you into a new way of experiencing community and listening to God together,
• appendices with a Leader's Guide and notes on a biblical perspective on spiritual transformation, and
• additional videos and bonus material from Ruth Haley Barton on ivpress.com to extend your learning.

Are you ready to lead your team into a deeper, more meaningful way of discerning God's will together? Dive into Pursuing God's Will Together and begin exploring the rich insights, practices, and resources that will inspire spiritual transformation and unity in your leadership, your team, and beyond.

Review Quotes

"In Pursuing God's Will Together [Ruth Haley Barton] weaves her own wisdom with others in bringing forth a beautiful tapestry of spirituality in community."

--Chuck Olsen, founder, Worshipful-Work, and author of Transforming Church Boards

"It's impossible to overstate how needed, valuable, timely and timeless this book is. It is as wise as Methuselah and as practical as a slingshot. Ruth has rendered a massive service to church leaders everywhere, and to all the churches they lead. Herein lies the remedy for the sad but common malady we see today: otherwise godly men and women pursuing God's kingdom with worldly navigational equipment. I plan to buy a case of Pursuing God's Will Together upon its release and make it mandatory reading for all of our leaders. It can hardly come soon enough."

--Mark Buchanan, pastor, New Life Community Baptist Church, author of Spiritual Rhythm and Your Church Is Too Safe

"Ruth Haley Barton is a gifted distiller of historic best practices for community discernment and direction. Exercising her counsel on the rare 'vow of stability' would by itself rescue multiple organizations from broken strategic trajectories. I highly recommend Pursuing God's Will Together for leaders, teams and organizations."

--Dr. Bruce McNicol, president, Truefaced Inc.

"While there has been a revival of interest in spiritual disciplines for some time, there is precious little available about how to practice them in community. More specifically, there is almost nothing about helping Christian leaders discern God's presence and activities together. That is, until now. With Pursuing God's Will Together, Ruth Haley Barton--a recognized leader in spiritual formation--fills this need admirably. This is an important, unique book that will be sure to transform Christian corporate leadership from a pure business model to a more spiritually integrated approach. I highly recommend it."

--J. P. Moreland, professor of philosophy, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, and author of The God Question

"Pursuing God's Will Together is a much-needed corrective to our headstrong individualism today. It drills down deep into rock-bed practicalities for any community seeking to discern the will of God together. I recommend it highly."

--Richard J. Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline and Sanctuary of the Soul

"Pursuing God's Will Together is a powerfully convicting and timely book for those of us who are fully aware that we are incapable of effective leadership apart from God's wisdom and direction. How to discern God's purposes individually and as a dynamic team is the genius of this compellingly creative call to kingdom movement. Ruth Haley Barton presents us with a proven--if at times painful--practice that can ultimately take our finite efforts to where our infinite God wants them to go."

--Harold B. Smith, president and CEO, Christianity Today International

About the Author

Ruth Haley Barton (Doctor of Divinity, Northern Seminary) is founding president of the Transforming Center, a spiritual formation ministry to pastors and Christian leaders. A trained spiritual director (Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation), teacher and retreat leader, she has served on the pastoral staff of several churches, including Willow Creek Community Church. A sought-after teacher, preacher and consultant to leadership teams, she is currently adjunct professor of spiritual transformation at Northern Seminary.Educated at Wheaton College, Northern Seminary and Loyola University Chicago Institute for Pastoral Studies, Ruth is the author of numerous books and resources on the spiritual life, including Invitation to Solitude and Silence, Sacred Rhythms, Longing for More and Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership (all InterVarsity Press), An Ordinary Day with Jesus: Experiencing the Reality of God in Your Everyday Life (coauthor, Willow Creek Resources), and an online resource titled eReflections, spiritual guidance via email. She also contributes regularly to Conversations: A Forum for Authentic Transformation.