Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership - (Transforming Resources) by Ruth Haley Barton (Hardcover)

About the Book

Weaving together contemporary illustrations with penetrating insight from the life of Moses, Barton explores topics such as facing the loneliness of leadership, leading from one's authentic self, re-envisioning the promised land, and more.

Book Synopsis

Spiritual Practices for Burnt Out Leaders

"I'm tired of helping others enjoy God--I just want to enjoy God for myself."

With this painful admission, Ruth Haley Barton invites spiritual leaders into an honest exploration of what happens when they lose track of their souls. Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership weaves together contemporary illustrations with penetrating insights from the life of Moses to help ministry leaders care for their own souls so that they may in turn minister well to others.

Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership explores topics including:

• responding to the dynamics of calling
• facing the loneliness of leadership
• leading from your authentic self
• cultivating spiritual community
• discerning God's will together

Each chapter includes a spiritual practice to ensure your soul gets the nourishment it needs. Barton shows that forging and maintaining a life-giving connection with God is the best choice you can make for yourself and for those you lead.

What's New in the Expanded Edition

This expanded edition includes the popular "How Is It with Your Soul?" assessment for leaders and a flexible six- or twelve-week guided experience for groups.

Start Your Journey to Spiritual Health

Don't wait to transform the way you approach leadership. Discover how to lead from a place of spiritual health with Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership.

Review Quotes

"Barton has written a book which could serve as a prescription for people in ministry who have come to the end of themselves. I recommend this book for leaders who have experienced a glance toward the dark night of the soul but have found themselves working harder, trusting less, and growing weary in order to avoid the transforming work of the soul."

--Susan Reese, Journal of Spiritual Formation Soul Care, 2009

"In a landscape littered with leadership books that tinker at the margins of what really matters, Ruth Haley Barton offers us practical guidance to the core of life-changing leadership: spiritual authenticity and health. Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership lays bare the ancient truth that great leadership comes from the inside out, and provides a helpful road map for examining and seeking God's transformation of that largely unexamined inner core from which true leadership proceeds. This is a powerful resource for me and my own leadership team."

--Gary Haugen, president, International Justice Mission, and author of Good News About Injustice

"In the same spirit in which Henri Nouwen wrote The Return of the Prodigal Son, Ruth Haley Barton has captured the soul of Moses and has revealed him to us as a seeker of truth, wisdom, and vulnerability."

--Glandion W. Carney, Chaplain of the Christian Legal Society

"Ms. Barton relies heavily on the life of Moses as a window into the different aspects of leadership in which we might learn to seek God and allow God to strengthen us to provide spiritual leadership to others. The book is not just for those already in leadership roles, but also for those who are seeking leadership."

--Marlyne Seymour, The Living Church, January 4, 2009

"Ruth Haley Barton's book Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership is a must-read for all those in ministry."

--Larry Magnuson, YouthWorker Journal, January/February 2010

"The most significant book I read in 2008 . . . is a call to inspect one's inner life and motives for leadership with neither guilt nor obsession, allowing God to tweak and morph it at will."

--Danette Matty, YouthWorker Journal, January/February 2009

"There are many books that help sharpen our leadership skills, but this one brings challenging insights to strengthen our souls which will transform our leadership."

--Kerry Clarensau, Enrichment Journal, Fall 2009

About the Author

Leighton Ford is president of Leighton Ford Ministries, which seeks to help young leaders worldwide to lead more like Jesus and more to Jesus. For many years, Ford communicated Christ around the globe through speaking, writing and media outreach, addressing millions of people in thirty-seven countries on every continent. He served from 1955 until 1985 as Associate Evangelist and later Vice President of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and was featured as the alternate speaker to Billy Graham on the Hour of Decision broadcast. He served for nearly twenty years as chairman of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, an international body of Christian leaders. The author or co-author of numerous books, includingTransforming Leadership and The Attentive Life, Ford lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife Jean.

Ruth Haley Barton (Doctor of Divinity, Northern Seminary) is founding president/CEO of the Transforming Center, a ministry dedicated to strengthening the souls of pastors and Christian leaders, and the congregations and organizations they serve. For over twenty years, she has ministered to the soul care needs of pastors and leaders based upon her conviction that the best thing we bring to to leadership is our own transforming selves. Trained at the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation and the Institute for Pastoral Studies Loyola University Chicago, Ruth is a seasoned retreat leader and spiritual director. A sought-after speaker and preacher, she has served on the pastoral staff of several churches and teaches frequently at seminaries and graduate schools. Ruth is the author of numerous books and resources on the spiritual life, including Invitation to Solitude and Silence, Sacred Rhythms, Longing for More, Pursuing God's Will Together, and Life Together in Christ. She continues to share her thoughts and perspectives on soulful leadership through an online resource called eReflections as well as a podcast entitled Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership.