Building up the Body, by Richard Steel. BRF, 2013, 174pp, ISBN 978-0- 85746-175-9, £7.99. Purchase here Reviewed by Mike Butterworth The Introduction briefly and usefully alerts readers to the different spheres in which volunteers operate, their varied motivations and the need to treat them well. Why people volunteer: and what it offers them in return….

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Embracing Chaos: Leadership Insights from Complexity Theory, by Tim Harle. Grove Leadership Series No. 4. Grove Books, 2011, 28 pages, ISBN 978-1-85174-791-7, £3.95. Purchase here Reviewed by Justin Lewis-Anthony First thoughts: Isn’t Tim Harle’s booklet otiose? Why should church leaders be encouraged to embrace chaos? Isn’t that the default pattern? Second thoughts: of course, Harle…

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Remixing the Church: Towards an Emerging Ecclesiology, by Doug Gay. SCM Press, 2011, 133pp, ISBN 978-0-334-04396-6, £19.99. Purchase here Reviewed by Elizabeth Welch Doug Gay writes, from a perspective that is both critical and affirmative, of the ‘emerging church’ movement, offering what he sees as an epilogue (or is it an epitaph?) to a movement…

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Consultancy Skills for Mission and Ministry: A Handbook, by David Dadswell. SCM Press, 2011, 223 pages, ISBN 978-0-334-04373-7. £19.99 Purchase here Reviewed by Tim Harle This is an important book. Dadswell brings together considerable wisdom and experience, reflecting his background as a business consultant, Anglican priest, and teacher at York St John University. He acknowledges…

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Discerning Leadership: Cooperating with the Go-Between God, by Graham Cray. Grove Leadership Series No. 1. Grove Books, 2010, 28 pages, ISBN 978-1-85174-764-1, £3.95. Purchase here Reviewed by Sue Heatherington In revisiting John V Taylor’s writings on the work of the Go-Between God in the person of the Holy Spirit, Graham Cray has produced a profound…

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Reshaping the Mission of Methodism: A Diaconal Church Approach, edited by David Clark. Church in the Market Place, 2010, 285 pages, ISBN 978-1-899147- 74-8, £10.00. Reviewed by John Nelson John Nelson reviewed this book for the Teal Trust. Here is a synopsis of his review (for the full review, visit http://www.teal.org.uk/reading.htm) This is an important…

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The Inner Life of a Christian Leader, by Chris Blakeley & Sue Howard. Grove Leadership Series No. 2. Grove Books, 2011, 28 pages, ISBN 978-1-85174-772-6, £3.95. Reviewed by Justin Byworth This excellent Grove booklet is a great resource for Christian leaders on a topic that any would neglect at their peril – how we keep…

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Incarnate Leadership: Five Leadership Lessons from the Life of Jesus, by Bill Robinson. Zondervan, 2009, 122 pages, hb, ISBN 978-0-310-29113-8. $14.99 Purchase here Reviewed by Tim Harle This is a gem of a book. Its cover features a sturdy bicycle with a briefcase on its handlebars, suggesting an academic setting. The bicycle is secured by…

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By One Spirit: Reconciliation and Renewal in Anglican Life, by Lorraine Cavanagh. Peter Lang, 2009, 273 pages, ISBN 978-3-03911-389-7, £35.00. Purchase here Reviewed by Malcolm Grundy What is it that can save the Anglican Communion from complete disintegration? This searching book by Lorraine Cavanagh offers an essential way forward. She defines the problem as the…

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Coaching in the Church: Leadership and Growing the Skills of Those Around You, by Martyn Snow & Huw Thomas. Grove Pastoral Series No. 115. Grove Books, 2008, 28 pages, ISBN 978-1-85174-698-9. £3.95 Purchase here Reviewed by Richard Fox A welcome addition to booklets on church leadership is ‘Coaching in the Church’ by Snow and Thomas….

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