Leadership: Contemporary Critical Perspectives, edited by Brigdid Carroll, Jackie Ford and Scott Taylor Sage, 2015, xxvii + 298pp, ISBN 978-1-4462-9438-3, £30.99 Purchase here Reviewed by Tim Harle Don’t be put off by the opening words of this book’s foreword. The author suggests you would only be reading it because it’s a set text on a…

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The Widening Circle: Priesthood as God’s Way of Blessing the World, by Graham Tomlin SPCK, 2014, 192pp, ISBN 978-0-281-06902-6, £10.99. Purchase here Reviewed by Timothy Hewitt It is always good to read a timely book, and Graham Tomlin’s The Widening Circle can be described as timely. Tomlin seeks to understand priesthood within a framework of…

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Doing the Math of Mission: Fruits, Faithfulness, and Metrics, by Gil Rendle Rowman & Littlefield, 2014, vii + 147pp, ISBN 978-1-5669-722-5, £9.99. Purchase here Reviewed by Jeremy Fagan Gil Rendle has extensive experience of churches through his work with the respected Alban Institute. He starts this helpful little book by asking, Can ministry be measured…

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What Clergy Do: Especially When It Looks Like Nothing, by Emma Percy. SPCK, 2014, 176pp, ISBN 978-0-281-07024-4. £12.99 Purchase here Reviewed by Michael Lofthouse The title of the book fails to do justice to the contents. This is not just a narrative about doing – it is also substantially about how, who, when and why….

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Host: Six New Roles of Engagement for Teams, Organizations, Communities, Movements, by Mark McKergow & Helen Bailey. Solutions Books, 2014, xiii + 237pp, ISBN 978-0-95499749-8-5, £11.99. Purchase here Reviewed by Julie Couchman-Boor I awaited the arrival of this book with excitement and wasn’t disappointed. It is that rare mixture of easy read, practical ideas and…

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The Myth of the Strong Leader: Political Leadership in the Modern Age, by Archie Brown. The Bodley Head, 2014, x + 466pp, ISBN 978-1-847-92175-8, £25.00. Reviewed by Vaughan S Roberts Archie Brown is Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of Oxford and a prolific author, particularly on the political culture of the Soviet Union…

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The Dark Side of Transformational Leadership: A Critical Perspective, by Dennis Tourish Routledge, 2013, x + 252pp, ISBN 978-0-56428-1, £24.99. Purchase here Reviewed by Vaughan S Roberts As leadership has become an arena of debate and argument in secular organizations, the same is true in religious bodies including churches. Dennis Tourish is a Professor of…

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Managing Clergy Lives: Obedience, Sacrifice, Intimacy, by Nigel Peyton & Caroline Gatrell. Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2013, 200pp, ISBN 978-1-4411-2125-7, £17.99 Purchase here Reviewed by Richard Steel This book ‘explores the commitment [of Anglican Parish Clergy]…. Affirms their positive staying power… [and how] they pay the price of lost intimacies and sacrifice their own needs and…

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Moving on in Ministry: Discernment for Times of Transition and Change, edited by Tim Ling. Church House Publishing, 2013, 169pp, ISBN 978-0- 7151-4329-2,£16.99. Purchase here Reviewed by Jane Charman To say that the Church is in a time of transition and change almost feels like an understatement. Many people would want to choose still stronger…

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Creating the Future of the Church: A Practical Guide to Addressing Whole-System Change, by Keith Elford. SPCK, 2013, 128pp, ISBN 978-0-281-07077-0, £10.99. Purchase here Reviewed by John Carlisle and Norman Speirs The author is both a successful priest and successful businessman. Now this is no doubt a somewhat controversial description, i.e. a successful priest?? That…

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