The Covenant Group - A Case Study
A fictitious account illustrating the complexities of church leadership in modern society.

Accountable Discipleship: Living in God's Household
By Steven W. Manskar
A foundational piece for anyone involved in Accountable Discipleship ministries, this resource provides a biblical, theological, and historical undergirding for this work. (Discipleship Resources, 2000)

Building Up the Body of Christ: Being a District Superintendent in the City (pdf)
This resource, designed to help district superintendents who serve in districts that include high-potential metro churches, provides suggestions for ways superintendents can support and challenge the churches in their district. (From the High-Potential Metro Church Initiative of the General Board of Discipleship.)

The Church Transition Workbook: Getting Your Church in Gear
The Church Transition Workbook describes a step-by-step process that will enable the church to get moving again after traumatic conflict or being "run over by change."

Companions in Christ: The Way of Forgiveness
By Marjorie J. Thompson (Upper Room Books)
It takes a lot of willingness and practice to see life from God's perspective. Perhaps nothing goes more against the grain of human nature than the ideas of forgiving those who wound us and accepting forgiveness from others.

Cultivating Christian Community
By Thomas R. Hawkins (Discipleship Resources, 2001)
Hawkins identifies practices that help cultivate Christian community: listening, dialogue, discernment, covenant making, prayer and reflection, and hospitality.

Faithful Leadership: Learning to Lead with Power
By Thomas R. Hawkins (Discipleship Resources, 1999).
Hawkins not only teaches the biblical and sociological principles of servant leadership, but also provides valuable practical advice about how to balance advocacy within inquiry and what to do when conflict arises.

Forgiveness, The Passionate Journey: Healing Through Jesus' Beatitudes
By Flora Slosson Wuellner (Upper Room Books)
Flora Slosson Wuellner writes to meet the needs of those who find it difficult to forgive others and themselves in a way that is emotionally healthful and truthful and that is an integral part of Christian spiritual growth.

Healthy Church Assessment Tool (in pdf format)
A healthy church is one that is alive and pursuing the purpose for which God created it — making disciples for the transformation of the world to what God intends.
Please note that you need the latest version of the Adobe Acrobat Reader (free) to read pdf files.

Heart Whispers: Benedictine Wisdom for Today
By Elizabeth J. Canham
Heart Whispers offers accessible insights from Benedictine spirituality to help us explore the need for faithful living in today's often stress-filled world.

Job Descriptions & Leadership Training for Local Church Leaders 2005-2008
By Thomas R. Hawkins (Discipleship Resources, 2004)
This packet of job descriptions and suggestions for leadership training is intended for pastors and laity who want to strengthen their congregation’s leaders. It begins with a look at the biblical and theological foundations for the development of a leadership development system.

L³ Leadership Incubator Guidebook
By Barry Carpenter, Craig Kennet Miller, Craig Robertson
Through the L³ Leadership Incubator, leaders are formed in community with other leaders. This initiative creates an environment where spiritual leaders are mutually coached, nurtured, and developed. Participants make a commitment to meet regularly for peer-to-peer learning and coaching as they develop a ministry action plan for their congregations.

Landscapes of the Sacred: Geography and Narrative in American Spirituality
By Belden C. Lane
Belden Lane's analysis deals with the expected and unexpected sacred places of American geography.

Landscapes of the Soul: A Spirituality of Place
By Robert M. Hamma
Hamma calls each of us to connect, globally and cosmologically, so that the landscapes of our souls might be beautified by God.

Lay Speaking Ministries: Basic Course
By Nan Zoller and Jack Gilbert (Discipleship Resources)
The Lay Speaking Ministries Basic Course focuses on the many ways lay speakers are called to be in ministry through such things as preaching, leading, teaching, serving, proclaiming the gospel, disciple-making, storytelling, and growing through personal spiritual formation. The book introduces the stated purposes of Lay Speaking Ministries as caring, leading, and communicating. Completion of the Basic Course is required for Lay Speaker certification.

Lay Speaking Ministries: Guide for Conference & District Committees 2005-08
By James W. Lane (Discipleship Resources)
Guidelines for the administrative and support systems of the lay speaking program. Includes sample annual reports, job descriptions for the director of lay speaking, and a litany for consecration. Designed for lay speakers and those who plan for lay speaking ministries.

Loving God With All Your Mind: Equipping the Community of Faith for Theological Thinking
By Thomas R. Hawkins (Discipleship Resources, 2004)
Thomas Hawkins interprets some of the new brain science in ways that provide practical help for local church teachers and leaders. This easy-to-read book is filled with examples and stories that help congregational leaders think together from their variety of styles to make meaningful decisions about the organization and educational systems in their churches. Teachers and leaders will learn more about how to develop critical thinking skills and how to overcome emotional resistance as they lead groups in theological reflection.

The Past Matters: A Chronology of African Americans in The United Methodist Church
By Marilyn Magee Talbert (Discipleship Resources, 2004)
The story of African Americans in the church offers insight into national history because Methodism parallels the history of the United States.

The Poor and the People Called Methodists
Richard P. Heitzenrater, Editor (Abingdon, 2002).
This book describes and examines the Wesleyan attitude toward and programs with the poor from the time of John Wesley to the present.

Praying in the Wesleyan Spirit: 52 Prayers for Today
By Paul Chilcote (Upper Room Books)
Author Paul Chilcote has transposed 52 of Wesley’s standard sermons into flowing devotional prayers that are written in contemporary language, yet faithful to Wesley’s message.

Praying with Body and Soul: A Way to Intimacy with God
By Jane E. Vennard (Augsburg Fortress Press)
Praying with Body and Soul involves the whole person: our senses, our bodies at rest or in motion, our imaginations, as well as our minds and emotions.

The Spiritual Leader's Guide to Self-Care
By Rochelle Melander and Harold Eppley (Alban Institute, 2002).
The Spiritual Leader’s Guide to Self-Care is an ideal companion for clergy, lay leaders, and others who would like guidance about how to make changes in their personal life and ministry but do not want to read a text-heavy book about self-care.

Top Resource Picks for Conference Leaders — March 2005: Appreciative Inquiry
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a successful approach to positive organizational change that encourages people to be fully involved in the process.

The Upper Room Dictionary of Christian Spiritual Formation
By Keith Beasley-Topliffe, editor
Whether you're just beginning to pay attention to the spiritual life or are helping others as a friend, pastor, or spiritual director, here's a good place to start seeking information about spiritual formation.

To Walk in Integrity: Spiritual Leadership in Times of Crisis
By Stephen Doughty (Upper Room Books)
Our troubled world needs spiritual leadership now more than ever. Doughty's To Walk in Integrity provides a model for spiritual leadership in times of crisis. Examining the biblical understanding of integrity, he identifies nine key qualities. He tells powerful stories of people who acted with integrity in difficult situations despite great personal cost.

"Transformation of the Heart" Video
This video was created in November 2004 by first-year students at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC. They are members of a student-led Covenant Discipleship group that meets weekly for one hour.

Transforming Power: Stories from Transformational Leaders for Encouragement and Inspiration
By Hugh Ballou
Church leaders are expected not only to advocate transformation but navigate, with an encouraging smile, the resultant difficulties. While many books promote the need for transformation, few offer leaders hope, guidance and inspiration to persevere in the midst of (and beyond) the struggle. Ballou brings together a collection of stories from leaders who have lived through personal or institutional upheavals and survived.