The Starfish and the Spirit: Unleashing the Leadership Potential of Churches and Organizations

Description

Imagine an organizational model for church leadership that enables the entire team to unleash their full potential. The joy and vigor coming from a collective strength, intelligence, and skill in the community of leaders not only brings greater potency but better yields for your ministry. What would it be like to see this kind of healthy leadership reproduced into the second, third, and fourth generation, on multiple strands Leveraging the metaphor Ori Brafman popularized in his NYT best-selling book, The Starfish and the Spider, Rob Wegner, Lance Ford, and Alan Hirsch show: How to take a close look at your church's organizational structure and how to adapt instead of simply adopt a certain kind of structural approach. How churches can function without a rigid central authority, making them nimbler in reacting to external forces. How seeding starfish networks inside today's churches will prepare the church of tomorrow to be agile while maintaining the accountability to be effective. The Starfish and the Spirit is about creating a culture where church leaders view themselves as curators of a community on a mission, not the source of certainty for every question and project. It's about creating a team of humble leaders "in the middle" of the church, not at the top--leaders who naturally reproduce multiple generations of leaders, from the middle out.

Alan Hirsch is an award-winning author on various aspects of missional Christianity and co-founder of Future Travelers, an intentional learning journey for contemporary churches seeking to transition to becoming authentic movements Rob Wegner leads the Kansas City Underground, a decentralized network of reproducing disciples and microchurches in Kanas City, Missouri. Previously, he served as teaching pastor at Granger Community Church in Granger, Indiana and at Westside Family Church in Kansas City. Rob also serves on the leadership team of NewThing and on the Exponential Network Team, leading learning communities and speaking at national church conferences.

'If you want to learn the ways of decentralized disciple-making, then this is the book for you. In this manifesto on multiplication, Rob and Lance have laid the groundwork for how to see movement happen. Rob and Lance have proven track records as practitioners. If you want to grow, be challenged, and practice unleashing the potential of raising up leaders, then pick up a copy of The Starfish and the Spirit.' * Myron Pierce, author, lead pastor of Mission Church, founder and president of Every Inner City * 'As a church planter in the West, I often have 'yes, but how?' questions about disciple-making movements and microchurch multiplication. In this book, Rob and Lance have crammed eye-opening insights into every page, along with practical tools for every leader to reimagine the future of the church. If you're passionate about catalyzing every member of your church to effectively help others find their way back to God, get reading.' * Emma Jeffery, regional director of NewThing Western Europe, Soulcity Church, United Kingdom * 'Like a cool rain after a decade of drought, The Starfish and the Spirit delivers relief, respite, and a total rethink on what it means to follow Jesus in this remarkable mission field we call life! Bravo to Rob and Lance for following and inviting us to join them.' * Hugh Halter, author of The Tangible Kingdom, FLESH, and Happy Hour * 'This book is a game changer. Get this down, and church multiplication becomes easy. I've led starfish churches throughout my adult life. I loved and use Ori Brafman's book, but this one explicitly addresses church leaders and the tensions that keep us from the simplicity of church multiplication. My advice: read The Starfish and the Spirit in concert with your key leaders to unlock a Great Commission future for your team.' * Ralph Moore, Hope Chapel * 'The Starfish and the Spirit is a handbook for movement making. My friends Rob Wegner and Lance Ford brilliantly offer us a simple and scalable framework that allows the Spirit to move and in so doing turns disciples of Jesus into an unstoppable missional force. If you have a growing sense that God meant more for his church, read this book and discover what's missing!' * Dave Ferguson, lead visionary of NewThing, author of B.L.E.S.S.: 5 Everyday Ways to Love Your Neighbor and Change the World * 'A question much on my mind is this: Will there be church in the twenty-first century that matters? This quite remarkable book argues for what is necessary for the recovery, the re-creation, and the reality of Christian faith to make Jesus visible and evident today. Feast on this, and live into God's starfish communion and mission. This would be church that matters!' * Mark Labberton, president of Fuller Theological Seminary * 'It's been nearly fifteen years since the release of The Starfish and the Spider, a groundbreaking book on the genius of decentralized systems and the limitations of hierarchical command-and-control structures. Now Lance Ford and Rob Wegner take that prism for understanding the patterns and potential of self-organizing systems and apply it to apostolic movements to brilliant effect. I kept asking myself, Why hasn't anyone done this before? But I'm glad no one has. I can't imagine anyone doing it better than these guys.' * Michael Frost, Morling College, Sydney * 'There is no doubt that the world is changing, and we are in need of voices who not only see the future with hope and imagination but have the courage to live it out in their lives and leadership. Authenticity is key. Fortunately, we've been given just that in the gift of this book. The Starfish and the Spirit is not only a map toward authentic Christian leadership but also a guide for how to live out Jesus-practices, in community, in the brave new world we find ourselves in. With passion, insight, and great verve, Rob Wegner and Lance Ford unpack the operation system of how we currently 'do church' and reconstruct a way forward that will not only inspire you but also call you to action. Get a copy, buy your friends and leadership team a copy, and go on the journey together!' * Doug Paul, author of Ready or Not: Kingdom Innovation for a Brave New World * 'Yes! I love how these guys think and how they make me rethink. So incredibly refreshing. And timely too. We better dream and plan and grow in our vision now, because changes are coming, ready or not.' * Brant Hansen, radio host, author of Unoffendable, Blessed Are the Misfits, and The Truth about Us * 'This book is a compendium for cutting-edge ideas. Rob and Lance have distilled and curated some of the most important thinking and timely tactics for the church in the twenty-first century. I could recommend twenty good books . . . or you could just read this one.' * Brian Sanders, founder of the Underground Network, author of Microchurches: A Smaller Way *