Margaret Marcuson touches all the right bases in her first book for congregational leaders, Leaders Who Last: Sustaining Yourself and Your Ministry (Seabury Press, 2009). It is a primer on effective ministerial leadership based on perennial principals and much influenced by Marcuson’s experience in working with leaders, and, her continuing study of Bowen Systems Theory applied to leadership. A recognized coach to leaders Marcuson brings real world wisdom to the pages of this book on effective ministry leadership. Insightful, and often playful, Marcuson shares her coaching expertise with readers in this short course on effective leadership.
This is a welcome contribution to any pastor’s bookshelf. Readers will appreciate Marcuson’s attention to those facets of leadership that matter most. She does not confuse advice-giving with practical wisdom when making a point. There are two contradicting truths about ministry leadership: (1) in order for ministers to be effective in bringing about healthy change in congregations they must stay put for the long haul, and, (2) the average tenure for most pastors in congregations is less than five years. Marcuson’s gift to pastoral leaders is providing insight into just those facets of their leadership role that will make a difference in the long haul. With this book in hand leaders can begin to work smarter rather than harder. They will be reminded that effectiveness in ministry will require an investment in personal growth and maturity first, and a focus on others and the congregation second. Marcuson challenges pastoral leaders with the important truth that before changing other for the better, leaders need to work on changing themselves.
Using personal experiences as examples, her own and those of others, Marcuson demonstrates how the leadership principles she identifies work in the complex world of pastoral ministry. Margaret has been on the faculty of Leadership in Ministry Workshops since 1999. Longtime LIM participants will delight in revisiting concepts from her workshop presentations and will recognize references to other LIM workshop presenters. For those able to recognize it, the book contains within it a collection of the wit and wisdom of the Leadership in Ministry Workshops experience. Marcuson, however, does not offer simple solutions to the complex work of ministry leadership. Rather, she provides guidance for the journey to leaders whose path can often seem steep and fraught with obstacles.
Leaders Who Last will be published by Seabury in March, but you can pre-order a copy on Amazon.com.
