Dr. Jeff Iorg’s story of leading major change at Gateway Seminary (formerly Golden Gate Seminary) and other churches and ministries he has been a part of is practical and personal. He includes steps to take to analyze current situations and God’s direction, ask diagnostic questions, and lead change. He places emphasis on pastoral care and counseling of the church or organization as the people go through change, and it is helpful to read biographical insights and personal reflections from himself, staff members, and church family who went through the processes he describes. He is honest about pain, mess, conflict and tension; leading major change is not always smooth sailing!
Many if not all of the events are unique to Dr. Iorg’s story and the story of Gateway Seminary, and it takes work on the reader’s part to transpose those situations to their particular role. There are some Biblical principles we can glean for leadership, and Dr. Iorg refers to Joshua at Jericho and the early church in Acts 1 and 15 when analyzing some leadership principles. Although these events were not written for the purpose of instructing us on leadership, they can be insightful and we can learn from these examples.
There is a need for balance in leadership books for the church, between the spiritual side and “how to deal with people and processes” side. As pastors and ministry leaders, we need to know the value of people skills but not have an emphasis on business mentality – we are called to be pastors of a local church, not CEO’s of a corporation. Dr. Iorg’s book incorporates both the spiritual and practical sides of leadership, and he helps us fulfill our calling in his book, Leading Major Change in your Ministry.
I received a copy of this book from B & H Publishing for free in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review.
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