Read Developing Female Leaders Navigate the Minefields and Release the Potential of Women in Your Church edition by Kadi Cole Religion Spirituality eBooks

Product details File Size 1150 KB Print Length 272 pages Page Numbers Source ISBN 1400210925 Simultaneous Device Usage Up to 5 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits Publisher Thomas Nelson (March 5, 2019) Publication Date March 5, 2019 Sold by  Digital Services LLC Language English ASIN B07DT67DP4

Developing Female Leaders Navigate the Minefields and Release the Potential of Women in Your Church edition by Kadi Cole Religion Spirituality eBooks Reviews

• As a Pentecostal minister, I support women’s leadership in the church. I believe the Holy Spirit calls and empowers women to exercise their spiritual gifts, just as He does for men, whether those gifts prepare them for service as a lead pastor, a leading volunteer, or something in between. And I am grateful to be an ordained minister in the Assemblies of God, a denomination that affirms women’s leadership in both its theology and governing documents.
  
  Even so, I recognize that women continue to face obstacles on the road to fulfilling their God-given callings. One major obstacle is theological Too many evangelical churches and denominations value women’s congregational ministries but continue to cap their leadership at the point where women might exercise authority over men. The other major obstacle is practical and common even in churches and denominations like mine that affirm women’s leadership. Here, the problem is that such organizations make inadequate provision for the recruitment, development, and retention of women leaders.
  
  Kadi Cole’s Developing Female Leaders does not weigh in on the theological obstacle to women’s leadership. Instead, she focuses on the practical obstacle. Whatever a church’s theology of women’s leadership, she argues, all churches can do better at developing women to serve at the highest level that the church’s theology allows. This is a shrewd move on Cole’s part, given the intractable debates among evangelicals about gender roles in church and society. It allows her to help all churches, whatever their theologies of women’s leadership, improve their practices of developing women leaders.
  
  Here is a synopsis of the eight “best practices” Cole recommends in her book
  
  1. Seek to understand. “Take the time to have a conversation with the female leaders you have on your team and in your congregation. Ask them about their stories and how they have impacted their view of themselves as leaders.”
  
  2. Clearly define what you believe. “Even if you have confidence that your [theological] stance is extremely clear, there have likely been mixed messages in how this has played out for [women] in your church and in [their] leadership. In my experience, most godly women are very aware there is a line somewhere, and because they are concerned about overstepping that line, they will often stay way below what you believe they have an opportunity to do. This gap is one of the places where you have incredible untapped leadership potential.”
  
  3. Mine the marketplace. Professional women “have been given projects to manage, a staff to lead, and initiatives to implement. They have received formal and informal leadership development and have withstood the rigors of the business world.” Consequently, Cole advises, “Never assume that an established, professional female isn’t interested in working with or for you. Many incredible leaders would love the opportunity to use their marketplace skills in the kingdom.”
  
  4. Integrate spiritual formation and leadership development. “Integrating spiritual growth and leadership development is a critical component of developing healthy, strong, and capable female leaders within your church. A woman cannot lead from a healthy soul if we do not help integrate her relationship with Christ with the gifts and calling He has given her.”
  
  5. Be an “other.” “Being and providing quality ‘others’ in the form of male mentors, male sponsors, and female coaches will give your female leaders the supportive connections and authentic relationships they need to learn, grow, and develop into the capable leaders your church needs and the fruitful leaders God has called them to be.”
  
  6. Create an environment of safety. “Creating a safe work environment free from harassment or predatorial behavior by anyone is imperative to the development of both male and female leaders who are godly, healthy, and trustworthy.”
  
  7. Upgrade your people practices. “In everything from recruiting practices to retirement benefits, making sure female leaders receive equal and ethical treatment for the work they contribute was an important issue, not just for women, but as a statement about how churches function as employers within our communities.”
  
  8. Take on your culture. “By reevaluating your stated values and use of language, redefining borders, and integrating strategic symbols, you can help your culture shift to an environment that not only welcomes and supports new female leadership, but creates an opportunity for many more leaders to grow and thrive.”
  
  While this synopsis accurately summarizes the best practices Developing Female Leaders recommends, it fails to articulate the wisdom, empathy, and granularity of good advice that runs throughout each chapter of the book.
  
  If you are a male church leader, you really need to read this book. It will open your eyes to the obstacles that the more-than-half of your congregation which is female routinely face as they seek to perform their ministries, whether on staff or as volunteers. More importantly, however, it will give you a detailed plan to clear those obstacles and develop women leaders better. My guess is that as your leadership development practices for women improve, the overall quality of your leadership pipeline will improve too, for both men and women. Finally, for women leaders reading this book, it concludes with a bonus chapter titled, “Best Practices for Female Leaders.”
  
  I cannot recommend this book highly enough!
• I had the privilege of reading an advance publisher copy of this book, and to say I was blown away was an understatement (I've bought copies for friends and colleagues). Kadi does a great job of capturing the nuances and challenges of being a female leader as well as finding opportunities to develop. While there is a plethora of leadership books that cover being a leader, there are few that go into addressing the challenges of development (i.e. mentorship, navigating the male/female dynamic, opportunities to grow, etc.). This is also not a book on equality and placement to fix the "ratio". Kadi clearly states that we need to mine for gold, not accept "shiny rocks" in the place of true leaders. She covers in detail the importance of mentorship, experience, sponsorship and more. This book was so good that I bought copies for my circle to help them and recognize the work they are doing to develop leaders, both men and women. For anyone looking at improving as a leader and developing leaders, this book needs to be on your shelf, worn and well-read. Highly recommend it!
• Male or female...if you serve in church leadership as paid staff or as a volunteer...you need to read this book. Kadi Cole has done her research and offers up a well researched, engaging, and insightful book of best practices for developing the women as volunteer and staff leaders on your team. Seriously, as a woman who has served in the church in many capacities for over 30 years, I highly recommend this book. So much wisdom within these pages. And if you have to ask, "Why a book about developing spiritual leadership in women," then you should read this book.
  
  For too long women have tried to be like men in the area leadership, quite frankly because they needed to be able to relate the way men do in order to be respected. It's time to release women who are called by God to be influential in their sphere of leadership, to lead the way God created them to lead.
  
  No matter what side of the theological fence you fall on when it comes to when, how, and in what capacities a woman is allowed to be a spiritual leader in your church or organization, you will find practical strategies to help you facilitate the development of women within as a volunteer and/or a staff leader.
• You might read this whole book in one setting—yes, it’s THAT GOOD!
  
  This is not a book that argues doctrine (complementarian vs egalitarian), nor is it a book about feminism or gender roles.
  
  It is an INCREDIBLE book about how to best support and encourage women in their unique giftedness as they serve in the church. It is refreshing and encouraging to think about helping to shape the next generation of women who feel called to serve Jesus in the church. The “best practices” shared are thought-provoking and applicable.
  
  This is a thoughtful, balanced, well researched book that will encourage dialogue and promote conversations around this topic!! I encourage you to join the conversation grab a copy, read it, and start the dialogue!
• I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the title peeked my interest.
  
  As I started reading, it was clear that Kadi Cole had done a great amount of research, interviewing thousands of men and women in order to help her gain a wider, more comprehensive perspective.
  
  She shares many relatable stories and insights from her years of experience and those of many others. She doesn’t push an agenda, but has suggested ‘best practices’ to help others as they navigate through the opportunities and challenges of women in leadership.
  
  A great resource to help initiate discussion, open new, honest conversations and then evaluate and possibly change current practices and more fully embrace how to develop females in leadership.