Logos Book of the YearCreating Leadership Teams Led by the SpiritMeetings can sap our energy, rupture community and thoroughly demoralize us. They can go on forever with no resolution. Or they can rush along without consensus just to "get through the agenda." What if there was another way?Church boards and other Christian leadership teams have long relied on models adapted from the business world. Ruth Haley Barton, president of the Transforming Center, helps teams transition to a much more suitable modelthe spiritual community that discerns God's will together.With Pursuing God's Will Together, you'll find:- Personal and group practices that will lead you into a new way of experiencing community and listening to God together.- Appendicies with a Leader's Guide and notes on a biblical perspective on spiritual transformation- Additional videos and bonus material from Ruth Haley Barton on ivpress.com to extend your learning.

Ruth Haley Barton (DD, Northern Seminary) is founding president of the Transforming Center, a spiritual formation ministry to pastors and Christian leaders. A trained spiritual director (Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation), teacher and retreat leader, she has served on the pastoral staff of several churches, including Willow Creek Community Church. A sought-after teacher, preacher and consultant to leadership teams, she is currently adjunct professor of spiritual transformation at Northern Seminary. Educated at Wheaton College, Northern Seminary and Loyola University Chicago Institute for Pastoral Studies, Ruth is the author of numerous books and resources on the spiritual life, including Invitation to Solitude and Silence, Sacred Rhythms, Longing for More and Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership. She is also the author of an online resource titled eReflections, spiritual guidance via e-mail. She contributes regularly to Conversations: A Forum for Authentic Transformation.

Introduction: Leadership That Is Spiritual
Part One: Becoming a Community for Discernment
1. Obstacles to Discernment
2. Beginning with Spiritual Transformation
3. Leaders Who Are Discerning
4. Cultivating Spiritual Community
5. Values that Undergird Community
6. Practices for Opening to God Together
7. Practices for Listening to Each Other
8. Covenants Protect Community
Part Two: Practicing Discernment Together
9. Get Ready: Preparing for the Discernment Process
10. Get Set: From Decision Making to Discernment
11. Go! Discerning God?s Will Together
12. But Does It Work?
Appendix 1: Leader's Guide
Appendix 2: A Biblical Perspective on Spiritual Transformation
Resources
Notes