This is a guidebook for learning to lead in a world we weren’t prepared for. Our guides will be none other than the first American adventurers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. This may have been the most helpful leadership book I’ve read, particularly for a ministry context, since Andi Stanley’s “Visioneering”.

When what you are doing isn't working, there are two things you cannot do: (1) Do what you have already done, (2) Do nothing." (108) leaders are “in the system”. That is, they have stayed in relationship with those they are called to lead. You can’t lead from outside the system. (You can be a prophet or critic or consultant or supporter, but you cannot be a leader). Over the last ten years, I have had one church leader after another whisper to me the same frustrated confession: “Seminary didn’t train me for this. I don’t know if I can do it. I just don’t know . . .” Paddling Pacific Northwest Whitewater is the definitive guide to the best rivers and creeks for kayaking and rafting in Washington and Oregon—home to some of the most fun (and challenging) whitewater in the world. Including over 240 detailed run descriptions from local area paddlers who know these rivers and creeks better than anyone else, this is the only book you’ll ever need for a lifetime’s-worth of paddling in the Pacific Northwest.Theresa Cho once said: “You have to HAVE something to feel you are LOSING something.” How does a rural environment verify this statement? I found this book quite helpful in breaking down the challenges of leading outside the box or according to this metaphor, as you canoe the mountains. Worth reading. In this coming-of-middle-age memoir, Kim Heacox, writing in the tradition of Abbey, McPhee, and Thoreau, discovers an Alaska reborn from beneath a massive glacier, where flowers emerge from boulders, moose swim fjords, and bears cross crevasses with Homeric resolve. In such a place Heacox finds that people are reborn too, and their lives begin anew with incredible journeys, epiphanies, and successes. All in an America free of crass commercialism and overdevelopment.

Since the missional church discussion began to develop real momentum, the constant question has been how does this theological vision of the church after Christendom translate into the practice of real congregations struggling with enormous challenges?... Bolsinger's book is a major step forward. It is based on solid missional theology, rooted in concrete congregational experience, shaped by provocative research of many diverse voices and communicated energetically and creatively. Most importantly, it is shaped by theologically informed hope, not just optimism, and takes the risks that must be taken for the sake of faithful witness today. I strongly commend this book!"

Thanks to JK Jones for this recommendation. Took me a while to get to it. Wish I had read it earlier. Briefly interacting with the Lewis and Clark story, Bolsinger writes about leadership that actually transforms the organization (read: church, school, non-profit, etc). His principles are powerfully laid out. His insights are helpful and cause a number of light-bulb moments. Unrelenting winds, carnivorous polar bears, snake nests, sweltering heat, and constant hunger. Paddling from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay, following the 2,000-mile route made famous by Eric Sevareid in his 1935 classic Canoeing with the Cree, Natalie Warren and Ann Raiho faced unexpected trials, some harrowing, some simply odd. But for the two friends—the first women to make this expedition—there was one timeless challenge: the occasional pitfalls that test character and friendship. Warren’s spellbinding account retraces the women’s journey from inspiration to Arctic waters, giving readers an insider view from the practicalities of planning a three-month canoe expedition to the successful accomplishment of the adventure of a lifetime. I would have liked to see this leadership model rooted in scripture. Lewis and Clark certainly were singular leaders, and the book invokes good leadership theory. I can't help but wonder what one might draw from the leadership of Moses, of David, of Jesus, and of Paul, each who in some sense led in uncharted territory. The conflict situation of Acts 6 strikes me as a marvelous example of a system that wasn't working, and of leadership that exhibited relational, and spiritual competence linked to clear missional focus while adapting to problems associated with expansion, resulting in a transformed, rapidly growing church and an enlarged and diversified leadership nucleus. Whitewater Kayaking: The Ultimate Guide has become the established, definitive guide on the sport. Drawing on the combined 30+ years of experience of world-renowned paddlers and Instructors Ken Whiting and Kevin Varette, this comprehensive guide covers everything from the most basic skills and concepts to the most advanced, cutting-edge paddling techniques. Tod Bolsinger, Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory (Westmont, IL: IVP Books, 2018), 19, 232.

This classic 1941 children’s book (later turned into a film by Bill Mason) follows the story of a canoe carved by a First Nations boy, which ends up journeying through the Great Lakes to the Atlantic. Part whimsical tale, part geography lesson, this book may have the young ones in your life curiously eyeing local waterways. Dissenters who ask the tough questions that need to be asked and responded to without defensiveness because it is not about the leader but the mission. The River Wye stretches 215 kilometres from the Welsh Cambrian Mountains to the Severn Estuary, just north of Bristol. During its meandering journey, it drifts along lush green meadows, through mysterious wooded valleys, and past several interesting towns. The book-loving centre of Hay on Wye being just one of them. How have you in your ministry done the following: “Encouraging...diversity in your leadership pool means greater diversity of thought, which, in turn, leads to improved problem solving?” (197)It is not so much that God has a mission for his church in the world, but that God has a church for his mission in the world.” What DNA can be discarded? What can we stop doing so we can free resources and energy for new forms of ministry that are connected to our essential DNA? Very stimulating read. Pretty light on the gospel - being more biblically grounded and gospel centred would've made the whole thing much stronger for me. In particular I thought he could've made use of Paul's example in 1 Corinthians 9 - 'I have become all things to all people that by all possible means I might save some ... I do all this for the gospel ...' - which would've been far more compelling ground to urge us to change for the cause of reaching out to the lost around us. If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.” What we are calling “shared values,” Paul terms as the “same mind.” And that same mind is more than thinking the same way; it is about common cause, common care and a shared commitment to look out for the others.” Warren Richey’s memoir Without a Paddle is a remarkable physical and emotional journey that cuts to the heart of what it means to be a man, a husband, and a father.

What are the competing values or gaps between my aspirations and actual behaviors that I need to face?This seems to me to be a critically important book for leadership teams and pastors. So often our approach when things are not working is simply to double down and try harder, which, as someone has pointed out, is a definition of insanity. The willingness to leave the canoes behind, and learn new skills, to get up on the balcony, and then try new interventions rooted in careful observation and interpretation and not reaction, and to stay relentlessly focused on mission separated Lewis and Clark from other explorers. This concise guide, written by Registered Maine Guide and inveterate paddler Michael Daugherty, features 50 of the best sea kayaking adventures along the New England coast, from Maine’s Bold Coast south to the mouth of the Connecticut River. These are trips that can be done in a day or turned into an overnight, perfect for beginner to intermediate kayakers looking to explore the storied coastlines of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. The book includes day trips near large northeastern cities like New York City and Boston. Each of the trips features a full description and map of the route, plus bullets on distance and time, where to launch, tide and currents, “plan B” routes, and nearby attractions. An at-a-glance trip planner and a selection of nature and history essays round out the offerings in this essential sea kayaker’s guidebook.