Learning Change: Congregational Transformation Fueled by Personal Renewal

How congregations can change into missional, fruitful learning communities"Jim and Trisha understand that profound change roots in individuals before it transfuses systems. Having observed the cycle in themselves as well as in others, they shepherd us into the remissioning work of the Holy Spirit."--Thomas F. Tumblin, professor of leadership, Asbury Theological SeminaryIn a groundbreaking seven-year experience, Jim Herrington and Trisha Taylor led a cluster of churches in a process of personal and congregational transformation that is producing hope and health. Built on a sound understanding of learning organization theory, adaptive leadership, family systems theory, and recent discoveries in the neurosciences, Herrington and Taylor developed and refined a highly fruitful model of church renewal. This model begins with personal renewal in which congregations learn how to become learning communities and ends with church-wide transformation.Learning Change is the pastor and congregational leaders' field guide to leading change. Each chapter provides training and information, an aspect of the learning change model, stories of real-life experiences in churches, and questions and suggestions for taking this information into a congregational context.Review?In a turbulent and tumultuous world, change in the church can bring fear, insecurity, even pain. Navigating these rough waters requires leaders who have identified their own convictions and commitments around God?s unique purpose for them individually, and the courage to shift one?s thinking and actions to experience deeper missional impact through the life of the local church.Learning Change shares the journey of a group of influential leaders who have grown through collaborative learning that is both personal and purposeful and catalyzes change internally and externally. Reading this book is your first courageous step toward personal and congregational transformation!? -- Tom De Vries, General Secretary, Reformed Church in America Published On: 2017-02-27?This is a biblical, hope-filled, and practical guide for Christian leaders who are ready to move past efforts to be heroic rescuers or organizational managers in order to experience life-giving transformation.Learning Change describes what authentic personal and congregational transformation looks like from the front-line experience of faithful Christian pastors. It?s a biblically and theologically sound approach to personal transformation and congregational leadership expressed in practical, realistic ways. The format blends foundational concepts, stories, and resources with reflective questions that guide personal and corporate response. Leaders who allow God to transform their mental models, values, and practices will discover a powerful guide for experiencing and catalyzing deep change.? -- Dr. James H. Furr, President and Professor, Houston Graduate School of Theology Published On: 2017-02-27?For the past decade, Jim Herrington and Trisha Taylor, working with a cohort of pastors in the Ridder Church Renewal process, have sown seeds of change and cultivated transformational learning in the hearts and lives of church leaders. They have now gone into the field, gathered the fruit of their labors, and shared it with us.Learning Change is a beautiful and helpful resource, conserving of all that has been learned and of all that has been accomplished in the lives of pastors who have given themselves to the Holy Spirit, to one another, and to the process of transformation. This book invites readers to join in the feast and celebration, not simply by reading, but by engaging the process on their own. Each chapter offers compelling stories, inviting questions, and thoughtful exercises to help the truth about personal and congregational transformation become reality in the lives of pastors and those they serve. This inductive study of pastors? lives and growth will inspire and instruct those