How to Hit the Ground Running: A Quick Start Guide for Congregations with New Leadership
About this ebook
The quick-start program described in this book is designed for the new rector or pastor who wants to "hit the ground running." It is also designed for principal lay leaders who will be instrumental in the transition to new leadership.
The program takes the new pastor, vestry, or other leadership bodies from one month prior to the new leader's arrival through the first 18 months afterward. Organized in a user-friendly workbook format, this guide gives step-by-step suggestions on how the sometimes stalled and directionless period of transition in a faith community can be made dynamic and purposeful - a time of true congregational development.
About the author
An Episcopal priest and consultant for congregational development, Neal O. Michell has served as the Canon to the Ordinary and Canon for Strategic Development in the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas. A former practicing attorney, he has been a priest at churches of various sizes in Texas and in Tennessee, where he planted a church in Germantown that grew rapidly. He has led vestry retreats and workshops, focusing on vision-casting and leadership development. He holds a D.Min. in Church Growth from Fuller Seminary, where he researched contemporary Anglican worship. He has also gone on short-term mission trips to Ukraine, South Africa, Mexico, and Honduras. He is the author of How to Hit the Ground Running: A Quick-Start Guide for Congregations with New Leadership and Beyond Business as Usual: Vestry Leadership Development, in addition to numerous articles. He lives in Dallas, Texas.