The Missional Leader: Equipping Your Church to Reach a Changing World, by Alan Roxburgh and Fred Romanuk is the latest release in the Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series. The following is an interview with the authors. What was the genesis of the ideas in Missional Leader? Alan: About five years ago we became very aware of the huge gap between theories of missional leadership and the actual skills and capacities of a missional leader. We knew we needed to bring resources to the table that were shaped by a theological understanding of

missional life and emergent change. We resisted simply picking up the latest ideas from the business world and struggled with the nature of missional leadership if we took seriously the fact that God was at the center of this process.

What is something specific and practical in the book that if church leaders catch only that part, they will say, "What a great idea. That's very helpful."

Alan Roxburgh

Alan: Earlier this year I was invited to lead a one-day seminar in innovating missional change across a denominational system. This wonderful group of leaders had tried so many programs, and had a long list of all the options being proposed. As they began to grasp the idea that God's mission-shaped future was actually among the people of their congregations and there were non-coercive ways of inviting ordinary people to imagine a new future for themselves, these leaders began to come alive.

Fred: Pastors and church leaders do not get useful feedback regarding their leadership effectiveness. It is either very superficial--"Great sermon today, Pastor." Or it's criticism--"You have to do something about those people, Pastor." Leadership development requires good and useful feedback. Numerous pastors tell us that the feedback, together with follow-up conversations with people, were the most important developmental experiences in their entire lives. Tell us more about the significance of these skill sets you write about.

Fred Romanuk

Alan: What we've found is that non-traditional skills sets are coming into play:

	Engaging people, not so much aligning people in a predetermined plan, is one of the most significant skill sets emerging today--how to cultivate conversations, engagements, and networks among people and across people.
	If we're going to form mission-shaped communities that are rooted in what God is up to, the cultivation of spiritual life/disciplines is a very significant skill.
	Inside most church systems, most leaders live and practice isolated lives and do not have the skills of understanding leadership as a corporate practice in working alongside others. They are upset and burdened, thinking they need to come up with all the answers on their own. We are seeking to cultivate the skills of becoming co-learners together as leaders and creating learning communities.

Fred: The church is the ultimate member-driven organization. There is no church without the members. If church leaders are to lead, they have to create more than a group of followers. They have to create people who are energized by the Spirit of God to determine what God wants to do with them in their particular situation.

What one or two "lessons learned" about your topic would you pass on to readers?

Alan: Start, live in and never depart from the conviction that God's future is among God's people. This will free you from the need to chase after all the solutions and programs. . .