Leadership Network Advance recently spoke with Earl Creps, author of the newly released Off-Road Disciplines: Spiritual Adventures of Missional Leaders.

Why did you write this book?
I wrote out of concern over the divorce of leadership from spirituality. On too many days, I just didn't see what Christian leaders were offering that talented atheists couldn't do better. There had to be something more, some way in which leadership is the fruit of spirituality, rather than spiritual issues being used as the "raw material" or subject of our leading.

What was the genesis of the ideas?
The ideas came out of my own sins and shortcomings, so the supply of raw material was ample. Life experiences, positive and negative, began to coalesce around a different way of looking at my relationship with God. What if God wants to meet me everywhere, rather than exclusively in a 30-minute window way too early in the morning? What if God is vastly more available than I believe and is waiting for me to sync my life to his presence in every context, especially leading? This way of thinking led me to the notion that a set of "spiritual disciplines" were available to leaders "off-road."

What did you learn about these off-road disciplines?
My sense of spiritually-forming experiences awaiting leaders outside the usual list of practices produced a list of twelve spiritual disciplines for leaders: six personal and six organizational. Some of these feel quite spiritual--death to self--and others feel quite practical--reverse mentoring--but all of them bring the leader to the same place. . . the cross.

If readers could begin applying one discipline from your book immediately, what do you hope it would be?
One practical thing would be to find one or more reverse mentors--someone, say, 18-24 years old--to teach you about the "real world" because the world as you think it is has been gone for a long time. It's like looking at the sun. What we see is represented by light that left the sun about 8 minutes ago, so we never see it in "real time." Our view of the world is the same, filtered by cultural distance rather than celestial distance. So I need someone to say, "Hey, Earl! Your thinking is so, well, '8 minutes ago!'" I have a lot of these mentors. They are a gift from God.

What is new about what you say in this book?
My goal in the book is to tap into some very "old school" ideas that have names like consecration, sacrifice, humility, and preferring others above ourselves. In the mania to technologize leadership, which has the effect of aggrandizing our own status and
power, I fear a drift into a me-centered way of doing ministry. This book is about repentance, it is about de-centering me so that Jesus can take his rightful place in my life and ministry, and then acting on that new relationship in ways that serve our ministries well.

Who is the book for?
It's designed for ministry leaders but really for anyone who has a heart for the future of the Church.

What will readers find most challenging?
The thing that will probably get their attention is the brute force of having to face the truth: the truth about the state of the church, the truth about the narcissism that passes for "vision," the truth about deification of self that has Christian leaders worshipping at the shrine of corporate culture.

What are the big surprises?
The surprise factor may revolve around the maddening fashion in which the book always searches for a "third way" between cold pragmatism and devotional spirituality. Also, some people will be surprised about the specificity and concreteness of many of the "disciplines"--and by how enjoyable many of them are.

What do you hope the reader takes away?
A rising tide of discomfort about leadership, spirituality, and personal identity; a refusal to live an unreflective life; a passion for becoming less, so Jesus can become more; and a longing to de-center themselves so Christ can become the center.

Earl Creps serves as an associate professor at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (AGTS) in Springfield, MO, teaching on ministry in emerging culture, leadership, and preaching/communication. He is also director of Doctoral Programs. He holds a PhD in communication and a DMin in leadership. He and his wife Janet both grew up Lutheran, both became charismatic, and now share ties with the Assemblies of God denomination. They have pastored three churches, and Earl has served as a national consultant for the Assemblies of God.

To learn more about Earl and Off-Road Disciplines, download a sample chapter or the study guide, visit http://www.earlcreps.com/book; or click here to purchase the book now.