Dysfunction. Anyone who has sojourned through congregations or denominations would agree that these are not immune to dysfunction. These holy organizations often eschew the standards upheld by secular organizations. It matters not that those “profane” or “worldly” processes accomplish those organizations’ mission, and serve humanity well — all within sound ethical boundaries. Consequently, many church organizations deny themselves the best practices of better organized entities. Their leaders think they have nothing to learn from secular leadership theory and practice. They fail to realize that not every leadership or organizational practice, portrayed in the Bible, is healthy or appropriate for our times. And Lead Us Not Into Dysfunction pursues the conviction that church organizations, and their leaders can perform far better than they do. The book explores the causes of anything from mediocrity to dysfunction in church organizations, and outlines several helpful measures that congregations and denominations may embrace to secure organizational and leadership health. This book is a must have for every pastor, church leader, denominational leader, seminarian, and leadership and organizational dynamics student.

I use intriguing, humorous and riveting stories of actual pastoral, congregational, and denominational experiences, to demonstrate the mediocrity, ineffectiveness, misbehavior, and toxicity, all of which frequently descend upon congregations, denominations, and their members and leaders. I show how such church organizations are left beleaguered, discouraged, and fully led into dysfunction. I examine many of the causes for these organizational maladies, and offer the best leadership and organizational practices as solutions and corrections.