ASSEMBLIES OF GOD
Unleashing the Power of Rubber Bands
by Mark Forrester
In her first leadership book, Nancy Ortberg teaches leaders how to stretch without breaking. Ortberg draws valuable lessons from her years of leadership in the Willow Creek Association. Beyond the memorable catch phrases and stories scattered throughout this work, the author has managed to incorporate critical leadership insights for young and developing leaders.
Ortberg takes a step back from the traditional genre of leadership books in her nonlinear approach, hinted to in her subtitle. This allows the author to focus on an amalgam of issues without losing the reader in unnecessary details.
Readers will find Ortberg’s personal stories of pioneering Axis, the postmodern expression of Willow Creek Church, intriguing and humorous. Expressing the unique challenges she faced as a middle-aged female taking leadership in a young male environment, the author challenges leaders and their teams to stretch to accommodate their common mission.
This book refuses to enter the dangerous, but too often chartered territory of offering specific steps or plans for leaders. Ortberg insists on the individuality of leaders, supplying a quiver full of wide-ranging leadership principles.
Leaders in transition and leaders facing new challenges will find Ortberg’s experiences and insights a valuable source of inspiration.
—Reviewed by Mark Forrester, M.A., strategic initiatives manager, MinistryDirect.com, Springfield, Missouri.