A Servant's Manual: Christian Leadership for Tomorrow.

A Servant's Manual: Christian Leadership for Tomorrow. By Michael W. Foss. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002. 144 pages. Paper. $15.00.

Michael W. Foss, senior pastor of Prince of Peace in Burnsville, Minnesota, is also the author of Power Surge: Six Marks of Discipleship for a Changing Church (Fortress Press, 2000).

Foss's prognosis of today's Christian leaders is that they are stuck. "Their ministries are being sapped of vital energy by endless controversy and lack of vision" and "stuck in false polarities and dead-end thinking. Spirit-led vision is required" (p. vi). The imperatives of faith must be rethought in light of and for the sake of the world (p. vii). Such a vision takes seriously the demands both of the gospel and of our changing cultural context.

Such a vision leads to discipleship. For Foss, discipleship occurs after one has experienced a spiritual transformation that includes the person as well as justice and compassion. We need to lift up the promises of God in order to equip people with confidence for life. "The church ought to be where the loops of life intersect with the power of the Spirit in a wonderful creative tension" (p. 3). In order to do this, the church needs to move from doctrine to experience and biblical literacy. Foss notes that people rarely join denominations because of any particular doctrine that church may hold. Rather, "They have come for the healing of Christ's hand, the strengthening of the Holy Spirit's presence, and the hope of the promises of our creator God" (p. 7). The whole self, not just the mind, must be engaged. However, experience does not mean that theology or doctrine has no place in our churches. In fact, this is where biblical literacy comes in. Foss says, "Between experience and doctrine stands the Word. Biblical literacy is the bridge between an experience of the presence of God and our understanding of the God who alone is God. Thus, spiritual transformation or discipleship is for a life of faith established upon the Word of God" (p. 10), and this discipleship is "the liberating paradigm for ministry" (p. 36).

Foss supports his understanding of the church's sole mission as discipleship by referencing Matthew 28:19-20. He says, "The DNA of the church is mission. That mission is not defined by certain forms but by a clear outcome--to make disciples. The strategies are clear--baptize and teach to obey" (p. 37). Foss emphasizes that our efforts need to bear fruit and challenges the oft-used maxim "God doesn't call [one] to be successful; God only calls [one] to be faithful." Although I do not totally disagree, I am wary of phrases like "our ministries will be judged by their productivity" (p. 51).

Foss also emphasizes the ministry of the whole people of God. All people bring gifts to ministry. The task of the leader is to call out these gifts and encourage people to use them for sharing faith, building up the church, and working toward a more just and peaceful world. This is evidenced in his explanation of team ministries and mutual accountability. "Spiritual accountability occurs when individuals, couples, and families accept that they are partners with the Christian church in living and sharing the faith" (p. 55). He is passionate about making disciples who are engaged in the world. This discipleship results in changed lives and changed worlds.

A Servant's Manual is a great example of leadership literature from a "disciple-making" perspective.

Maren Loken

Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago