Our Gifts: Identifying and Developing Leaders.

Our Gifts: Identifying and Developing Leaders. By David P. Mayer. Augsburg Fortress, 2002. 112 pages. Paper. $14.99.

At just over one hundred pages, Our Gifts does not intend to be an exhaustive reference for all change to be made in a parish. Rather, it functions more like a workbook, guiding the reader step by step in introducing concepts that are briefly referenced or explained.

Part of the Congregational Leader Series from Augsburg Fortress, this volume often references other volumes from the series, suggesting that the entire program would have good continuity.

Our Gifts is written in a clear, straightforward, easily understood style. The tone of the book is very positive, even optimistic, as it moves from defining Christian leadership and the leadership dilemma (20 percent of the people do 80 percent of the ministry) to chapters titled "How to Mobilize Everyone," "Leadership Styles and Motivations," and "Developing Leaders." Tools for implementing each chapter are provided both in the book and online. They can be customized and reproduced for local use.

The author, David P. Mayer, has worked more than thirty years in the LCA and ELCA, focusing on areas including leadership and organizational development, initiating change, and dealing with conflict. He gives brief explanations of several leadership theories and for terms and concepts he uses. For instance, Maslow's hierarchy of needs is explained in slightly more than two pages and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator in one. The reader who is familiar with the referenced concepts would have them brought to mind, and those unfamiliar with the concepts may determine which areas to research. A list of resources is provided.

Mayer suggests that this book is most effectively used as a retreat but could also be used as a series of workshops or as a leadership development piece at, for instance, church council meetings. A sample retreat agenda is included.

Our Gifts is a nonthreatening way to teach leadership concepts to people who may not identify themselves as leaders, and it provides some resources to develop and support those who are ready to take the next step. It is a good synthesis and application of a broad array of ideas and issues, focused on real application rather than theory. With reinforcement, this could be a very gentle step in raising up and developing leaders in a congregation.

Dorothy Wilcox

Chicago, Illinois